15 Amazing WordPress Plugins for Added Functionality

You’ll agree working within the WordPress CMS as a designer is a blissful experience. I mean, WordPress is a darling of many thanks to a host of WordPress plugins that make adding any functionality imaginable not only a reality but also incredibly easy.

In this quick guide, we list 15 amazing WordPress plugins that will help you to turn your WordPress project whichever way you desire in terms of functionality. Ready? Great.

Google Analyticator

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Tracking how your project performs when it goes live is key in establishing the functions or design elements to change for maximum ROI. Here you have a couple of analytics tools, with Google Analytics leading the pack.

The Google Analyticator WordPress plugin lets you view Google Analytics reports right from within your WordPress dashboard. It’s one of the most popular WordPress plugins for analytics what with over 3.5+ million downloads.

NextGEN Gallery

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Yeah, yeah…WordPress has come along way, and today you can whip up a great gallery without trying hard. Nowadays, we even have WordPress themes that ship bundled with gallery plugins of all types and sizes.

But NextGEN Gallery gives most of these premium gallery WordPress plugins a run for their money. Don’t even get me started on the pro version, because that plugin is something else.

Whether you’re building a simple portfolio or image intensive site, you can always bank on NextGEN Gallery to have your back.

Pricing Table Builder

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Pricing tables are ideal if you need to break down your packages and show end users  exactly what they are getting.

One of the easiest WordPress plugins you’ll ever use, Pricing Table Builder lets you add attractive pricing tables to your WordPress site in under 2 minutes. This plugin is compatible with all WordPress themes and comes with awesome features such as ten beautiful pricing table designs, full customization, Google Analytics integration, shortcode functionality and much more.

BuddyPress

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If you need to build a community website but don’t know where to start, rest easy, we have just the plugin to make your goal a reality. You need no plugin other than BuddyPress.

BuddyPress is social networking in a box, and in no time, you can add community features such as user profiles, activity streams, private messaging, groups and much more to any WordPress site.

Shareaholic

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I used this social media plugin in the past, and I was pleasantly surprised. This is one of those WordPress plugins that under promises but over delivers.

It is easy to install and comes with a slew of exciting features such as multiple social buttons, related content recommendations, monetization apps, follow buttons and social analytics among others.

Design Approval System

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Now, you don’t have to send a million and one emails to update the client on how the project is progressing. You can manage your project using a system like no other. Design Approval System streamlines the process of getting designs, graphics, documents and other files approved by clients.

You have to check out the live demo to catch my drift 🙂

WordPress Calls to Action

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It isn’t enough just to build a website. The site you create should easily convert readers into loyal and ready to buy customers. Enters WordPress Calls to Action and the day is saved.

This plugin will help you to build lists, convert visitors, drive lead growth, A/B test the results and subsequently improve your marketing. If you’re looking to create a fully automated and free lead generation system, you ought to check out WordPress Landing Pages and WordPress Leads by the same author.

SlideDeck3

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If you’re tired of slider WordPress plugins that promise heaven but deliver brimstone, say a big hello to SlideDeck3. This bad boy will blow away your mind, and I am not even kidding.

You can create light and responsive WordPress sliders out of any content. You have a wide variety of content sources including (but not limited to) WordPress posts, YouTube, Pinterest, Facebook, NextGEN Gallery, Instagram, RSS feeds, Google Maps and I could go on and on. This plugin supports images, text, videos and custom HTML among others.

Pretty Link

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Shroud your affiliate links in mystery with Pretty Link and track each single click from an easy to use dashboard widget. You can cloak and shorten links in style, allowing you to share beautiful links on or off your WordPress site.

Pretty Link Pro offers many more features including multiple redirection types, auto-tweet links, keyword replacement and much more.

W3 Total Cache

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Nobody, I repeat, nobody is willing to wait around for a site that takes forever to load. Slow loading pages are bad for user experience and search engine rankings, especially with the rise of mobile device users.

You need W3 Total Cache to improve the performance of your site tenfold. The plugin employs the best technologies such as CDN integration, minification and more to give your site a performance boost you’ll definitely love.

Yoast SEO

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Speaking of SEO, you can’t leave your site’s SEO to chance. You need to rank well in search engines for your keywords, right? Well, Yoast SEO is one of the best WordPress plugins for SEO to ever grace the web. The free version will even let you improve the readability of your content, which is an added plus.

Coming Soon Page & Maintenance Mode

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If you’re working on a website or it’s temporarily down for maintenance, you can keep visitors activated and engaged with an impressive coming soon or maintenance page. All you need is the Coming Soon Page & Maintenance Mode plugin by SeedProd.

The plugin is fully responsive, uses HTML5 & CSS3, compatible with any WordPress theme, and easy to customize just to mention a few features. The pro version packs quite the punch just to whet your appetite.

Symple Shortcodes

You don’t have to dig into code every time you need to build simple features such as call outs, highlights, boxes, accordions, tabs, pricing tables, buttons, maps, social icons, columns and so much more. All you need is the Symple Shortcodes plugin by WPExplorer. It’s free, and the above video shows you just how cool Symple Shortcodes is.

WooCommerce

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Are you looking to build an ecommerce website using WordPress? Look no further than WooCommerce, a super-powerful ecommerce plugin for WordPress that has been downloaded more than 7 million times!

WooCommerce offers you undeniable power to build an ecommerce site out of this world, what with an extensive suite of addons that let you turn your online store whichever way you desire.

Beaver Builder

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And for our last item today, we present Beaver Builder – a page builder from the gods. It’s fully drag and drop, this baby, meaning you can build 100% responsive WordPress pages without ever touching a line of code.

You can start building awesome WordPress pages right away with dozen of gorgeous templates and if you need more elements, just grab whichever from the extensive library and drop it like it’s hot.

Which WordPress Plugins Do You Use?

Which are your favorite WordPress plugins? Let us know in the comments area below. Danke 🙂

Disclosure: This page contains external affiliate links that may result in us receiving a comission if you choose to purchase said product. The opinions on this page are our own. We do not receive payment for positive reviews.
About The Author
Freddy Muriuki
Freddy Muriuki

Freddy is a WordPress theme reviewer at WP Theme Raves, writer, web developer and founder of Vista Media Enterprises, a nice place dedicated to the online entrepreneur looking to boost conversion rates using effective web content.