8 plugins I use on every site I code
There are a million plugins out there, and it’s hard to know which ones will work best for your site. Many are built with the beginner in mind, so they just don’t have the flexibility you need to make it appear seamless with the rest of your site design. Some simply make WordPress easier to use, or help you not have to dig into code every time you want to make a tiny change. Here are 8 plugins I use on every site I code:
Knowing which WordPress plugin to use can be hard. Here are 8 that have been game-changers.
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1. Advanced Custom Fields
Friends, the Advanced Custom Fields plugin is a total game changer. This is my secret for making sure everything I code can be edited within WordPress so the user doesn’t have to dig into code.
So, what does it do? A lot actually — more than I can explain in this post. But basically, it allows you to create custom fields in WordPress and display them in your theme. For example, take a look at my home page. Every part of it has its own field in the WordPress editor.
Typically, when you try to do more complex layouts using HTML within the WordPress editor, it strips some things out so it doesn’t work properly, or you’re forced to disable your visual editor so your code doesn’t get messed up. With Advanced Custom Fields, I can create as many fields as I need on a page and put the HTML in my page template instead. So, back to my home page. I can switch out the featured image with a couple of clicks and don’t have to worry about how I place the image. I can change a word in the 3-column section without worrying about messing up the columns.
2. Black Studio TinyMCE Widget
I’ve mentioned the Black Studio TinyMCE Widget before, but it’s worth mentioning again. This plugin adds a Visual Editor widget that works just like the post editor. With the default text widget, if you want to add a link, you have to write the HTML for it. With Black Studio TinyMCE, you just highlight the text, click the link icon, and add your link, just like you would in the post editor. Easy peasy!
3. Simple Image Widget
Jetpack by WordPress comes with an image widget, but it’s pretty limited and not very user-friendly. For starters, you have to upload your image separately in your media library, copy the link, and paste it in the widget. Simple Image Widget takes care of all of that for you. You can upload your image directly in the widget, then add a caption and link if you like. I almost always use this widget for welcome sections in sidebars.
Furthermore, it gives you the option to open the link in a new tab, which is not an option in the Jetpack widget. This is particularly handy for linking to social media platforms.
4. Widget CSS Classes
Widget CSS Classes give you so much flexibility to change up the look of your widget and still keep them easily editable. Because the Black Studio TinyMCE and Simple Image widgets are so user-friendly, I use them for so many different purposes. But I don’t necessarily want them all to look the same.
Maybe I want to give the welcome widget a background. That’s where Widget CSS Classes comes in. It adds a field at the bottom of every widget to add a CSS class. Then you can style that particular widget however you want without affecting similar widgets.
5. Widget Title Links
I’m honestly not sure why this functionality isn’t built into WordPress yet. Widget Title Links adds a field to every widget that allows you to add a link for that title, and also choose if you want to open it in a new window. I use this a lot for social media widgets.
6. Term Management Tools
Term Management Tools is a must-have for any blog migrating from Blogger, but it’s also a great tool to have in general. Blogger doesn’t distinguish between categories and labels, and when people first start blogging, they tend to create labels for everything. Which doesn’t look great when you migrate to WordPress and want to highlight the post category — you end up with a laundry list of labels. Labels import as categories, so I use Term Management Tools to convert everything except broader labels to tags, or merge similar labels into one main category.
It’s also really handy even if you started on WordPress. If you’ve been blogging for a while, you likely have categories you no longer use, or maybe you created a tag for a series you only published once. Term Management Tools makes it easy to combine things and change them.
7. SeedProd Coming Soon Pro
There is a free version, but I use the Pro version (affiliate link) on every site I code because it has something called a bypass URL. The bypass URL allows you to create a link you can share with others to review the site past the coming soon page. It’s also the easiest way to set up a coming soon page and hook it up to your email list.
8. Gravity Forms
I was a hesitant convert to Gravity Forms (affiliate link). Why would I pay so much for it when there are plenty of other contact form plugins out there that work fine for free?
It is worth every penny. The drag and drop form editor is so easy to use, and it’s just a powerful plugin. The add-ons make it even more incredible. It’s how I added an option to sign up for my email list on my contact form, and I use it for every survey I send. Hook it up to Zapier, and the options are truly endless. For example, you can have your client fill out a form on your website, and Zapier will send it to a Trello board, Todoist list, Basecamp project, you name it.
Want to learn how I use these plugins as I code a website? I’ll walk you through my process in Code Create Now. Registration ends tomorrow!
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