If you're not familiar with WordPress, it's actually a Content Management System (CMS) which lets you build websites even when you don't know any website design and programming.
If you're planning to build a website, what you do is to buy a domain name (around $14 per year) and subscribe to a hosting account (around $10 per month).
Then you log on to your website's cPanel account and then install WordPress from there.
Because of its ease of use, most new websites are built with WordPress, however, this CMS does have its own limitations.
The design is already preset with WordPress themes and there really isn't much that you can do in terms of changing the design.
Also, functions are also limited and you would normally need several plugins to manage your website better.
There are probably thousands of WordPress plugins out there, but in this article, we will only discuss the must-install WordPress plugins.
The good thing about these websites is that they're all free.
1.
All-in-One SEO This plugin helps to you rank on Google for your most relevant keywords.
This is a free plugin although there is a paid version that includes social media optimization.
2.
XML sitemaps A sitemap is just what it is - a map of your website to help the search engines navigate your website.
3.
Akismet This plugin helps filter spam comments on your website.
If you're site gains traffic, there will spammers (plenty of them) who will try to bombard your website with spam comments for the sake of having a free link back to their website.
4.
Social share plugin In this day and age, all websites must have a social share plugin in order to take leverage on the people's tendency to share content they like on their social media accounts like Twitter and Facebook.
5.
Contact Form 7 Installing a contact form plugin lets visitors to your website contact you without you ever revealing your email address.
When you install this plugin, just copy the short code on the contact form page and paste on a page on your website.
The plugins mentioned above are really just the most basic of plugins.
There are probably thousands of plugins out there.
If you're building a website using WordPress, you should be careful about which WordPress plugins you use and how many you install on your website.
Having too many plugins can and does affect website speed.
Also, as you go along marketing your website and joining forums for information on how to do it, you might comes across plugin sellers that promise you thousands of dollars just by installing their plugin.
Do NOT buy into the hype hook, line and sinker.
Instead, try to find out how a plugin really works and how it might affect the functionality of the other plugins that you're using.
Remember that plugins have programming codes in them and having one kind of plugin might affect how certain other plugins work.