Starting a WordPress blog is exciting, but as a beginner, you might feel overwhelmed by the number of plugins available. Don’t worry, you don’t need hundreds of plugins to run a great blog. In fact, having too many plugins can slow down your site or even cause errors.
In this post, I will walk you through:
- The essential plugins every beginner blogger should install
- Which default plugins you can safely remove
- And how to keep your site fast and clean
So, let’s get started!
🤔 What Are WordPress Plugins?
Plugins are like apps for your WordPress site. They help you add new features without writing any code. Whether you want to boost your SEO, improve speed, or create a contact form, there is a plugin available for it.
But not all plugins are useful. Some are outdated, unnecessary, or even unsafe. So, let’s focus on the essentials.
Essential Plugins Every Beginner Blogger Should Install
Here are the 7 must-have plugins I recommend for a beginner WordPress blog:
1. Security Plugin (Choose One)
Purpose: Used for Website Protection
Why You Need It: Protect your site from brute-force attacks, malware, and login abuse to keep it safe from hackers.
Other Plus Points
- Login protection and 2FA (two-factor authentication)
- Malware scanning
- Firewall rules and bot detection
Option A: SiteGround Security
Download the SiteGround Security Plugin from the official website of WordPress.org.
Option B: Wordfence
Download the Wordfence Plugin from the official website of WordPress.org.
2. Caching Plugin (Choose One)
Purpose: Used to optimize Website Speed
Why You Need It: Speed is critical for user experience and SEO. Caching plugins reduce load times by serving static versions of your pages.
Choose one of the following, depending on your hosting.
Important: only use one caching plugin at a time to avoid conflicts.
Option A: LiteSpeed Cache
Best for Websites hosted on LiteSpeed servers (e.g., Hostinger, A2 Hosting). It is all in one plugin, more advanced than Super Cache.
Other Plus Points
- CSS/HTML/JS minification and database cleanup
- Built-in image optimization and CDN support
- Advanced caching options
Download the LiteSpeed Cache Plugin from the official website of WordPress.org.
Option B: WP Super Cache
Best for Websites hosted on Apache or Nginx servers (e.g., Bluehost, SiteGround).
Other Plus Points
- Beginner-friendly
- Free and easy to configure
- Improves Core Web Vitals and page load speed
- Reduces server load
Download the WP Super Cache Plugin from the official website of WordPress.org.
3. Rank Math SEO
Purpose: Used for Search Engine Optimization
Why You Need It: Rank Math helps optimize your posts for Google with easy on-page suggestions, XML sitemaps, schema markup, and more with its free version.
Other Plus Points
- Clean UI and beginner-friendly
- Supports rich snippets and breadcrumbs
- Includes redirect manager and 404 monitor
Download the RankMath Plugin from the official website of WordPress.org.
4. Antispam Bee
Purpose: Used to block spam comments and trackbacks
Why You Need It: To stop annoying spam from cluttering your site, improve performance, protect your SEO, and avoid using captchas or sharing data with third parties.
Other Plus Points
- Automatic Spam Detection
- Privacy-Friendly (GDPR Compliant)
- Block comments from specific countries
- Support for all comment types
- Delete existing spam automatically after a set number of days
Download the Antispam Bee Plugin from the official website of WordPress.org.
5. WPForms
Purpose: Used for implementing Contact Forms
Why You Need It: Anyone can easily create a contact form using this plugin, allowing visitors and collaborators to reach you effortlessly. It features a user-friendly drag-and-drop builder, eliminating the need for any coding skills.
Other Plus Points
- Mobile responsive
- Pre-built form templates
- Spam protection built-in
Download the WPForms Plugin from the official website of WordPress.org.
6. UpdraftPlus
Purpose: Used for taking Backups
Why You Need It: Sometimes, things can go wrong during updates or due to self-made mistakes in the code while adding styling or functionality. UpdraftPlus allows you to restore your blog in minutes with just one click. It backs up to Google Drive, Dropbox, and other cloud storage services.
Other Plus Points
- Schedule automatic backups
- Restore with a single click
- Free and reliable for small blogs
Download the UpdraftPlus Plugin from the official website of WordPress.org.
7. Easy Table of Contents
Purpose: Used to insert the table of contents in the blog post to improve readability and navigation.
Why You Need It: Helps users quickly jump to sections of your posts. It improves readability and SEO by adding anchor links.
Other Plus Points
- Auto inserts based on headings
- Customizable position and style
- Lightweight and fast
Download the Easy Table of Contents Plugin from the official website of WordPress.org.
Default Plugins You Can Remove
Many hosting providers pre-install unnecessary plugins. Here’s what you can usually delete:
🚫 Hello Dolly
A sample plugin that shows lyrics. Not useful.
🚫 Jetpack
Heavy and bloated for beginner blogs. You can add most of its features using smaller, lightweight plugins.
🚫 Unused Page Builders
If you are using a simple theme or block editor, uninstall any page builder you don’t plan to use.
🚫 Duplicate SEO or Cache Plugins
Using two SEO plugins or two caching plugins can break your site. Stick to one of each type.
Tips to Keep Plugins Safe and Lightweight
- Install only what you actually need
- Keep all plugins updated regularly
- Delete (not just deactivate) unused plugins
- Don’t install random plugins from outside the WordPress repository
Final Words
Plugins make WordPress powerful, but do not install too many plugins. Stick to high-quality, essential plugins to keep your site lightweight and fast.
Coming Up Next:
In the next post, I’ll show you how to create your first blog post using the WordPress block editor (step-by-step with screenshots).
Need help setting up your blog? Check out our WordPress Getting Started Series.
What are your favorite WordPress plugins? 👉 Let me know in the comments below.