Introducing you to 5 must-have WordPress plugins
5 Must have WordPress Plugins for your website
WordPress users have abundant plugins to use for the website – 58,051 plugins to be precise. Having so many options to choose from, it becomes confusing and sometimes, infuriating for the users to make a right decision. How to pick a must have plugin for a website? Opting for an overhyped or niche plugin may end in a complete disaster.
We are here to save the day – introducing you to 5 must have wordpress plugins that you should install no matter what kind of site you have. Multi Tech Solutions uses these wordpress plugins for their own website. Planing to develop a website on wordpress? after developing a website following are the plugins you will be looking for;
1.Yoast SEO
Yoast SEO is one of the most popular SEO tool among the wordpress plugins in the WordPress ecosystem. It helps you improve your search engine optimization, analyzes readability of the content and retains customer attention by making your website/copy more accessible.
Furthermore, Yoast simplifies configuration of SEO settings and crafting of metadata. With this plugin, you can easily change the title of your page and its meta-description directly within the post.
As you type meta-description, Yoast highlights the text in red, yellow or green so that you know the accurate length of the page description or how well you are doing. Moreover, It comes in two versions – a free but robust version and a premium version with an extra flair of insights like keyword exports and internal linking suggestions.
2. Smush Image Compression
More than once we have faced slow loading time on a website – annoying us or our visitors. This website load time is usually affected by using high quality, large resolution photos. Those images are critical to your website because they add a certain feel, delivering your brand message. This is where Smush image compression comes into play. Having Smush image optimization plugin will compress the size of your photos and different variety of file types without sacrificing the quality of your images.
Smush Image Compression is available in both free and premium versions.
3. Updraft Plus
Did you know on average 30,000 websites get hacked daily? Or that website crashing is frequent? Sometimes, websites tend to face compatibility issues and parts of it stop working altogether. There is a solution for all these problems; you can simply have a website backup.
Having updraft plus as a wordPress plugin will save you the headache. Updraft plus not only integrates with multiple cloud storage to safeguard your backup but it also automates your backup on a recurring schedule or help you restore your website to a previous state. You can safely store your website backup on a remote location like DropBox, Google Drive, FTP, email, Rackspace etc.
This Updraft plus plugin is free to use, but it also comes in a paid form with additional features and support.
4. Elementor
Even though WordPress has a content editor with customization but the options are limited. Elementor is one of the coolest additions to the must have plugins on WordPress website. It’s a drag and drop visual page builder that allows the user to customize every aspect of a webpage –from background overlays to hover effects to animations and much more. All this is doable without being a web development aficionado.
Elementor plugin is free but you can unlock more features by upgrading to premium version.
5. WPForms
How can we forget one of the main wordpress plugins that every website should have? Yup, you guessed it right – the contact forms. Because how else will your customer get in touch with you?
WPForms is a user-friendly form builder that allows its users to create all types of forms with a simple click- contact , email, subscription, online order , payment, polls, surveys – you name it they have it. It offers a perfect blend of features with ease of usage and mobile responsiveness. WPForms lite is free to use while WPForms pro needs is paid access to additional integrations and features.
- Hughes, J., 2020. 9 Must-Have WordPress Plugins + Why You Actually Need Them.
- Thomas, M., 2019. 10 WordPress Plugins to Improve Your Site, s.l.: Blue Host Blog.
Which is better between 2D or 3D Animation
2D or 3D Animation – Confrontation or Co-existence?
People who are in search of getting animations made usually struggle between the 2 options – 2D or 3D. looking it up on internet is not all fun and games for them; as it is a war zone between 2D and 3D developers – supporting one while opposing the other or highlighting advantages and disadvantages of each other.
What are these animations?
Imagine a dragon in your mind, does it look like a colorful cartoon character from Disney or is it a monster similar to the one in game of thrones. These 2D and 3D animations are practically found everywhere, capturing our imagination and depicting things in fictional and real life.
2D and 3D refer to dimensions in the computer space; 2D is flat as they are designed on horizontal x-axis and vertical y-axis which is turned to form a line while 3D also uses the depth z-axis.
How are they different than each other? Why choose one and ignore the other? And most importantly, do you want to portray your concept through fiction or reality? Let us help you by answering these questions through their comparison of pros and cons in detail for you.
Here are some pros and cons of 2D and 3D animation
2D Animation
This is the oldest form of animation; many people still prefer cartoonish nature of 2Ds over other animations imitating real life.
Pros
Easy and convenient to create
Low production cost aka pocket friendly
Zero or next to none complexity
Story focused
Cons
Less dynamic
Time consuming
Decreased demand
3D Animation
Pros
More realistic
Motion communication / superior movements
Good quality
Increased popularity
Cons
Limited imagination
Long time leads
Complicated
Having put forth the advantages and disadvantages of both types of animations, it can safely be said that the two animations can co-exist. Their co-existence solely depends on the nature of the project. What really matters is choosing the option that best fits your creative vision. If you are still unable to choose between two, Multi Tech Solutions has Motion Graphics experts who can help you in this regard.
