Having a WordPress website without plugins is like driving a car without seats. Sure, it can be done. But you wouldn’t have as much fun on the road without them.
The same goes for your WordPress plugins. These pieces of software sound complicated, but simply put they increase the functionality and features of your website.
Whether it’s making your website more user-friendly, more professional looking, or more interactive, the best WordPress plugins are a must for today’s online service-based business owners.
Now there are tons of plugins out there, and we could write a novel explaining them all (make that a trilogy). But on today’s blog post, we’re giving you a cheat sheet of what you need to know now.
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Yoast SEO Plugin
It’s the No. 1 WordPress SEO plugin for a reason. Yoast SEO helps boost search engine optimization across your entire website with one free, easy download.
Yoast makes it simple to control titles and meta descriptions, set targeted keywords and manage the analytics behind them. And speaking of keywords, it forces you to choose one while writing articles so you can keep it top of mind as you’re creating content.
And if you forgot about alt tags, subheads, or other details, no worries. This plugin will remind you so you’ll be as properly optimized as possible.
Related Post: WordPress SEO Basics to Help You Show Up More Online
Elementor Plugin
If you’re looking for a web design with no limits, Elementor is the best WordPress plugin for your service-based business.
Gone are the days of working on the backend of your website with no idea of what the finished product would be.
Now everything in Elementor is about instant gratification. Instant drag and drop page builder. Instant live editing. Instant page load. Not only is it easy, but it saves you time and it’s free!
Our gorgeously designed WordPress theme are built using the Elementor drag-and-drop page builder. You’ll have total control over your website’s look and feel without needing to understand the technical side of things.
BackWPup Plugin
You can never underestimate the importance of backing up the work that takes you so long to create. That’s where BackWPup comes in.
This freemium (meaning there is a free and paid version) is a backup plugin that automatically backs up your WordPress website.
In business and in life, you have to hope for the best and prepare for the worst. BackWPup is a great WordPress plugin because it ensures your website content is stored somewhere else (like Dropbox) in case of a security breach or if it goes down.
Related Post: WordPress Security 101: Keeping Your Business Protected
Pretty Link Plugin
There’s nothing that can kill the vibe of your copy faster than a long, ugly hyperlink on your website. Enter Pretty Link.
This freemium allows you to shorten your own URLs using a custom domain (instead of using bit.ly or tinyurl).
Not only can you create easy-to-remember hyperlinks, Pretty Link also tracks the analytics behind the traffic to your URL (including the browser and the host).
WP Super Cache Plugin
If you want your blog content to load faster, a caching plugin is what you’re after. WP Super Cache will put content like HTML pages, images, and files on a user’s hard drive, which quickens up the speed it takes them to get to your site the next time they visit.
User experience is more important than ever, and your customers will definitely thank you for this one!
WooCommerce Plugin
If getting started on your eCommerce journey stresses you out, the free WordPress plugin WooCommerce is for you. (And not just because the name is awesome.)
Whether you’re just launching your service-based business or taking a physical store online, WooCommerce lets you get up and running quickly and easily with specialized pages, secure credit card payments, multiple shipping options, automated tax calculations—the list goes on.
HurryTimer Plugin
Robert Cialdini said scarcity is one of the persuasion principles that people need to decide a buy. We don’t know if he was talking about the HurryTimer, but he should have.
This plugin helps you create standard and evergreen countdown timers for your landing page and funnels. It gives you a set-it-and-forget-it solution to use the scarcity method of promotional offers every time by personalizing the countdown timer for every singer user that visits your website, which will help you get more customers.
Combine this with our Sales Funnel Templates to help you grow your list and start making sales on autopilot. Ours are easy to use and there’s no complicated software to figure out. Plus, they work seamlessly with any WordPress theme.
GDPR Cookie Consent Banner Plugin
Compliance with data privacy regulations like GDPR and ePrivacy Directive is right at your fingertips with GDPR Cookie Consent Banner.
This free plugin is so popular because it’s so easy. Just install it, modify your settings and your cookie consent banner will be live and compliant with the latest data privacy regulations.
Smush Plugin
A picture is worth a thousand words, and when it comes to your website, you want to make sure those words are as good as they can be.
If dealing with image optimization has you stressed, get Smush. This free WordPress plugin helps you resize, optimize and compress all your images while maintaining the best quality possible.
Some of our favorite features of this plugin? Incorrect size image detection, optimizing up to 50 images at once and an unlimited usage to name a few.
WPFront Notification Bar Plugin
Increase your sales with WPFront Notification Bar—it’s free! This plugin lets you display notifications or news with a button or bar, which draws attention to your content.
Not only can you customize the bar and position, but this plugin also processes shortcodes and lets you set a number of seconds before auto-close. And you can even keep it on autopilot with start and end dates you can schedule ahead of time.
Broken Link Checker Plugin
Nothing deters customers faster than a broken link. And if you’re looking for the best WordPress plugin to fix them, Broken Link Checker is what you need (as if the name wasn’t intuitive enough!).
This plugin automatically monitors your pages, posts, comments, blogroll, and even custom fields and detects links that don’t work while redirecting them. You’ll also get a notification that a broken link has been found, so you can stay on top of your content.
PixelYourSite Plugin
Last but not least is a free WordPress plugin that manages your Facebook Pixel or Google Analytics code with a single plugin—plus add any other script like a head and footer.
PixelYourSite automatically tracks important actions and sends them to your configured pixels. So whether it’s downloads, comments, or searches, you can create events without coding. Another cool feature? WooCommerce is fully supported.
Final Thoughts
WordPress is obviously the way to go for a service-based business owner. It’s literally the gold standard and so many great WordPress plugins are available (many of which are free!), which can help your site look as great as it functions.
If you’re looking for a new WordPress theme as a service-based business owner, we’d suggest checking out our ChicServe theme!
