WordPress is a fantastic platform for building an e-commerce website or a blog. It provides one-of-a-kind tools for creating and monitoring a professional-looking website. Installing plugins and getting new functionality is the best way to use WordPress.
Some WordPress plugins are free and some premium plugins will cost you money. The WordPress Plugin Directory is a list of free plugins that you can find in your dashboard. Third-party plugins can be installed as well. In this blog we will list 5 of the best free WordPress plugins, that can help boost your site.
What is a WordPress plugin/extension?
First, know that the terms plugin and WordPress extension define the same thing. They are just two different ways of naming them.
A plugin/extension is a piece of program that can be downloaded to improve or complete the functionalities offered by WordPress.They are generally coded in PHP language and integrate perfectly with the CMS.
Top 5 Best Free WordPress Plugins
The list above contains five of the top free WordPress plugins that every WordPress user should have in order to build a good WordPress site. Plugins, as we all know, expand the functionality of WordPress and provide new features. So, if you like any of the plugins listed above, install it. Installing a WordPress plugin and utilizing it on your WordPress blog/site is quite simple.
1. Yoast SEO: The #1 WordPress SEO plugin (Free)
You must outperform the competition in order to rank well in search engines. You’ll need a website that’s better, quicker, and more powerful than those that sell or perform similar products.
Yoast SEO is a WordPress plugin that provides a real-time analysis of your page. It aids in the optimization of your page content in terms of keywords, meta descriptions, titles, photos, and content. Yoast SEO also allows you to manage Google indexing. Its premium edition comes with even more features. Above all, even the free edition of the Yoast SEO plugin contributes to the regulation of the website’s rating.
It is complete. So much so that it has been the subject of numerous analyses, guides and tutorials that demonstrate its full potential in SEO optimization.
With this plugin, you will have many options to optimize each text: modify the title that will appear in Google, its meta description, optimize the URL, design your text according to a keyword, etc.
It is the best seo plugin for WordPress.
2. WooCommerce PDF Invoices & Packing Slips (Free)
This WooCommerce plugin adds a PDF invoice to your customers’ order confirmation emails. Includes a basic template (more templates are available from WP Overnight) as well as the ability to customize/create your own. In addition, via the WooCommerce order admin, you may download or print invoices and packing slips.
Main features
- Attach the PDF invoice to the WooCommerce emails of your choice
- Download the invoice in PDF or the Transport Document from the order administration page
- Ability to generate PDF invoices and transport documents
- Fully customizable HTML / CSS invoice templates
- Download the invoices from the My Account page
- Sequential invoice numbering – with customizable formatting
3. Advanced Custom Fields (Free)
By providing you all the tools to do more with your data, Advanced Custom Fields converts WordPress sites into a full-fledged content management system. Take complete control of your WordPress edit screens and custom field data with the Advanced Custom Fields plugin. Fields can be added as needed. Using the field builder, you can quickly and simply add fields to WP edit screens with only a few clicks!
With Advanced Custom Fields, you can gain full control of each screen by editing the data of the custom fields. In practice, the field generator allows you to add custom options, comments, and media to the screen with a simple click. All the values chosen in the theme model you have are loaded, and the management of the options is simple and very intuitive, even for those who are not a developer.
4. Sir Filiate WooCommerce plugin (Free)
Influencer marketing can help you increase your sales. The Sir Filiate WooCommerce plugin automates the tracking and management of affiliate and influencer activities. Only if the payment is successful, the influencer or affiliate will receive a commission. Is the payment canceled or refunded? Then the commission will be canceled as well.
5. Shops United WooCommerce plugin (Free)
Negotiating with shipping companies can be tricky at times. Especially if you’re just getting started with WooCommerce or are still expanding. Shipping companies will only offer you a discount if you have a particular amount of volume, thus you must first have volume. Even if your volume is minimal, Shops United allows you to take advantage of discounted shipping costs.
FAQ about free WordPress plugins
How to get free WordPress plugins?
- Log in to your page admin, go to the Plugins area -> Add new.
- Find the plugin you want to install by typing in the keyword search engine.
- Click Install Now.
- Wait for the process to finish and click Activate.
How to install free plugins in WordPress?
- Download the plugin: First, we must proceed to download the plugin we want to install. Important: do not unzip the plugin; we will use it compressed.
- Access the dashboard: We will access the WordPress dashboard for the installation.
- Add New plugin: to install a plugin; we will go to “Plugins > Add new”. Next, we will click the “Upload Plugin” button at the screen’s top.
- Browse: Now, we will click on the «Browse…» button. We will search our computer for the compressed file of the plugin, and we will click on: “Open”.
- Install: Next, we will click the “Install now” button, and the plugin installation process will begin.
- Activate plugin: Once it is installed, we must activate it if we want to start it. To do this, we can click on the link: “Activate plugin” that appears after installation or go to: “Plugins > Installed plugins”, search for the plugin, and activate it.
Do plugins slow down WordPress?
Yes, some plugins slow down WordPress. Usually, they are heavy plugins that are not updated and not compatible with the latest WordPress version. They have files with CSS code that are not perfectly optimized or have many features. Therefore, we can say that a plugin’s quality can slow down your site performance.
What is best SEO plugin for WordPress?
We can affirm that the best SEO plugin FOR WordPress currently is Yoast. Its free version is much more complete than others, and that makes it, in our eyes, the best SEO plugin for WordPress.That said, if you’re willing to pay a subscription in order to get a decent SEO plugin, then know that Yoast and Rank Math are equal.
How many plugins should I use in WordPress?
It is not essential to the number of plugins installed; you should install as many plugins as necessary to run your website and grow your business. Instead, it is their quality that is decisive. A “bad” plugin can affect your site’s performance and security. Standard websites usually have between 20 – 30 plugins.
So what free plugin do I install?
Each project is different; maybe you need to use a plugin for tracking and management of affiliates or a Seo plugin, etc.
The good thing is that almost all WordPress plugins are free, and can be useful to you because they are common to many website strategies.
Recommendations: Always keep your plugins updated and ensure it is the latest version when you download them.
Please do not leave the plugins disabled because some will consume memory. If you don’t like it, delete it.
Nothing else for now. This has been our list of best free WordPress plugins for 2022.
