One of the major benefits of using WordPress.com to host your business website is that there are hundreds of free plugins available. If you’re not familiar with the term, a plugin is a software component that adds a specific functionality to your website. For example, various plugins can give you advanced SEO (search engine optimization) capabilities, allow you to sell merchandise, or integrate your newsletter into your site.
You could browse through lists of WordPress plugins for days, but to make your life easier, the following are the top five WordPress plugins for business users. These must-have plugins will take your WordPress.com Business website to the next level, helping you achieve your online marketing goals.
1. WooCommerce
If you want to sell physical or digital products from your WordPress.com Business website, you’ll need a plugin like WooCommerce, a free ecommerce tool.
WooCommerce lets you build and customize an online storefront, collect orders and payments, and even calculate shipping costs. There are also extensions of the plugin available that offer advanced functions such as packing slip generation, dynamic pricing, table rate shipping, and more.
Overall, WooCommerce is an invaluable tool for business owners who want to sell goods from their websites, as it makes ecommerce accessible to new website owners.
2. Contact Form 7
You can embed basic contact forms into your WordPress.com site, but the customization options are limited. Many business owners want to build their own forms, which is why Contact Form 7 is such a popular plugin. This free plugin allows you to create custom forms and manage multiple forms throughout your site.
While its functionality is simple, Contact Form 7 is helpful for many business owners. You can collect more information from your site visitors, gathering the specific data you need to best serve them.
3. Akismet Anti-Spam
If you’ve ever visited a website just to see dozens of spam comments, you may already know why Akismet Anti-Spam is important. This plugin checks every comment posted to your site, running them against a global database of spam. It will prevent potentially malicious comments from going live. You can then moderate flagged comments through your admin screen.
By blocking spam from your website, you’ll be able to create a more authentic, trustworthy experience for your visitors. After all, you certainly don’t want a potential customer to accidentally click on a harmful link while browsing your site.
4. MailChimp
Email marketing delivers some of the highest returns on investment of any digital marketing strategy, which is why you should make every effort to grow your mailing list. MailChimp for WordPress.com is one of the more popular WordPress plugins for business. You can seamlessly integrate your email marketing platform with your website, effectively collecting contact information from potential customers and thereby furthering your marketing efforts.
If you use a different email marketing platform, you may want to check to see if there’s a plugin available for that service.
5. Popups by OptinMonster
Pretty much all websites feature popups encouraging visitors to sign up for newsletters, and you can follow suit with the help of Popups by OptinMonster. This plugin lets you create and share opt-in forms to collect email addresses to drive more conversions, and it can be integrated with today’s most popular email marketing platforms, including MailChimp, Constant Contact, and more.
Similar to the MailChimp plugin, Popups will help elevate your marketing game by growing your email lists, allowing you to stay in contact with people who have visited your site.
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