5 plugins I recommend for my clients

1.  Contact Form 7

Contact Form 7 is free, easy to use, and simple form creation plugin.  The wonderful thing about this plugin is the fact that it has many add-ons that further diversify its usefulness.  This plugin also has quite a bit of documentation behind it as well as an extensive FAQ.  They also offer a support forum to help you with customization and technical problems.

2.  Updraft Plus

Updraft Plus is a free with a premium option back up plugin for WordPress.  You have two options for backing up your entire site.  You can back up on Google Drive or you can back up on Dropbox.   You have more back up options with the premium version of the plugin.  It backs up your database, plugins, themes, uploads, etc.  It is ideal to back up at least once a week just in case something happens and you need to go back.

3.  Google Analytics Dashboard for WP

Google Analytics Dashboard for WP adds an analytics line graph to your dashboard to give you a first hand look at your data.  Its handy to see what is going on at a glance on a day to day basis.

4.  W3 Total Cache

W3 Total Cache is ideal for anyone who has a very graphic intensive site.  This plugin cache’s your pages so that there is less server load and the pages load faster and help keep your users with you longer. This in turn creates a greater chance of conversion which is ultimately what you want.

5.  IFTTT

Strangely enough I just discovered IFTTT.  Its a brilliant tool that connects social media and your various other tools to create even more automation.  In fact, I used IFTTT to share this blog post on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.  This brief description barely even scratches the surface of the diversity that IFTTT creates in its automation recipes.