Best & Essential WordPress Plugins to Grow Your Blog
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Have you ever been curious about what goes on behind the scenes at Artmellows.com?It’s been a while since we last posted our list of important WordPress plugins for running our art & tech-based website.
Check out our comprehensive guide to starting, Grow & Monetize Digital Art Blog : 🌐How to start a Design & art blog -48 Point Comprehensive Checklist for starting a Digital ART blog
So, if you’re running a WordPress site and want to learn about the must-have WordPress plugins, you’ve come to the perfect spot.
We’ll offer a list of the plugins that power Artmellows.com as well as a few more vital plugins.
Without further ado, let’s get down to business.
Here is the WordPress Plugins List!
The 15 Most Important WordPress Plugins for Blogging and making money Online.
Note: Most of them work free very well, However if you want extended and premium Features you’d need to go for Premium Version of the Plugin.
7 Must have essential WordPress plugins & 5 Optional Plugins for successful Online Business as a Designer & Artist
What are Essential WordPress Plugins for Successful Design & Art Blogging Business
- Best Affiliate plugin: Lasso Affiliate Plugin( Optional)
- The Best SEO Plugin: Rankmath SEO Plugin( Must have)
- The best page Builder Plugin Elementor Pro( Optional)
- The best Speedup Plugin – Wp Rocket ( Must have paid tool to speed up your site)
- The best Email marketing – All Hubspot
- The best Google Analytics Plugin: Monster Insights(Paid Plugin) / Google site Kit(Free)- (Must have)
- The Best Security Plugin: Sucuri Security( Must have)
- Smush Pro– Image Size Reduction Plugin( Must have)
- Weblizar Pin It Button On Image Hover And Post( Pin your Images- Optional )
- Akismet ( Spam Alert Plugin)
- Editorial Calendar( Optional)
Lasso Plugin
Summary:
There’s a good chance that if you run an affiliate marketing business from a specialized website, you’ve experienced some of the same problems over and over again.
Just a few of them are as follows:
Managing Links How do you ensure that all of your links are current across the site when you have dozens or even hundreds of them?
Pricing Changes – Catches all the Price Changes of the products you are recommending
Click Throughs It might be difficult to convince visitors to really click the links on your website and purchase the things you offer and is significant because this is how you are compensated for your affiliate work.
Overall Rating 4.6/5
User Friendliness 4.6/5
Price 3.0/5( too pricey at $39/month)
Customer Service4.1/5
PROS
- User-friendly tool
- Allows You to Create Links for Any Other Affiliate Programs
- Update links in one place, rather than each one individually
- You can customize good-looking display boxes
- Keywords Allow You to Find Missed Opportunities
CONS
- On the pricy side $39/Website/Month( was $29/month) ( I’d say It’s Kind of worth it, but the plugin may slow down your website a bit)
- customer support is not great
- The Plugin itself needs a Lot of corrections
Also Read:
- Why SEO is important for your online success [Explained]
- Why keyword research is important for Blogging Business | PepBlogging|
- How to do affiliate marketing : The Effective Guide To Do Affiliate Marketing For Any niche Website
- What skills are required to become a productive blogger?
- How to Leave your 9-5 job and start Blogging to make money in 2023
RankMath- SEO Plugin( Free & Premium)
Rank Math: If you operate a travel blog and want to increase your search traffic, the Rank Math SEO plugin is a must-have.
It’s a WordPress plugin that aids in the optimization of your blog posts for specific keywords.
It also includes a free version that comes with a lot of features, but if you want, even more, you can upgrade to one of their premium plans.
You can also read our Rank Math plugin review for more information on this plugin and all of its capabilities.
It offers you incredible features like;
- Possibility of optimizing your text for a maximum of 5 keywords
- Keep track of where your keywords appear in the search results.
- Redirections(301)
- This program allows you to automatically add ALT and title tags to your photographs. It also includes a redirection manager.
- Provides you with a 404 monitor to assist you in resolving your 404 error pages.
- This is only the beginning of the list…..
Install Rankmath Plugin for Free here..
PROS
- All-in-one WordPress SEO Plugin
- Easy-to-use Interface
- The Only One-size-fits-all SEO Solution for WordPress
- Your Go-to SEO Plugin
CONS
- Too many features may be overwhelming for Newbie users.
- Some image features may not be the clearest.
Overall Rating 4.6/5
User Friendliness 4.6/5
Price 3.7/5
Customer Service 4.1/5
Our Verdict:
Rankmath: is the most popular scheduled SEO plugin in the WordPress repository, with many active installations.
