17 Best WordPress Plugins for Website Designers
Hey there, my fellow web developers! Are you prepared to enhance your WordPress design skills? Then, hold on tight because I am about to let you in on the best possible plugins, which will save your life and make your website look much more incredible. I am telling you, these bad boys are real game-changers.
But first things first, have you ever felt that designing for WordPress is like trying to herd cats while juggling flaming chainsaws? It’s absolute chaos! It's enough to spin your head between wrestling with code, satisfying fussy clients, and making everything look pretty.
Don’t worry about that, my friend; we’ve got some plugins here that should help bring some order into this madness. They’re like secret weapons or easy buttons – they’ll be cranking out those stunning sites faster than you can say, “I need another coffee!”
So, without any more delays, let us look at the 17 best WordPress plugins for web designers. Your life is about to change forever; trust me on this one.
Table of Contents
1. Elementor: The Ultimate Page Builder
Elementor is one of the most popular and influential WordPress page builders. This user-friendly plug-in allows you to design personalised page structures without writing code. With its numerous widgets, templates, and design choices, Elementor makes it easy to visualise your ideas.
Key Features:
- Drag and Drop Editor with Visual Interface
- More than 100 pre-designed templates
- Over 90 widget options for different elements like buttons or images
- Responsive Design Controls that allow you to see how your website will look on different devices before publishing it live!
- Custom CSS & JavaScript options so you can further customise the appearance or functionality of your pages.
Whether you’re an experienced web developer or just starting your first project – this tool has everything needed to create stunning pages quickly and efficiently!
2. Gravity Forms: Powerful Form Builder
Forms are one of the most essential parts of any website, and when it comes to creating them in WordPress, there’s no better plugin than Gravity Forms. With this easy-to-use interface and many features, you can make complicated forms without trying.
Main Features:
- Form builder with drag-and-drop functionality
- Dynamic forms using conditional logic
- More than one page perform
- File uploads and payment integration options are available
- Additional tools can be installed for added functionality
Gravity Forms has something for everyone – from primary contact forms to complex surveys or payment gateways. This is a potent tool that any web designer should not overlook.
3. WP Rocket: Boost Your Website's Speed
If you want to optimise the performance of your WordPress website, then speed is an essential factor. Regarding caching plugins, WP Rocket is the best choice for this purpose. It can decrease page load times by a considerable amount with only a few clicks.
Main Features:
- Page Caching
- Browser Caching (for returning visitors)
- GZIP Compression + Minification
- Lazy Load Images/Videos
- Database Optimisation
With WP Rocket, your beautifully designed sites will look fantastic and load lightning fast, meaning people can enjoy what’s on them instead of waiting for content to show up!
4. Yoast SEO: Optimise Your Site for Search Engines
Being a web designer, one is aware of the significance of SEO in generating organic traffic to their customers’ websites. Yoast SEO is a WordPress plugin that provides the most extensive search engine optimisation services.
Main Features:
- SEO title and meta description templating
- Keyword optimisation and analysis
- Readability checks and improvements
- XML sitemap generation
- Social media integration
By utilising Yoast SEO, you could confirm that your thoughtfully written content receives the highest possible visibility on SERPs, attracting more visitors and potential clients for your clients’ sites.
5. WPForms: User-Friendly Form Builder
If you’re searching for a lighter option than Gravity Forms, WPForms is an outstanding alternative. This user-friendly plugin for building forms will let you develop responsive and attractive forms with minimum effort.
Main Features:
- Drag-and-drop form builder
- Pre-built form templates
- Spam protection and reCAPTCHA integration
- Conditional logic and multi-page forms
- Payment integrations and email marketing add-ons
WPForms has all the necessary features to quickly create great-looking websites without compromising quality or functionality.
6. Envato Elements: Access to Thousands of Design Assets
Although it is not a WordPress plugin in a strict sense, Envato Elements is still extremely useful for web designers. This subscription allows you to use high-quality design assets like themes, templates, graphics, etc.
The main features are:
- Unlimited downloads of WordPress themes and plugins
- Access to more than 50 million design assets
- Commercial license for all items
- New items are added every day
- Low-cost monthly or yearly subscription
When you become a subscriber of Envato Elements, you can find necessary design resources easily without wasting much time, allowing you to create astonishing websites for your customers.
7. WP Smush: Optimise Your Images
Pictures are essential in any website, but they can also significantly delay the loading speed of your page if not optimised well. WP Smush is a plugin for optimising images that compresses and resizes them automatically so your site remains quick and light.
Main Characteristics:
- Compression without loss of quality
- Optimisation of bulk images
- Automatic scaling and resizing
- Lazy loading to make page loads faster
- Integration with cloud storage providers
With WP Smush, you can have visually appealing websites designed beautifully and fastened for performance.
