Announcing Duplicator WP-CLI Commands (And How They Speed Up Backups)
Looking for a smarter way to manage site backups? Explore Duplicator's new features, including customizable WP-CLI commands and permission settings!
Announcing Duplicator WP-CLI Commands (And How They Speed Up Backups)
Joella Dunn
Joella Dunn
John Turner
John Turner
WordPress has thousands of free plugins. So how do you know which ones are truly valuable?
After rigorous testing and real-world use, I’ve found the best free WordPress plugins! These tools can transform your site without any unnecessary costs.
Let’s dive in and explore the free plugins that can take your WordPress site to the next level.
Here’s a quick rundown of the best free WordPress plugins. However, stay tuned for our full list of helpful (and affordable) tools for your website!
With thousands of free WordPress plugins available, it can be tough to know exactly which one is worth getting. Fortunately, we’ve put together a list of the best options for you!
| Plugin | Free? | Premium Pricing | Best For |
| Duplicator | ✅ | $49.50/yr | Website backups and migrations |
| WPForms | ✅ | $49.50/yr | Creating contact forms |
| AIOSEO | ✅ | $49.60/yr | Improving SEO |
| MonsterInsights | ✅ | $99.60/yr | Viewing audience analytics |
| SeedProd | ✅ | $39.50/yr | Designing your website without code |
| Easy Digital Downloads | ✅ | $99.50/yr | Selling digital products |
| WPCode | ✅ | $49/yr | Adding code snippets to your website |
| WP Mail SMTP | ✅ | $49/yr | Improving email deliverability |
| Smash Balloon | ✅ | $299 one time | Integrating social media feeds into your site |
| EWWW Image Optimizer | ✅ | $7/mo | Optimizing your site’s images |
| Wordfence Security | ✅ | $119/yr | Improving security |
| WP Super Cache | ✅ | Free | Improving speed with caching |
| WooCommerce | ✅ | $39+ for each paid extension | Starting an e-commerce store |
With over 30 million downloads, Duplicator is the best free WordPress plugin. This tool will help you back up, clone, and even migrate your entire website.
Even though these tasks might seem complicated and expensive, Duplicator can do them for free.
Duplicator Lite will create backups and store them on your local server. This speeds up your workflow since you won’t have to manually export your files and database.
Once you create a backup, you can customize it. There are presets for full-site and database-only backups. You can also use file and database table filters to download the right data.
Then, Duplicator will give you an archive file, which is a full copy of your WordPress files, themes, plugins, media files, and database. You’ll also have an installer.php file that can unpack the archive in a new location.
This means you can use Duplicator to easily migrate your website anywhere.
Upload the archive and installer files to the new server. Then, the Duplicator migration wizard will give you step-by-step instructions on how to import your original site files.
If you ever need to restore your site, simply upload a backup back onto your own server. Since you don’t have to log into your dashboard, Duplicator can roll back hacked sites that are completely down.
Duplicator is a flexible free tool that can function as a backup plugin and a migration plugin. It can perform large-scale migrations for free, as well as simple daily backups.
Alternatives: Jetpack and UpdraftPlus are two other backup and migration plugins. However, Jetpack doesn’t provide a free version. With UpdraftPlus, you’ll be able to backup, restore, and migrate your site, but many essential features are limited to the paid version (which is more expensive than similar competitors).
Whether you run a WordPress blog or an e-commerce store, you’ll probably need some type of form on your website. With WPForms, you can create and manage many types of online forms without breaking the bank.
WPForms is a user-friendly drag-and-drop form builder. Even if you’re new to WordPress, this allows you to effortlessly create forms that suit your specific needs. Without needing to code, you can build contact forms, surveys, newsletter sign-ups, event registrations, and more!
To make this even easier, WPForms provides pre-designed form templates. These immediately set up a variety of forms, allowing you to quickly engage your audience. You won’t need to spend hours manually creating each form from scratch.
For beginners seeking a cost-effective yet powerful form plugin to get more user submissions, WPForms Lite stands as a clear winner.
A powerful Search Engine Optimization (SEO) tool can be the difference between a hidden gem and a thriving online presence. All in One SEO is a free WordPress SEO plugin that drives organic traffic, enhances visibility, and elevates search engine rankings.
After you craft compelling content, you’ll need to optimize it for search engines. Fortunately, this is where AIOSEO Lite excels. AIOSEO analyzes your content in real-time, providing suggestions to enhance readability, keyword density, and overall SEO score.
Plus, AIOSEO performs a full SEO audit for your entire website. You’ll see exactly which areas need improvement, so you can create a targeted SEO strategy.
AIOSEO gives you the necessary tools to start your SEO journey without any steep learning curves or hidden costs.
Alternative: Yoast SEO is another popular SEO plugin. However, we’d recommend All in One SEO because of its user access control, customizable sitemaps, and SEO audit checklist. And more importantly, AIOSEO Pro is much cheaper than the premium version of Yoast SEO.
