6 Best Universally Applicable WordPress Plugins

Many WP plugins are designed for specific kinds of sites, but here are 6 of the best universally applicable & must-have WordPress plugins

By Claudio Pires
Updated on February 12, 2025
6 Best Universally Applicable WordPress Plugins

Many WordPress plugins are designed for specific kinds of sites and niches. There are others, however, that augment any site, regardless of its audience or industry. Below are 6 of the best universally applicable & must-have WordPress plugins that every WP website can benefit from. 

WP Table Builder

Keeping website visitors engaged and on-page, regardless of the niche, requires dynamic content. Often if you are trying to extol the virtues of a product or service, explaining return on investment, or otherwise attempting to demonstrate quantifiable elements of something you are offering, it makes sense to use table-based information and show raw data. 

Any website would do well to install the WP Table Builder plugin. It allows you to import CSV and XML files so that customers can see organized data straight from your Excel sheets. There is a free and a premium version, with the premium costing $40 for the entire year. If you have advanced excel skills, you can put together spreadsheets that will impress your site visitors and present data in a way that informs their purchasing decision.

Applicable WordPress Plugins: Yoast SEO

Yoast SEO is a universally applicable plugin on any site because it makes sure your content is SEO optimized, including checking for readability. How well you optimize your blog posts and other website content for SEO is paramount for how well your content and pages rank in the SERPs. This, in turn, affects the amount of organic traffic you can expect to see. 

With the Yoast plugin, you get to see where your content is lacking before publishing it, and Yoast gives you recommendations for improving its SEO score. It also gives you what is known as a “readability” score which Google factors into page rank. It is an indicator of how easy it is for people to read what you have written. Writing for the web is different from writing long-form, which is why it helps to have tools like Yoast assisting you. 

WooCommerce

Any business engaged in eCommerce needs a plugin like WooCommerce to run its online store. WooCommerce integrates very well. With many other with this universally applicable WordPress plugins that you might need for eCommerce, and it is a good alternative to Shopify. There are plenty of themes and free customization, allowing you to quickly start selling physical products, affiliate products, and digital products. 

Askimet

Askimet is probably one of, if not the most popular spam filter plugins on WordPress. It can help save you hours worth of work by constantly checking your blog comments and getting rid of anything that appears spammy. Askimet is free for personal use and comes with monthly paid plans that offer more comprehensive features. 

The unfortunate but unalterable fact of website ownership is that you will have to deal with spam. Potentially a considerable amount of it. For example, if you have a blog with a comment section, you will inevitably get spam comments from both people and bots trying to parasite off your site. Some spam links can even be harmful, sending people to malicious websites or downloading spyware or malware on their computers. In fact, up to 95 percent of all comments on blogs, message boards and chat rooms are spam or malicious. 

Applicable WordPress Plugins: Jetpack

Jetpack is one of the most diverse plugins you can download and millions of WordPress websites around the world. In a wide range of industries and niches, use it. It is also highly trusted because the publisher is constantly improving its services and adding to its offerings. It can help you enhance security by preventing brute force attacks. Optimize content, increase engagement, monitors your website, provides site backups and much more. 

This plugin is usually standard with many WordPress themes and has everything you could possibly need. There are both free plans and ones made for commercial use. If you download a theme and it doesn’t come with Jetpack, it should be one of your first installs. 

WP Forms

WP Forms is another must-have plugin for every site because all sites need a way for customers to contact them. Contact forms are ubiquitous on the web, and they are an essential part of your customer service. Allow your visitors and customers to reach out to you with questions and queries with this applicable WordPress plugins. WP Forms is probably the most commonly used and intuitive form tool out there. It allows you to create functional and effective contact forms for any audience quickly. 

Top Plugins Table

Plugin NameCategoryKey FeaturesFree/PaidBest For
Yoast SEOSEOOn-page SEO, XML sitemaps, content analysisFree & PaidRanking higher on search engines
Rank MathSEOAdvanced schema, AI-based suggestions, keyword trackingFree & PaidAI-driven SEO optimization
WP RocketCaching/SpeedPage caching, database optimization, lazy loadingPaidImproving website load time
LiteSpeed CachePerformanceServer-level caching, image optimization, database cleanupFreeFast website performance
ElementorPage BuilderDrag-and-drop builder, pre-made templates, mobile optimizationFree & PaidCreating custom page layouts
WPFormsFormsDrag-and-drop form builder, payment integration, spam protectionFree & PaidUser-friendly form creation
Gravity FormsFormsAdvanced conditional logic, file uploads, automationPaidHigh-end form building
WooCommerceeCommerceProduct management, payment gateways, extensionsFreeBuilding an online store
MonsterInsightsAnalyticsGoogle Analytics integration, user insights, eCommerce trackingFree & PaidTracking website traffic and engagement
All-in-One WP MigrationBackup & MigrationEasy backup, site migration, cloud storage optionsFree & PaidMoving or backing up WordPress sites
UpdraftPlusBackupAutomatic backups, cloud storage supportFree & PaidReliable website backup
Sucuri SecuritySecurityFirewall, malware scanning, DDoS protectionFree & PaidWebsite security and malware prevention
Wordfence SecuritySecurityFirewall, login security, malware scannerFree & PaidProtecting WordPress sites from attacks
WP Mail SMTPEmailFixes email deliverability, SMTP setup, loggingFree & PaidEnsuring WordPress emails are delivered properly
RedirectionRedirectsManage 301 redirects, track 404 errorsFreeFixing broken links and redirecting URLs
SmushImage OptimizationCompresses images, lazy loadingFree & PaidSpeeding up image-heavy sites
ShortPixelImage OptimizationAdvanced image compression, WebP supportFree & PaidLossless and lossy image optimization
Broken Link CheckerSEO/UsabilityFinds broken links, improves SEOFreeMaintaining website health
WP AutoTermsLegalGenerates GDPR, CCPA, and privacy policiesFree & PaidLegal compliance
Loco TranslateTranslationTranslates themes/plugins, multilingual supportFreeMaking WordPress multilingual

Universally Applicable WordPress Plugins Conclusion

Too many activated plugins can bog down your site and slow its performance. But not everyone has the coding skills necessary to create the above functionalities from scratch. Most people will need to install some of the many useful WordPress plugins out there. Of course, the above are just some of the hundreds of fantastic and helpful WP plugins. So, you can use to optimize your site. Although they are ones that you will likely need, regardless of your niche or industry.

Claudio Pires

Claudio Pires is the co-founder of Visualmodo, a renowned company in web development and design. With over 15 years of experience, Claudio has honed his skills in content creation, web development support, and senior web designer. A trilingual expert fluent in English, Portuguese, and Spanish, he brings a global perspective to his work. Beyond his professional endeavors, Claudio is an active YouTuber, sharing his insights and expertise with a broader audience. Based in Brazil, Claudio continues to push the boundaries of web design and digital content, making him a pivotal figure in the industry.