
In the case of free WordPress plugins, the best is Custom Post Type UI. But there are a number of plugins you can choose from in order to fulfill this lacking function. We’ve talked about how core WordPress files still don’t allow for custom post types, unlike Drupal.

Relevanssi also keeps a log of all user searches, something that’s incredibly valuable for further site improvements. You can even tweak the display of returned search results. Relevanssi is another free plugin that sets the record straight by offering advanced customization of your site’s search index. WordPress’ stock search code is not as good as it should be. Most website designers seem to overlook the importance of on-site search. This is an indispensable, especially if your content is particularly heavy. W3 Total Cache is a plugin savior, mostly because of the centralized control it offers webmasters over all the different cache types you can activate. Once again, free WordPress plugins come to the rescue. WordPress out-of-the-box is considered to be a bit sluggish in comparison with competitors like Drupal or Joomla.

One of the most important things on any website is its loading time. The coolest thing about Yoast is its rating system: little color indicators showing how well a post is optimized against the keywords you choose, which returns suggestions if a post needs improvement. Besides offering the on-page optimization features that you’d expect, like custom meta title and description, you can also control how your content is read by search engines via the comprehensive dashboard. Yoast is an awesome plugin that just keeps getting better.

YoastĬonfusingly, this one is actually named “WordPress SEO” in the plugin library, which really goes to show the SEO prowess of its creator, Joost de Valk. Here are seven of them for each of the most important categories in the construction of such a site, and they won’t cost you a cent. We’ve created a stripped-down list of essential plugins perfect for a bare-bones website. And when you have a market with so many participants, you better believe there’ll be some huge add-ons available.

60% of the entire CMS marketplace is dominated by WordPress.
