WordPress is a great way to easily create a business website. With thousands of plugins, one could almost say that, if you have a business need, there's a plugin for that. That being said, not all plugins are created equally. As many of the free ones are created by volunteers, the quality and list of features will vary from one developer to the next.

Plugins are small applications that plug into WordPress to give it additional features. Here is a short list of the most essential plugins for your business website:

1. Security

  • Askimest -- Seriously reduces the amount of spam your site will receive. The alternative is to eliminate all forms from your site.
  • Limit Login Attempts -- Limit the number of attempts to unsuccesfully login to your WordPress site. You'll be happy you installed this one the first time it unexpectedly sends you a notification by email.
  • XCloner -- Doesn't matter who you are, always have a backup of your site before you make any changes. Even if you don't know what to do with it when something goes wrong, at least you'll be able to find someone who can help you.
  • Broken Link Checker -- It automates the process of checking your site for broken links for you and will even notify you by email when it finds some.

2. Search Engine Optimization

  • AddThis or ShareThis Social Sharing -- Google is now tracking the popularity of your site to determine it's ranking in search results.
  • WordPress SEO by Yoast -- If you want people to be able to find your website, this plugin will make it easier for search engines to find and understand your website.
  • Google Analytics for WordPress -- Google analytics will help you know whether you are reaching people or not so that you can better focus your business on meeting your customers needs. This plugin conviniently brings the some of that information right into your WordPress Dashboard.

3. Framework Themes

  • Weaver II -- This is an extremely versitile and free WordPress framework theme. It includes most of the options you'll need to make it look just the way you want. It's HTML5, higly configurable and responsive (works just as well with Desktops or SmartPhones). Other nice alternatives include Flexibility 3 and Atahualpa.

4. Apps

  • Event Expresso Lite or Event Registration
  • [Membership Site]
  • [Web Form]
  • [Shopping Cart]

[TO BE CONTINUED…]

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