8 WordPress Plugins No Freelancer or Consultant Should Live Without

WordPress plugins are the soul of every WordPress website. They come in handy when you need to add extra functionality which on the contrary could require the help of a developer.

What we want to talk about today is that if you’re a beginning freelancer or an online consultant for a web platform, there are a number of plugins that can be deemed as ‘must-haves’.

Usually, the goal of having these essential tools is to bring you up to speed with the rest of the community. There are million other tools that you can explore but there are some that give you that much-needed edge to grow fast.

 

What Kind of Plugins Do Freelancers and Consultants Need?

Pretty sure this question goes through every WordPress enthusiast at some point in time. The kind of plugins that freelancers or consultants require are the ones that boost productivity, SEO rankings, and have additional functionality.

For example, Deeper Comments is an automated response plugin that can easily replace WordPress’s current one. With automated responses, you don’t have to attend to every single comment in person.

 

How Do These Plugins Increase Productivity and SEO Rankings?

Your productivity is directly connected to how much time you save. If you can get your work done fast and easy, you’re bound to be more focused and less procrastinated.

Secondly, certain plugins can index your page, optimize your site’s code, perform multi-level analysis, and make your website faster, therefore, saving you more time.  Search engines favor sites that have better indexing and use shorter code.

Productivity and SEO are facets that people require in their day-to-day tasks which is why there is an emphasis on time-saving and site performance.

But you can also enhance these with WordPress Hosting services pre-optimized for performance.

 

WordPress Plugins No Freelancer or Consultant Should Live Without

Now let’s get down to the plugins:

 

TextExpander

TextExpander is your go-to email snippet tool. It lets you save bodies of text at your disposal that you can use at the whim of a shortcut.

If you’ve never used a template app before then you need this to boost your productivity and time-management.

You can use it as a boilerplate for emails, frequently used code snippets, work it with your excel sheets, grab stuff from your database, use it for quick search bursts, and many more instances where your creativity can lead.

Another plus is that since everything is stored in the cloud, you have cross-platform availability for Windows, Mac, Chrome, and the iPhone App (sorry, no Android app yet!).

 

Hemingway Editor

In his own words: “A Writer’s style should be direct and personal, his imagery rich and earthy, and his words simple and vigorous”. Get what the app does?

Modern internet reading trends have largely shifted to a more personal, short, and simplistic style that resembles Hemingway’s.

This style maintains the correct balance of personality and formality which also aids skimming.

Skimming isn’t cool but that’s the world we live in now. People have less time. Deal with it.

Hemingway Editor simplifies your vocabulary to keep it easy on the eyes, grades it and on a bigger note, it picks out your passive voice sentences to change them to active voice.

This is important because passive voice holds back the charm and makes the sentence longer.

As for pricing, the web app is totally free, but the desktop apps go for Windows and Mac costs $19.99.

It does not have a plugin but there is an integration option within the desktop app.

 

Yoast SEO

Everyone in eCommerce knows that SEO fuels a large part of their business. Search engines direct a lot of traffic to sites that use appropriate keywords, optimization, and proper indexing.

Yoast SEO is your entire SEO suite with features like Schema Integration, XML Sitemaps, site breadcrumbs, innovative data management, and title/meta description.

Also included are advanced SEO analysis, readability analysis, multiple language support, etc.

There is also a premium version that has advanced features like email support and SEO specialized for News, Video, Local, and WooCommerce.

The catch is that it costs $89 for 1 site with free updates and support following for 1 year.

The premium could still be a luxury for some and the free one can take care of you just fine.

Plus, there are extra integrations like Gutenberg and AMP included as well.

 

Buffer

Buffer is a well-known social media schedule service that can organize your marketing campaign for the best output. It has a great analytical side that can measure overall growth.

Now all this is way easier with a plugin at your hand.

All you need to do is first sign up for Buffer, set up your account, get the plugin and that’s it.

With one click, you can upload to all your social media like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Features include auto-posting, dynamic text, API support, social media group posting, etc. and there is also a pro plan for advanced features.

 

Google Drive Embedder

According to the verge, around a billion people use Google Drive.

Google Drive is a huge part of easy-data sharing. It is fast, easy to link, has ample storage, and cheap to afford when extended.

And as if that isn’t enough it is totally free and used by businesses across the globe.

Now Google Drive has been renamed to Google One but a major part of their appeal is the same.

Google Drive Embedder plugin has support for file types such as PDF, DOC, Word, ZIP, Video files, etc. which is great for public websites and direct download links.

 

Constant Contact Forms

Today every business has email marketing needs.

Especially if you’re into eCommerce, forms are where you indirectly communicate with your user base for tasks like newsletters, updates, inquiries, sign ups, logins, and much more.

Constant Contact is an email marketing service that offers its form platform as a plugin.

The best thing is that you don’t need to sign up for Constant Contact to use the service.

With the Constant Contact Forms plugin, you can create forms that are simple, clean, mobile-friendly, you can select a theme that fits your website, and customizable for relevant information.

It works on PHP which means it's fast, secure, and robust.

 

WP Project Manager

If you work in a team, then you know that management can be challenging if not outright debilitating.

Project management apps are great but when you’re on WordPress, it's better to have one that works with the environment.

WP Project Manager includes features like To-Do lists, Milestone Events, Messages for Formal Communication, Flexible File Sharing, Notifications, Push Notifications, and there is a pro version with features like Frontend Management, Kanbo Board, Gantt Chart, etc.

The interface is great, works with all kinds of teams, no compromise on privacy, personal dashboards, and what else can you ask for.

 

Testimonials

Know that little niche slider thing that has feedback comments from people that used the product or service?

It’s a nice overall touch that leaves an impression and gives an authentic feel to the website.

There are multiple benefits to having a testimonial section.

Your potential customers get to know your site better, a great way to showcase niche features, and even improve conversion rates.

Testimonials plugin is mobile-friendly, intuitive, minimal, no limits on testimony cards, unlimited color options, star rating system, multiple sliders/showcases, touchscreen support, widget support, RTL support, supports all modern browsers, and much more.

 

Conclusion

The best part about all plugins is that they are generally free. There are pro versions but the core features are always summarized in the free one itself.

You can try each one out and see what works for you but in the end, you might find them all worth keeping.

Now it’s your turn. What do you think about our plugins? Are there any that you could add? Or have you used one from the list and have something to share?

Whatever your thoughts may be, please do let us know in the comments below.