WordPress is very customizable. At the core of the customization is the plugin-functionality. A developer can code an extra feature for wordpress and connect it to the system via a so called „plugin“.

These plugins range from very simple to super complex. Here I’ll present to you my basic plugin setup that I recommend on every site and give you an idea of what else is out there.

Installing a Plugin

Plugins can be installed exactly the same as themes. Just download the plugin folder and drop it into wp-content > plugins. Plugins can also be installed directly through the wordpress backend by navigating to Plugins > Add New.

Basic Plugin Recommendations

1) SEO (Search Engine Optimization)

SEO, short for Search Engine Optimization, describes all the things one does to affect the visibility of a website in a search engines unpaid (also called organic) results. There a great plugins out there that help you make your website more search engine friendly.

The most common one and also the one I’d recommend is Yoast SEO. One of the best features is the SEO-Block that you get below every post or page. It features recommendations for your content to improve all aspects of SEO you could think of.

2) Login Security

As told before: WordPress is highly attractive for hackers so you should take some measures to protect your site from attacks.
Loginizer is one plugin that is used by many people and actively developed. It does a few things but most notably it will lock-down the login form of your website if it detects many logins in a short period – typically that happens when some script / malicious code tries hundreds of passwords in a very short period of time.

3) Spam Comment Protection

As already noted in the Lesson about the basic wordpress setup protecting the comment system from spam is also done via plugins. A free option is the plugin Antispam Bee. The professional one is Akismet, it’s paid but also a little better than the free alternatives.