8. Advanced Custom Fields: Extend WordPress Functionality
ACF, or Advanced Custom Fields, is a plugin that allows people to make their WordPress sites more unique. Giving posts, pages, and custom post types custom fields lets them expand this platform’s capabilities. This means users can develop more intricate and dynamic websites even if they lack coding skills.
Here are some essential features:
- Over 30 field types for different kinds of content
- Easy-to-use field group management system
- Creation of front-end forms
- Flexibility in terms of content layouts
- Wide-ranging API for developers
ACF is an indispensable assistant for designers aiming to create custom-made WordPress websites without using much-complicated code.
9. WooCommerce: Turn Your Website into an Online Store
WooCommerce is the number one e-commerce plugin for WordPress if you’re making websites for clients who want to sell things online. This plugin is so powerful that it turns your WordPress site into an online store with product pages, shopping carts, and payment gateways.
Main Features:
- Customisable product pages and groups
- Secure payment gateways
- Inventory management and tax calculations
- Shipping options and order tracking
- Extensive extensions for added functionality
You can build attractive online stores using WooCommerce that work perfectly well with your clients’ WordPress sites.
10. Beaver Builder: Another Powerful Page Builder
Beaver Builder is a well-known plugin for building pages without writing code. It provides a visually friendly environment with many modules and templates, making it an excellent alternative to Elementor.
Important features:
- Visual editor with drag-and-drop
- Responsive design controls
- Pre-built page templates
- Custom module builder
- Integration with WooCommerce
11. Jetpack: All-in-One WordPress Toolkit
Jetpack is a WordPress plugin with many sides and features that can improve various aspects of a website, such as security, speed and SEO. The tool was created by Automattic, the people behind WordPress.com, and trust is not an issue when using this product, seeing how millions of other sites also use Jetpack.
Some Key Features:
- Site stats and analytics
- Automated social media sharing
- Related posts and content discovery
- Lazy loading for images
- Security features like brute force protection and downtime monitoring
Once Jetpack has been installed, you will have access to compelling tools to help you build better websites for your customers.
12. WP Migrate DB Pro: Simplified Database Migration
As a website designer, there will be times when you have to transfer sites between various environments, such as moving them from the local development sites to live servers. WP Migrate DB Pro makes this easy by permitting the exportation and importation of WordPress databases in a few steps.
Main Functions:
- Migrating databases by click of a button
- Serialised data support
- Migration of particular tables only
- Integration with well-known hosting companies
- Automatability through command-line support
With WP Migrate DB Pro, it is possible to enhance your workflow and guarantee seamless and mistake-free site migrations.
13. Popup Maker: Create Engaging Popups and Opt-ins
Lead capturing, promoting special offers and engaging with website visitors are some of the things that pop-ups can be used for. Popup Maker is a plugin which allows you to create different types of opt-ins and popups without coding.
Main Features:
- Editor for visual pop-up
- Targeting options and triggers
- A/B testing with analytics
- Responsive design, as well as mobile-friendly pop-ups
- Integration with email marketing services
Use Popup Maker to create high-converting, engaging popups to help your clients achieve their business objectives.
14. ManageWP: Streamline Your WordPress Management
If you handle several WordPress sites on behalf of your customers, there is no tool more critical than ManageWP. This all-in-one WordPress management platform enables you to do updates, backups, security, etc, from one dashboard.
Key Features:
- Updates for WordPress core, plugins and themes at the click of a button
- Automated restoration points and backups
- Monitoring of uptime and scanning for security
- Client reporting and white-labeling
- Bulk management actions for multiple sites
With ManageWP, you can simplify your WordPress management tasks and offer your clients better service.
15. Schema Pro: Boost Your SEO with Rich Snippets
Schema markup can make your site more visible in search engine results by offering structured data to them. Notably, Schema Pro is a simple plugin that allows schema markups to be added to WordPress sites without dealing with complex code.
Main features:
- Backing for several schemas like articles, reviews and products
- Instant schema construction contingent on post types
- Flexible schema fields
- Integration with Google Rich Outcome Tests tool
- Works well with famous SEO tools
Using Schema Pro will help you enhance the visibility of your clients' websites on search engines, which, in turn, will drive more natural traffic.
16. GeneratePress: The Lightweight Theme That Packs a Punch
Now, let’s talk about GeneratePress. This theme is a ninja in WordPress – it is lightweight, fast, sneaky, and good at what it does. It can be a foundation for any website because it will not burden you with bloated code or unnecessary features.
Why GeneratePress is Amazing
- It loads extremely fast (and your visitors will thank you!)
