Wordpress' 4 Essential Free Plugins for Your Sites

At the time I'm writing this article, there are more than 57,000 WordPress plugins available, but I wanted to put together a selection of the ones I find essential, and which could even save your life (it happened to me)!

The plugins I'm presenting in this list are here for a specific feature present in their free version.

You may already be using other paid extensions that already combine several of these features, but I wanted to be able to provide a list of the strict essentials without spending anything.

For those who might be interested, I use WordPress with the theme and builder Divi which I present in this article.

BackWPup

Categories: Backup, backup

If there's one essential plugin, it's the one for making a regular backup of your WordPress site. There are hundreds of them, but I was looking for a free one that didn't require paying a monthly fee for backup storage, and BackWPup is perfect for the job!

On the menu (free), this extension offers us:

• A manual, automated (with CRON) backup or one triggered by external call
• Numerous options for backup locations (Local, FTP, S3, Dropbox, Azure,...)
• Backup of all or part of the files + the database
• Email alert if the backup failed to run properly
• ...

For me this extension is absolutely essential, it will allow you to restore your site in case of a mistake, an attack, etc... But also simply to be able to migrate your site without too much trouble if you need to.

Extension link: https://wordpress.org/plugins/backwpup/

GDPR Cookie Compliance

Categories: GDPR, tracking, data

If you integrate tracking scripts into your site (such as Google Analytics, Facebook Pixel), advertising scripts, or if you store user data for the site to function, you're likely aware that you must comply with the GDPR: General Data Protection Regulation.

"GDPR Cookie Compliance" is therefore an extension that lets you manage all of this in a very simplified way:

• Activation of a customizable banner (text and design)
• Settings management popup for the visitor
• Floating button for later management of cookies
• Choice of default behavior for tracking scripts
• ...

In short, everything you need to be compliant not only with the law, but also with ethics when it comes to your visitors' data!

Extension link: https://wordpress.org/plugins/gdpr-cookie-compliance/

Jetpack

Categories: Audit, uptime, security

Jetpack is a Swiss Army knife extension; in its premium version it offers a huge number of features, ranging from content cleanup to backing up your site.

But in its free version, Jetpack already brings together three interesting features:

• An audit of your site's uptime (with alerts if your site is unavailable)
• Prevention of brute-force attacks
• Basic visitor statistics (but without cookies)

The only small drawback of Jetpack is that it must be linked to a wordpress.com account, but that's normal given that the uptime audit needs to be carried out independently of the site itself.

Link to the extension: https://wordpress.org/plugins/jetpack/

Yoast SEO

Categories: SEO, marketing, social networks

You may already know this, but Yoast SEO is the #1 plugin for WordPress site SEO. Among other things, it offers advice on how to optimize your organic search ranking in the paid version, but in its free version it already lets you:

• Precisely configure your page titles and descriptions
• Manage your open-graph tags (social networks)
• Receive some basic tips on writing for SEO

Link to the extension: https://wordpress.org/plugins/wordpress-seo/

As a bonus

It's not an extension, but here's a very interesting checklist of things to do to secure your WordPress site, containing best practices, other extensions, and all kinds of advice, worth keeping handy!

The checklist: https://wpsecuritychecklist.org/items/