Standard plugins to install for a new website

These plugins will help enhance the functionality, security, and performance of your website. Here are some essential plugins you should consider:

1. Yoast SEO: Yoast SEO is a powerful plugin that helps optimize your website for search engines. It provides tools for optimizing meta tags, generating XML sitemaps, improving readability, and analyzing content for SEO purposes.
2. Akismet Anti-Spam: Akismet is a widely trusted plugin that protects your website from comment and form spam. It automatically filters out spam comments and prevents them from cluttering your site.
3. Wordfence Security: Wordfence Security is a comprehensive security plugin that guards your website against malware, hacking attempts, and other security threats. It offers features like firewall protection, malware scanning, login security, and real-time traffic monitoring.
4. UpdraftPlus: UpdraftPlus is a popular backup plugin that allows you to easily schedule automatic backups of your WordPress website. It enables you to store backups in cloud storage services like Google Drive, Dropbox, or Amazon S3, ensuring that you have a reliable backup in case of any issues.
5. Contact Form 7: Contact Form 7 is a versatile plugin for creating and managing contact forms on your website. It comes with customizable form fields, anti-spam measures, and the ability to integrate with various email marketing services.
6. W3 Total Cache: W3 Total Cache is a caching plugin that improves your website’s performance by caching static content, enabling browser caching, and reducing page load times. It also provides features for minifying CSS and JavaScript files.
7. Jetpack: Jetpack is a multi-purpose plugin that offers a wide range of features, including website statistics, social sharing buttons, downtime monitoring, image optimization, and more. It’s a convenient all-in-one solution for many common website needs.
8. Really Simple SSL: If you’re using an SSL certificate to secure your website (which is highly recommended), the Really Simple SSL plugin helps to ensure that your site is fully switched over to HTTPS by handling the necessary redirects and configurations automatically.
9. WPForms: WPForms is a user-friendly drag-and-drop form builder plugin that allows you to create various types of forms, such as contact forms, surveys, order forms, and more. It comes with pre-built templates and advanced features like conditional logic and spam protection.
10. Smush: Smush is an image optimization plugin that helps reduce the file size of your images without sacrificing quality. This improves your website’s loading speed and performance.

Remember, these are just a few essential plugins to get you started. The plugin selection may vary depending on your specific needs and website requirements. Always choose reputable plugins from trusted sources and regularly update them to ensure compatibility and security.