How to Install WordPress Plugins + 4 FREE Plugins you need for your new blog.
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This is part four of a four-part series about starting a blog. If you missed parts 1 through 3 go ahead and read the part you didn’t get to see (links to previous parts are at the bottom of this post), then come back on over to this post (don’t worry there will be a link to come back!)
In this post, we are going to talk about the plugins I recommend the most highly. These are the plugins that have brought me the most help and success.
The free plugins I recommend having from the start are:
Jetpack by. WordPress (multiple plugins such as, about me, images, and social buttons)
Yoast SEO (SEO: Search Engine Optimization. This makes your blog easier to find on google and Pinterest)
Disqus (Comments that are not easy to get spam through. Everyone needs a Disqus account to comment)
SumoMe (Create an email list and social buttons)
This is all you need to start and run your blog for a while (this is almost all the plugins I use on my blog even now)
Jetpack:
Allows me to place an image, and about me in my sidebar. It also allows me to have social icons in my sidebar. Jetpack is a group of plugins you get just by installing a single plugin. I use it mostly just for the widgets I can put in my sidebar but it can do so much more.
Yoast SEO:
Yoast SEO helps you optimize your blog post for search engines. It also controls the meta descriptions, and photos so your blog can be easily found on google and other search engines. On top of making it easier for search engines to find your blog it also allows your blog posts to get rich pins on Pinterest will bring more traffic to your blog and make it easier to grow your future email list to make more money.
Disqus:
Disqus optimizes your comments so that people have to have a Disqus account to comment. This limits spam and makes getting to know the people who comment on your blogs often easier. I love Disqus and I highly recommend it.
SumoMe:
Much like Jetpack SumoMe is multiple plugins in one. I love SumoMe because they make it super easy to create call to action headers (like I have at the top of my page) which grows your business and email list. SumoMe is one of the best free plugins in the game. It also has things like discover, and social bars which will increase traffic to your blog.
To install or find a plugin follow these instructions:
Go to your dashboard.
Click Plugins
Click “Add New” Then search for the above titles I mentioned above.
Click “Install Now” and then you should come to this screen:
Click “Activate Plugin” then you have yourself a plugin.
Repeat steps 1-5 for all the plugins mentioned above.
Ready to continue this series or go back? Click any of the links below to keep reading:
THE OTHER PARTS OF THE SERIES!
Here are the links for all of the series:
Part 2: Choosing and Installing Your First Theme (for free)