Essential WordPress Plugins

WordPress plugins are additional “apps” that enhance the functionality of WordPress. WordPress works quite well “out of the box”, but chances are you’ll be installing several plugins before your new site is ready to go live. The best place to search for plugins is on https://wordpress.org/plugins/. These plugins have been tested and assumed to be safe. However, do take note of the plugin details such as  compatibility with current core files, popularity stars, comments, and how often it is updated. They are free, however, many of the plugin designers also offer upgraded versions for a fee. Check the plugin author’s websites to learn more before installing a plugin.

Once installed and activated, most plugins have a variety of settings that need to be tweaked and personalized. Be sure to check them carefully, and check your site front-end pages to make sure there are no unexpected results.

Security:

A good security plugin allows for fine-tuning what visitors can do, and helps keep out hackers and spammers. Wordfence has extensive settings and also shows traffic information. There are many security plugins, so research them before installing one.

Wordfence: 

• https://wordpress.org/plugins/wordfence/
• http://makeaweblog.com/configuring-wordfence-security/
• https://www.wpkb.com/wordfence-security-setting-the-options/

Securi:

• http://wordpress.org/plugins/sucuri-scanner/

IThemes Security:

• https://wordpress.org/plugins/better-wp-security/
• http://ithemes.com/security/

Backing up:

A backup plugin allows for automated scheduled backup’s, with user-control over what is backed up, just the database, everything, or only important content files. On a large site backups can become quite large and difficult to manage, so having control over what is backed up can be helpful. The location of the backup also needs to be determined. Best is offsite to a cloud server such as Dropbox or Amazon S3. Storing a backup in the root folder on the server is not recommended! A database-only backup file can be emailed, but only as long as it’s small enough file size for email.

BackupBuddy:

• http://ithemes.com/purchase/backupbuddy/ ($80/yr for 2 sites)

BackWPup:

• https://wordpress.org/plugins/backwpup/ (Free)
• http://appointzilla.com/5-free-alternatives-to-backupbuddy/

Amazon s3 bucket interface

• http://s3browser.com