- The code is clean and streamlined, which makes customisation easy
- Responsive design comes built-in (so no extra work for you)
- Massive library of hooks and filters for ultimate flexibility
With GeneratePress, you can create a lean, mean site ready to take over the internet. It’s like having a secret weapon in your design arsenal.
17. Autoptimize: Speed Up Your Site With One Click
Finally, let’s talk about Autoptimize. This plugin is the secret sauce that makes your website super fast. Pressing one button can optimise your HTML, CSS and JavaScript to run quicker than a cheetah on Red Bull.
Why You Need Autoptimize
- Optimisation with no coding necessary – only one click away!
- Code minification for faster loading times
- Combine multiple files into one to reduce HTTP requests
- Works seamlessly with popular caching plugins such as WP Rocket
Autoptimize is like a personal trainer for your site’s performance – it will give you massive gains without much effort involved on your part.
Bonus: Spectra – Page Builder
Spectra is a free visual page builder for WordPress, which has reached 800k installs and ranks among the top 100 WordPress plugins. It enhances the Gutenberg block editor (default WordPress framework) with 33+ exclusive, cutting-edge blocks, creating a supercharged toolbox for designing visually stunning, functional websites.Â
It doesn't just look great – it performs exceptionally well. Its optimised and clean code guarantees rapid page loads, leveraging modern CSS features such as flexbox and grid layouts for superior speed and efficiency.
Spectra also provides customisable, professional website templates, presets, and wireframes, making creating polished, high-end websites accessible. It uses modern CSS features like flexbox and grid layout, which helps you create a responsive website and ensure a better user experience.
Key Features
- Visual Builder With Complete Design Control Dive
- Flexible ContainersÂ
- Performance-focused Page BuilderÂ
- Supercharge the WordPress Block Editor
- Optimised Workflow For Faster Web CreationÂ
- Flexible Feature-Rich Container LayoutsÂ
Pricing
There’s a free version of Spectra, with premium plans that include:
- Spectra Pro: from $49/year
- Essential Toolkit: from $79/year
- Business Toolkit: from $149/year
Conclusion
Any website designer searching for eye-catching, practical and high-ranking websites must have these seventeen WordPress. You can simplify your workflow, improve your designs and deliver more value to clients through them.
These WordPress plugins include page builders, form creators, SEOs and performance optimisation tools, which cover almost everything an ideal website designer should have. With such a collection at hand, you will be ready to work on any project that comes your way.
FAQs on WordPress Plugins
Can I use more than one page builder plugin on the same website?
Yes, using multiple page builders on a single site is possible. However, doing so is not advisable because it can cause conflicts and slow your website. Therefore, a one-page builder is recommended for optimal compatibility and performance.
Do I have to buy licenses for every plugin on each site that I create?
Licence requirements may differ from one plugin to another. Some plugins come with unlimited site licenses, while others require separate licenses for each installation. Therefore, ensure you read and understand the terms of every license agreement before using any plugin.
How frequently should I update plugins in WordPress?
It is essential to keep all plugins updated as often as possible since these updates are meant to fix bugs and improve security, among other things like enhancing compatibility with new versions of WordPress itself or other third-party themes/plugins used alongside them. Nonetheless, always test updates on staging sites before applying them directly onto live ones lest they conflict somewhere.
Can these plugins work with non-Wordpress websites?
No, they cannot because these were designed explicitly for WordPress; hence, they will not function well if installed onto other CMSs (Content Management Systems) or frameworks created outside the WP environment.
Are there any free alternatives to premium versions of these tools?
Yes, while many offer additional features at cost (premium), there’s usually an option of either a limitedly featured freely available version or a version without full functionality/support like its counterpart paid edition, which receives regular updates, etc.
How do I know which plugins best suit my web design projects?
When selecting suitable add-ons, bear several factors in mind, such as specific requirements based upon desired look & feel plus the overall scope/size of the project(s) undertaken regarding client budgetary considerations; also seek those having positive ratings/reviews online combined with frequent upgrading / reliable technical assistance from developers etc.
Can their functionality and appearance be customised?
The majority offer various ways by which one can tweak their looks or behaviour through built-in settings or custom CSS alongside code snippets, depending on your programming skills.
Will lots of plugins slow down my site?
While it’s true that many can add valuable features to a website, too much usage indeed slows things down. Therefore, prioritise carefully when choosing which ones to install while optimising speed through tools, e.g., caching & image compression.
How can I ensure WordPress security if I use them?
Always download from trustworthy places like the official WP plugin repository or known marketplaces; update regularly & get rid of any old/unused versions since these could serve as entry points for hackers into your site(s), among other precautions.
