I’ve been working with WordPress for several years now and have developed a go-to list of plugins that I install on almost every site. I’m curious what others are using and would love to hear your recommendations.
Here’s what I typically install:
SEO Tools - I rely heavily on Yoast SEO for optimization. It handles meta tags, sitemaps, and readability checks really well.
Image Compression - ShortPixel has been my choice for automatic image optimization. Saves tons of loading time without me having to think about it.
Security - Sucuri Security is non-negotiable for me. The amount of malicious traffic it blocks is honestly scary. Every site needs protection.
Performance - WP Rocket for caching has made a huge difference in site speed. The difference in PageSpeed scores is night and day.
Functionality - Custom Fields Suite lets me build complex layouts and data structures. Some projects would be impossible without it.
Analytics - MonsterInsights connects Google Analytics seamlessly and the dashboard reports are really helpful for clients.
I’m always looking for new tools though, especially anything AI-powered that might save time. What plugins do you swear by? Any hidden gems I should know about? Also wondering if I’m overdoing it with some of these or if there are better alternatives out there.
Thanks for sharing your experiences!
Been managing WordPress sites for about 8 years now and honestly think less is more when it comes to plugins. Too many site owners get plugin-happy and wonder why their sites are crawling. My absolute must-haves are UpdraftPlus for backups - learned this lesson the hard way when a client’s site got corrupted and they had no recent backups. Nothing else matters if you can’t restore your site. For security I actually prefer Wordfence over Sucuri because the free version gives you more granular control over firewall rules. One plugin that doesn’t get mentioned enough is Query Monitor for debugging. Saved me countless hours tracking down slow queries and plugin conflicts. If you’re doing any custom development work it’s invaluable. Skip the heavy page builders if possible and learn to work with the block editor instead. Most performance issues I see come from sites loaded down with Elementor or similar builders that add massive amounts of CSS and JavaScript. The native editor has come a long way and keeps things lean. Also worth mentioning that many hosting providers now include caching and security features that make some plugins redundant. Always check what your host already provides before adding another layer of complexity.
After running dozens of WordPress sites over the past decade, I have noticed that plugin bloat is the biggest performance killer. My core setup focuses on reliability over features. Jetpack gets overlooked but handles multiple functions well - stats, security scanning, automated backups, and CDN in one package. For forms I always install Contact Form 7 because it is lightweight and extensible without the overhead of premium form builders. One plugin that changed my workflow completely is WP Migrate DB Pro for moving sites between staging and production. Manual database transfers used to take hours and frequently broke things. The search and replace functionality alone justifies the cost. For maintenance I rely on MainWP to manage multiple client sites from one dashboard. Updates, backups, and monitoring across all properties without logging into each individually. Really surprised more people do not mention Redirection plugin for handling 404s and URL changes. Every site accumulates broken links over time and this handles them automatically. My approach has shifted toward choosing hosting that includes security and caching features rather than adding plugins for everything. Reduces potential conflicts and usually performs better than plugin alternatives.
honestly depends on your needs but ive found wordpress database cleaner to be a lifesaver for removing junk data that builds up over time. tons of sites slow down just from bloated databases and this fixes it quick. also dont sleep on wp super cache if you cant afford premium caching - works great for most smaller sites.