- Anon., 2018. 2D vs 3D Animation — Pros and Cons, s.l.: Kreatetechnologies .
- Anon., 2019. Animation in 2D vs. 3D – The Pros and Cons of These Two Animation Techniques, s.l.: Tresd.com.
- Morris, A., 2020. The gremlin in our head distorting 3D reality, Johns Hopkins Study, s.l.: Forbes.
WordPress Plugins and What Purpose do they Serve?
WordPress Plugins & What purpose WordPress Plugins serve?
If you are new to the world of WordPress, there will be a lot of things that will leave you wondering or even stressing over; a WordPress plug-in is one of them. In this blog post, we will answer all your queries about “What are WordPress plug-ins?” and what is their purpose. In addition, why do we need WordPress plug-ins?
What really are WordPress plugins?
Plug-ins are a building block of every website. It is an integral part of the WordPress ecosystem and plays a vital role in creating amazing websites. WordPress plug-in is a PHP script that enhances the functionality and features of WordPress. In layman’s terms, these are apps that allow you to add features to your website just like installing new apps do to your Smartphone. Once you install a WordPress plug-in on your website, the plug-in code gets registered to the WordPress database. This helps in activating or deactivating the plug-in as required.
Are WordPress Plugins Free to use or Paid for?
Often, volunteers develop plugins and are free to the general public. However, developers have written thousands of WordPress plug-ins that you can add to your website while more are available from third-party websites. In addition, the premium paid WordPress plug-in is made available by individual developers and other companies. The plug-ins available in the WordPress plug-ins directory are thoroughly tested and are of various quality but safe to use. How does WordPress plug-ins work? WordPress plug-ins are easy peasy to use. All you have to do is;
- Browse a plug-in that interests you
- Install that plug-in to your WordPress website
- Configure the plug-in to your WordPress dashboard
Furthermore, try not to use a lot of plug-ins as it slows down your website. Stick to the necessary plugins and avoid adding plug-ins just because you think it’ll look cool. That’s all you need to know about WordPress plug-in folks!
Want to create a WordPress website?
Want to create a WordPress Website?
Creating a website is a bit tricky especially when you are not tech-savvy. Trust me when I say this, you are not alone- we are in this together. You must have heard about WordPress, yup, that world-leading blogging website. WordPress is also a great platform to create various types of websites. It is user friendly, extremely flexible, and works with most third-party tools and services available to website owners.
Here is an easy step by step guide on how to make a WordPress website without losing your mind over it. Follow the instructions to create an amazing WordPress website.
Setting up the WordPress Website
If you have never created a website before, opting for WordPress to create a website is the easiest option. Here is a breakdown of the steps you’ll need to follow;
- 1. Buy a Domain Name
- 2. Choose a Web Hosting provider & set up your Hosting Account
- 3. Install WordPress & WordPress Plugins
Step 1:
Buy a Domain Name
Choose a domain name that best suits your business or blog. Once you have finalized the name and it’s available for purchase, the next step is to buy it.
Step 2:
Choose Web Hosting Provider & Set Up Your Hosting Account
Even though there are various web hosting companies, Bluehost is the top choice of WordPress developers. You need to have a domain name and your credit card for payment to get started on a hosting account with Bluehost.
Once you have established your domain name, create an account for the hosting plan. The requirement for account creation is the same as others; enter your personal information and scroll to the package lists. Analyze the packages to choose an option that fits your needs and your budget. The package prices usually vary across the hosting providers depending upon the add-ons like tools to boost rankings, site backup, and extra security features.
Insert your billing information, check appropriate boxes, and confirm that you agree to the privacy policy, cancellation policy, and terms & conditions (after giving them a read).
Set up a password following the on-screen instructions and you are good to proceed to step 3.
Step 3:
Install WordPress & WordPress Plugins.
The real work starts when you have to install WordPress. Depending upon the hosting provider, this can be done directly through the hosting dashboard, one-click, or manual. WordPress will be automatically installed for you as you have already selected Bluehost as your host provider. All you need to do is log in to your account and choose a theme. You can always change the theme later if you don’t like your current one. Also, you can upgrade to premium themes if you want to stand out.
Then, a screen will appear asking you the purpose of the website, i.e. if it’s for personal or business use. Selecting this option will help WordPress to give you accurate recommendations on building your website journal.
Now you are ready to fine-tune your website by selecting your brand colors, font styles, or even adding special elements representative of your brand personality. It’s convenient to get a hang of features and functionality before you start posting content. The left-hand sidebar will provide you the navigation links to site customization. It is important to set up Google Analytics to collect data on visitor traffic.
Follow these steps to have your WordPress website up & running in no time. Just kidding, it’ll take half an hour approximately.