MonsterInsights stands out as the best free WordPress plugin for connecting your site with Google Analytics. At its core, MonsterInsights is a data-driven solution designed to help you understand your audience, enhance user experience, and optimize content strategies.
With MonsterInsights, you’ll be able to view real-time data on user behavior, traffic sources, popular pages, and more. You’ll have an instant snapshot of your site’s performance and monitor changes as they happen.
MonsterInsights also gives you page-level insights, helping you understand which content is resonating the most with your audience. This information is crucial for refining your content strategy and focusing on what works best.
Whether you’re a novice or an experienced website owner, MonsterInsights is a valuable tool for making data-driven decisions that benefit your WordPress site.
SeedProd is a versatile and user-friendly page builder plugin designed to help you create captivating web pages. Even in its free version, SeedProd offers a comprehensive set of features that make it a standout choice for WordPress users.
SeedProd’s user-friendly drag-and-drop builder allows you to craft visually appealing landing pages without any coding skills. With a wide variety of customizable elements, you can seamlessly design your site’s front end.
The plugin has a collection of professionally designed templates for everything from product launches to event registrations. These layouts kick-start your landing page creation process.
The drag-and-drop builder, pre-designed templates, and seamless email marketing integration offer an unparalleled advantage for crafting captivating landing pages. SeedProd ensures that your website not only looks stunning but also converts effectively.
Alternative: Elementor is a popular page builder plugin, but SeedProd is more affordable. Plus, it allows you to activate maintenance mode or 404 pages with just one click.
Easy Digital Downloads revolutionizes how businesses sell digital products on their websites. Designed with simplicity and effectiveness in mind, Easy Digital Downloads empowers website owners to effortlessly distribute their digital goods in WordPress.
Using this ecommerce plugin, you can easily sell online items like art, ebooks, software, and more. You’ll simply have to add a new download and set a price for it.
With the free version, you can use Stripe, PayPal, and Amazon Pay. This gives your customers flexible options when it comes to payment.
Its intuitive product management, reliable payment gateways, and insightful reporting have made Easy Digital Downloads an invaluable asset to online businesses.
WPCode is a free code snippets plugin that allows you to insert code snippets into your website without editing any theme files. Since this prevents any coding errors and speeds up the development process, WPCode is a very beginner-friendly tool.
As you’re using WPCode, it has a smart code snippet validation to check any code snippets for errors. You won’t have to ever worry about breaking your website after adding a header or footer script!
Plus, WPCode has an extensive library of code snippets developed by experts. You can simply find the functionality you need and hit Add Snippet.
WPCode allows you to elevate your websites’ look and functionality without complex manual coding.
WP Mail SMTP guarantees that your important emails land in recipients’ inboxes without a hitch. It resolves the common email delivery challenges that website owners often encounter.
WP Mail SMTP Lite reconfigures the default WordPress email system to use a trusted SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) provider such as Gmail, SendGrid, or Mailgun. You’ll be able to track sent, failed, and successful emails to monitor your website’s communication performance.
This plugin resolves a longstanding challenge for bloggers and e-commerce business owners, ensuring that their messages reach their intended recipients.
Smash Balloon is a WordPress plugin that allows you to integrate your social media presence into your WordPress website. Depending on your goals, it offers two different free versions to help you embed your Instagram and Facebook posts in your web pages.
The Smash Balloon Social Photo Feed plugin can showcase your Instagram photos with elegance. You’ll be able to display your latest Instagram posts in a stunning photo gallery. This can help you link your online accounts and increase engagement.
With the Social Post Feed plugin, Smash Balloon enables you to seamlessly integrate your Facebook content into your WordPress website. You can show your latest Facebook posts, maintaining a dynamic and updated online presence.
Smash Balloon seamlessly integrates social feeds of both Instagram and Facebook, and provides extensive customization options. This allows you to create visually captivating displays that resonate with your brand.
If you want to boost user experience (UX) on your website, it’s best to decrease its load time. One of the best ways to do this is to optimize your images. With EWWW Image Optimizer, you can quickly compress your media files, instantly increasing your web performance.
EWWW Image Optimizer can optimize your entire image library in one go, saving you time and ensuring a consistently optimized website. After installation, every image you upload to your website is automatically compressed.
The convenience of bulk optimization and automatic compression prioritizes efficiency and productivity.
Alternative: Smush is a free plugin that will optimize images with compression and lazy loading.
To make sure your website is safe from hacks and other security threats, you’ll need to improve your WordPress security precautions. Often, the best way to do this is to install a security plugin like Wordfence Security.
Wordfence Security’s dynamic malware scanner inspects your website for malicious code and vulnerabilities. Backed by an intelligent firewall, it instantly blocks suspicious traffic, ensuring your site is safe from cyber attacks.
Wordfence Security offers a free way to defend your site against threats by including two-factor authentication, dynamic malware scanning, and an intelligent firewall.
Alternative: Sucuri Security is another popular WordPress security plugin.