It’s one of the most feature-rich WordPress SEO plugins available. Rank Math is a comprehensive WordPress SEO plugin.
It is one of the most comprehensive plugins of its kind available and is frequently cited as the best performer.
Rank Math also has a free version with far more features and utility than any other comparable free SEO plugin.
Also Read:
- How to start an art blog -48 Point Checklist for starting an ART blog
- How your Art Portfolio website can benefit from blogging-Blogging for Design Business
- How to do affiliate marketing: The Effective Guide To Do Affiliate Marketing For Any niche Website
- The Ultimate Guide TO Affiliate marketing- The Beginner’s guide
- How to Get Blog post ideas for artists -10 Easy & Effective Ways
Sucuri Security( Free and Premium)
Sucuri Security: Because hundreds of WordPress sites are hacked every day, security for your travel blog is critical.
Although utilizing a safe web host such as Siteground or Blue Host might be beneficial, you should also consider installing security plugins such as Sucuri
It comes with a firewall that detects and prevents harmful traffic.
It also includes a real-time IP blocklist that protects your website while decreasing server load by blocking all requests from the most harmful IPs. It’s also completely free to use.
Download & Install Sucuri WP Plugin here
All Hubspot (Email marketing ) Plugin
All Hubspot: You should back up your site on a regular basis so that you can recover all of your files in the event of data loss.
The All Hubspot plugin comes into action at this point.
It’s completely free to use. Click here to download All Hubspot plugins here. If you want better Functionality go for the Hubspot Premium version
PROS
- Embedded Standalone page
- Pop-up box
- Dropdown banner
- Slide in the left/right box
CONS
- It is a bit confusing for a Newbie
- Data from email workflows is often scattered and difficult to find.
Overall Rating 3.9/5
User Friendliness 3.9/5
Price 2.6/5
Customer Service 4.1/5
Get Hubspot Free Trail Now
Our Verdict:
Hubspot Plugin is the most popular CRM/email marketing plugin in the WordPress repository,
Hubspot WordPress Plugin for Email Marketing that helps you Grow more easily. Grow more quickly. Improve your growth.
With free forms, live chat, CRM (contact management), email marketing, and analytics, you can capture, organize, and engage web visitors.
It is simple to use and does not require any coding. Built into WordPress natively.
Also Read:
- The 15-Step SEO Checklist for Online Business to Grow your Business in 2023
- WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU NEGLECT SEO for your blogging Business?
- Go from Meh to magic with these Advanced SEO Tips for artists & Creatives
- Content Strategy for artists & Creatives – A Month of Blog content planning in 30 Minutes
- How to start an interior design blog to make money in 2023[ Design blogging]
UpDraftPlus (Free & premium)
UpdraftPlus: You should back up your site on a regular basis so that you can recover all of your files in the event of data loss.
The UpdraftPlus plugin comes into action at this point.
You may upload a full backup of your files and database backups to the cloud with this plugin and restore them with a single click.
It’s completely free to use. Click here to download Free Updraft Plus version. If you want better Functionality go for the UpdraftPlus Premium version
PROS
- All-in-one WordPress Backup Plugin
- Easy-to-use Interface
- The Only One-size-fits-all Backup Solution for WordPress
- Easily duplicates or migrates websites (with Migrator)
- The restoration process of your backup is too easy.
- Tested on over 1 million websites.
CONS
- On the pricy side
- This plugin doesn’t offer any security scanning or malware monitoring.
Our Verdict:
UpdraftPlus is the most popular scheduled backup plugin in the WordPress repository,
with over a million active installations.
It’s one of the most feature-rich WordPress backup plugins available.
Even inexperienced users will find it simple to set up and restore backups with UpdraftPlus.
Overall Rating 4.6/5
User Friendliness 4.6/5
Price 3.7/5
Customer Service 4.1/5
Get Updraft PLUS Now!
It has more cloud backup options than the majority of other plugins.
UpdraftPlus is the best backup solution if you don’t want to sacrifice speed.
It consumes fewer server resources than most of its competitors because it is highly optimized for server performance.
UpdraftPlus is one of the best WordPress backup plugins available on the market.
Also Read:
- How to do affiliate marketing: The Effective Guide To Do Affiliate Marketing For Any niche Website
- The Ultimate Guide TO Affiliate marketing- The Beginner’s guide
Elementor Pro Plugin( paid)
Elementor: Elementor is a plugin that allows you to create themes and web pages.
