A new WordPress developer has a tough task of learning about new and emerging technologies. The quality of service a developer provides is completely based on what tools they use for their development process.
Thus to aid our fellow novice developers, here is a comprehensive list of the top five vital development plugins you need to know.
5 Vital Plugins For A New WordPress Developer
The following five plugins are the essentials when it comes to WordPress website designing. A novice WordPress developer has a lot to gain by familiarising themself with these fundamental plugins:
Jetpack
Jetpack is an absolute necessity for any WordPress website today. It is a true powerhouse of a plugin. The people behind WordPress also made Jetpack as well. Thus any new WordPress developer must add Jetpack to their website.
Jetpack is an all-rounder when it comes to plugin functionality, the following are some of its functions:
- Website security
- Website performance monitoring
- Traffic analytics
- Image optimization
The above four functions encapsulate the wide area of coverage Jetpack offers its users. Another key aspect of Jetpack is its ease-of-use factor. Along with helping you with website indexing and search optimization, Jetpack also offers downtime monitoring and instant error notifications.
WooCommerce
Online businesses come in all shapes and sizes. Thus WordPress has plugins that empower all types of businesses. Out of the hundreds of types of businesses, eCommerce is one of the most prevalent online businesses. Therefore, WordPress offers many useful plugins for the website designing and development process of eCommerce driven sites.
WooCommerce stands tall among such groups of eCommerce-centric WordPress plugins. WooCommerce might be a plugin, but when added to WordPress, it can go against bigger platforms like Shopify.
With WooCommerce, a WordPress developer can easily set up variable shipping rates & options. It also includes the functionality of free shipping, logistical integration, tax rate calculations, easy-checkout, payment gateway integration, etc. A site owner can sell anything from physical products to software services through WooCommerce.
Google Site Kit
WordPress is an absolute beast of a Content Management System on its own, but when you add Google to the mix, you get a different animal. A website built on the WordPress CMS has to interact with Google, thus a plugin that makes this interaction easier is an absolute game-changer.
Google Site Kit is an extremely powerful tool at the disposal of a WordPress developer. With the Site Kit plugin, a site owner can easily monitor his/her site’s performance activity across Google services.
AdSense, PageSpeed Insights, Analytics, and Search Console are a few prime examples of integrated services. Google Site Kit enables developers/owners/managers to get a dashboard-view of multiple data-streams like the audience, revenue, page ranking, etc.
Yoast SEO
The internet is a rapidly expanding place of contrast evolution. To craft out a niche for yourself on the internet, you need consistent effort towards a goal. Internet search engines drive the growth of any business on the internet.
Thus a WordPress plugin that enables robust and comprehensive search engine optimization is a need of the hour for a WordPress developer. Opportunely, there is a plugin specially made to fit this need.
Yoast SEO is an amazing plugin that acts as a guide to create all-around better content. The content that you create with the help of Yoast is already optimized for SEO. Yoast focuses on specifics like ‘headlines, focus keyword, meta-description, readability index, etc.’
By concentrating your attention on these particulars, Yoast SEO makes sure to streamline your content. Additional to all this is Yoast’s ‘alt-text and image usability’ suggestions making your content more SEO friendly.
Google XML Sitemaps
Google XML Sitemaps is a must if you want your WordPress site to have good search engine indexing. Unlike Site Kit, this Google plugin isn’t just meant for Google services or platforms, XML Sitemaps is also used for Bing, Yahoo, etc. as well.
Google XML Sitemaps enable a WordPress developer with the ability to automatically create an XML sitemap for search engine indexes. A good sitemap easies the job of web search crawlers to view and index your website in their respective indexes.
In Conclusion
The above five are in no way the only list of important plugins a new WordPress developer should be aware of. It is the job of a good developer to stay up-to-date with any new plugins that increase WP’s functionality.
A business should always stick their neck out and the only partner with an experienced WordPress website development agency that is skilled with new technology.