Developed by the same company behind WordPress, WP Super Cache is one of the best caching plugins you can find. This free tool can transform your website’s speed and responsiveness, ensuring an optimal user experience.
WP Super Cache uses caching techniques that transform your dynamic WordPress content into static HTML files. This accelerates your website’s loading time, allowing people to access your content from around the world.
WP Super Cache is ideal if you want to provide a lightning-fast and seamless browsing experience to your visitors. It’s particularly well-suited for those seeking to optimize their website’s performance without delving into complex technical configurations.
Alternative: WP Rocket is a premium plugin that automatically applies page and browser caching and GZIP compression. However, there’s no free version available.
If you want to turn your WordPress site into an online store, consider using WooCommerce. This free e-commerce plugin allows you to set up, manage, and expand your digital storefront with ease.
With the WooCommerce plugin, you can showcase an extensive range of products with detailed descriptions, images, and customizable attributes. From credit cards to PayPal, you can offer a variety of payment options.
Plus, WooCommerce is easy to customize. Along with the basic free plugin, there are themes and add-ons to help you make your store unique.
WooCommerce is a good choice for entrepreneurs, small businesses, and established brands looking to establish an online storefront. Its versatility caters to a wide range of industries, from retail and fashion to digital products and services.
If you’re looking for a tool for website migration and backups, Duplicator is the best free WordPress plugin. It takes the hassle out of transferring your website to another location or creating consistent backups. With Duplicator, you’ll have smooth transitions, easy cloning, and secure backups without breaking a sweat.
However, the world of WordPress plugins isn’t limited to just one gem. If you want to create dynamic and interactive forms, WPForms steps up to the plate. As a top-tier free plugin, WPForms effortlessly crafts stunning forms, enhancing user engagement on your website.
If you’re focused on optimizing your website’s search engine visibility and performance, All in One SEO is a prime contender. This free plugin equips you with the tools needed to fine-tune your SEO strategy.
When it comes to enhancing your WordPress website without breaking the bank, free plugins can be a game-changer.
I like to compare plugins to apps on your phone. They can add more functionality to WordPress, improve user experience, and boost your site’s performance, all without costing you a dime.
If you’re new to WordPress, here’s a step-by-step guide to help you navigate this treasure trove!
Before you start hunting for plugins, outline your website’s needs. Are you aiming to improve SEO, enhance security, or integrate your social media posts? Knowing your objectives will guide your search and prevent you from getting overwhelmed.
Your first stop should be the official WordPress Plugin Directory on WordPress.org. This is a trusted source where you can find an extensive collection of free plugins.
You can simply search for your specific goal and find plugins with that functionality.
You can also access this directory from your WordPress admin dashboard. Simply log into your WordPress dashboard, navigate to Plugins, and click Add New.
Search for the specific plugin or functionality you’re looking for. For example, if you need to block spam comments, you might search for an anti-spam tool like Akismet.
Pay attention to the ratings and reviews of each plugin. This tells you how well a plugin performs and whether it’s user-friendly. Aim for plugins with high ratings and positive reviews to make sure you have a good experience.
You may also want to find a free plugin with a high number of active installs. This indicates popularity and ongoing development. Also, ensure that the plugin is compatible with your version of WordPress to avoid compatibility issues.
Be sure to check the Last Updated date. Plugins that are regularly updated are more likely to stay secure and compatible with other plugins and themes.
Once you find the right free WordPress plugin, we’d recommend testing it on a staging site first. This way, you can thoroughly check for incompatibility issues with other plugins or themes on your website.
After installing a plugin on a staging site, test its functionality. Make sure it works as expected and doesn’t negatively impact your site’s performance or user experience. Then, you can install it on your live site!
Some of the most used WordPress plugins are Akismet, Contact Form 7, WooCommerce, and WPForms. These all have over 5 million active installations each.
As a WordPress site owner, here are some free plugins we’d recommend installing:
Alternatives: There are many useful free plugins that we’ve left out to help you avoid choice paralysis. Other options include Slider by Soliloquy, TrustPulse, PushEngage, Sugar Calendar, WP Charitable, Really Simple SSL, and many more.
Once you find the right plugins, you’ll need to install them. To do this, check out this helpful tutorial on how to install WordPress plugins.
You can get good WordPress plugins for free by browsing what’s available on WordPress.org. Once you find a plugin that meets your functional needs, check out the reviews, ratings, compatibility, and software updates. This ensures you get a free plugin that’s high quality.
As long as you find high-quality plugins that are well-coded, there’s no limit to the number of plugins you can use. However, keep in mind that you should only install plugins that you actually plan on using. This prevents you from having to clean up your WordPress site later due to unexpected performance issues.
We hope this helped you find the best free WordPress plugins for your website!
While you’re here, I think you’ll like these extra WordPress guides:
Do you want to start protecting your website by backing it up regularly? Download Duplicator Pro and easily set up automatic backups!
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