In order to avoid having to custom code everything, this plugin is a great choice if you’re sick of seeing the same look and feel on everyone else’s blogs.
If you are just starting Elementor Free will do, however, if you need to add many extra Features you would need Elementor pro.
Overall Rating 4.6/5
User Friendliness 4.6/5
Price 3.4/5
Customer Service 4.1/5
PROS
- User-friendly tool
- Customization
- Great Integration Capabilities
- Responsive Design – Optimize Mobile, Tablet & Desktop Views
CONS
- Performance/ Site Speed Issues
- customer support is not great
- Big Updates Have Caused Glitches/ Headaches
- Learning Curve For Beginners
Also Read:
- 10 Beginner blogger mistakes you must avoid NO matter what
- 10 the most profitable blog niches that make tons of money in 2023
- 110+ Best Blog Niches to make Money Online
- 15 Cult-fave things to do before you launch a Design Blog- A Beginners Guide
- 15+ Best Blogging Tools for ARTISTS & Creatives[ Blogging for Artists & Creatives]
Monster Insights – the best Google analytics Plugin
Monster Insights: You may have heard that the best Google Analytics WordPress plugin is MonsterInsights. Many well-known companies, such as Microsoft, Bloomberg, FedEx, and Zillow use it as well.
If you want to use all of the premium features, like eCommerce reports, conversion tracking, and priority support, you’ll need to upgrade to MonsterInsights Pro from the free version.
Download & Install Monster Insights here
Overall Rating 4.6/5
User Friendliness 4.6/5
Price 3.7/5
Customer Service4.1/5
PROS
- Helps to Increase Your Website Traffic
- Easy Google Analytics Set Up
- Understand Your Audience with Advanced Tracking
- Save Time on Finding and Viewing Reports
- Helps You Learn How to Grow Your Email List
- Update links in one place, rather than each one individually
CONS
- On the pricier side
- Limited Free Version
Also Read:
- How to do affiliate marketing: The Effective Guide To Do Affiliate Marketing For Any niche Website
- Why Keyword Research is CRUCIAL!
WP Rocket( Paid)- The Best speed up Plugin
WP Rocket:
Do you want to make your WordPress site faster?
WP Rocket is one of the best WordPress cache plugins for speeding up your website.
It can assist you in making your website or blog Google Core Web Vitals Score compatible, which indicates whether your URLs meet Google page performance guidelines.
Wp Rocket is a strong plugin that improves the speed and performance of your website. This plugin also aids you in achieving the LPC (Largest Content Paints), one of Google’s most important ranking metrics.
Download & Install WP Rocket Plugin here
WP Rocket Key Benefits:
- There are several cache options, including page cache, mobile cache, and preload.
- Reduce the size of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript files.
- LazyLoad and Webp Caching for media optimization Integration options for CDN, Facebook Pixel, Google Analytics, and more.
- Cleanup of the database, including posts, comments, and deleted files
- Reduce HTTP requests.
Overall Rating 4.6/5
User Friendliness 4.6/5
Price 3.7/5
Customer Service 4.1/5
WP Rocket pros & Cons 2022
PROS
- Cache Optimization
- File Optimization
- Media Optimization
- Preload Optimization
- Database Optimization
CONS
- No Free Trial
- customer support is not great
Also, read…
- 🌐How to start a Design & art blog -48 Point Comprehensive Checklist for starting a Digital ART blog
- Why SEO is important for your online success [Explained]
- Why keyword research is important for Blogging Business | PepBlogging|
- What skills are required to become a productive blogger?
- WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU NEGLECT SEO for your blogging Business?
Google Site Kit( Free)
Google site Kit: It’s critical to keep track of your site’s traffic so you can figure out what your most popular content is and how people are finding your site.
Although Google Analytics may be used to track your traffic, you can use this useful plugin to view all of your metrics from the dashboard.
With just a few clicks, you can set up Google Analytics for WordPress and see real-time analytics in your Google Analytics dashboard. Installing it is completely free. Download Google site Kit here for free
Smush Pro( Free & Paid)
Smush Pro: If you’re writing a travel blog, you’re probably utilizing a lot of photographs. Installing a free plugin like Smush, which lowers your picture size to optimize website loading speeds, is a better solution.
You may also bulk-reduce the size of your photographs. This plugin also includes “Lossless Compression,” which compresses photos without compromising image quality.
Download & Install Smush Plugin here for Free
Weblizar Pin It Button On Image Hover And Post( free)
Weblizar Pin It Button On Image Hover And Post( free). This plugin is using the Pinterest javascript library to pin your images on your website and the user is required to login to Pinterest for the image to be pinned to your Pinterest account.
Weblizar Pin it button on the image hover plugin provides the facility to pin your blog posts, pages, and images into your Pinterest account boards.
Simply install then activate the plugin and start pinning. You can show or hide the pin it button in the post/page.
You can enable or disable the pin it button on the image hover through the plugin settings tab.
Features
- Show Pinterest Pin It Button On Image Hover
- Show Pinterest Pin It Button In Post
- Show Pinterest Pin It Button On Page
- Pinterest Pin It Button Settings
- Customizable Button Size On Hover
- Multilingual – Translatable in Any Language
Download & Install the Weblizar plugin for Free here
Akismet Anti-Spam( Free)
Akismet Anti-Spam: With over 5 million active downloads, Akismet is one of the most popular WordPress plugins.
This free WordPress plugin automatically examines all comments and filters out spam comments, ensuring that spammers do not leave unwanted links on your site.
Download & install Akismet Anti-Spam Plugin here
Editorial Calendar( Free)
13. Editorial Calendar: If you want to be successful at blogging, you need to be consistent.
You may not have enough time as a travel blogger to write content on a regular basis.
Here’s when having an editorial schedule comes in handy for batching your pieces or draughts.
This WordPress plugin displays a timeline of your blog’s posts and when they will be published.
To control your complete blog posting schedule, you may just drag & drop your blog.
Download & Install Editorial Calendar Plugin here
Some FAQs( Essential WordPress Plugins)
How to Install Essential WordPress Plugins on Blogs: Frequently Asked Questions
Listed below is a collection of some of the more fascinating questions pertaining to the installation of must-have plugins for WordPress sites in 2022 and beyond.
In order to maximize the functionality of my WordPress site, Should I install as many plugins as possible?
You should keep the number of plugins you use to 15 to 20 at the most.
Despite the fact that we have a massive site that is nearly ten years old, we are still restricting our plugin usage to less than twenty since we are aware that having too many plugins might slow down our site’s loading speeds.
GetResoponse for Email Marketing Tool
GetRespnse
Getresponse makes it simple to capture more leads and sell more items by allowing users to effortlessly embed email capture forms anywhere on their website.
- Getresponse Free — this free plan lets you use a cut-down version of Getresponse indefinitely, so long as your list remains under 500 records in size.
- Email Marketing — this starts at $19 per month and lets you send an unlimited number of emails to up to 1,000 subscribers.
- Max – custom pricing
- Max2 — custom pricing.
- Marketing Automation — starting at $59 per month for up to 1,000 subscribers.
- E-commerce Marketing — starting at $119 per month for up to 1,000 subscribers
Can I install plugins on WordPress.com? Is this possible?
No, until you upgrade to the commercial plan, you will not be able to install plugins on WordPress.com
What are widgets in the context of WordPress?
There is a distinction between plug-ins and widgets in the WordPress world.
Plugins are extensions that must be installed and enabled before they can be used, whereas widgets are drag-and-drop content sections that may be added to your site once the necessary plugins have been active and the widgets have been installed.
Which WordPress plugins are the most effective for e-commerce?
A list of some of the greatest plugins you can use to keep your online businesses running well is provided below.
WP eCommerce, WooCommerce, Cart66 Cloud, Ecwid E-commerce Shopping Cart, Easy Digital Downloads, WooCommerce, Cart66 Cloud, WP eCommerce, Ecwid E-commerce Shopping Cart, Ecwid E-commerce Shopping Cart, Easy Digital Downloads

Wrapping Up…
Conclusions on the Best WordPress Plugins for designers…
Although the WordPress directory contains a large number of plugins, the majority of them are not required.
That being said, you must install the important WordPress plugins listed above in order to maintain a powerful WordPress site.
So, what plugins do you have installed right now?
Are there any plugins on the list that you think we missed? Let us know what you think in the comments.

About the Author: Div Acharya is the co-founder of Artmellows. Div is an entrepreneur, Lifestyle Blogger & Blogging Strategist.
She loves Blogging about Online Learning, Blogging Business, Lifestyle, Travel, Home Decor, Pets, and Digital Marketing. Learn more about Div Acharya