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Hidden Gems: Lesser-Known Plugins That Can Revolutionize Your WordPress Site

5 Mins read

WordPress plugins enable users to add extra features to their WordPress websites. And all of that can happen without great programming skills. These plugins add capabilities to your website, like search engine optimization, performance enhancements, faster loading speed, etc. However, more often than not, it’s the famous plugins that take all the spotlight. But there are always lesser-known plugins out there that get diminished because of lack of popularity. But quite honestly, these plugins are not inferior to the famous ones for specific niche businesses. Most of these plugins have been unveiled by experts offering custom WordPress development services to businesses. Because we hardly get to explore on our sites. We follow the flock and install the plugins that find their way to the top of our search engine results. We either lack the expertise to use these plugins, or we just like the easy way out. 

The ability of businesses to locate such plugins cannot be denied. To gain a competitive edge over their competitors, businesses can turn to these hidden gems. These plugins provide a unique target for the marketing strategies. A few native plugins that are yet to gain the limelight might offer fresh and far more efficient approaches to work, enhance user experience, and increase the site’s overall functionality. However, you might need external help from custom WordPress development services to install these plugins on your WordPress.org site because WordPress.com sites don’t allow these plugins. 

In this article, we shall take time to show you some of these lesser-known plugins with hidden features. We will also discuss how they can impact your WordPress site. So, let’s dive right in. 

Why exploring lesser-known plugins can be beneficial? 

It is an obvious question. When multitudes of use cases are available for the popular plugins, why should we bother about the lesser-known plugins? That’s because the same plugins can be used by your competitors as well. 

Here are the reasons why you should opt for lesser-known plugins. 

  • They can bring unique features and functionalities to the table. 
  • They have the potential to offer innovative solutions. 
  • They have low competition and offer quick support because of their small user base. 

Moreover, many people rely on plugins such as Yoast SEO and WooCommerce because of their effectiveness. Even though there are other relatively unknown plugins, they might be quite effective. These ‘sleepers,’ as they are called, may also come up with more sheer solutions that are more customized to certain contexts. They may even outperform some of their counterparts in situations related to specific niches. 

Discovering new plugins likely makes businesses more unique than their competitors. That’s because these plugins integrate tools with low competition. It leads to a high chance of quick support, and different features. These plugins can assist in optimizing your site to align with your specific needs. They also provide the users with a better experience and faster site performance. 

Top Hidden Gems: Lesser-Known Plugins to Consider

Advanced Custom Fields (ACF) 

    ACF is very handy when certain post types require certain content fields to be managed or set differently. For instance, an online store could use ACF to create additional fields related to goods, while a real estate agency could apply fields for house characteristics, such as area, number of rooms, and address.

    For example, if you want to add dynamic elements and customize them to your audience’s preferences and likes and dislikes, ACF can be very useful. You can also create customized forms and webpages using this plugin. 

    WP-Optimize

      WP-Optimize is a must for any business or organization seeking to improve the speed and performance of their website. Cleaning your database and optimizing images eases the flow of servers and hastens the loading process. Fast-loading sites have a positive impact on clients because they have a positive ranking in SEO, leading to high traffic to the websites.

      For example, if your website has a lot of images and media files, this plugin can be very useful to maintain your website’s loading speed. 

      TablePress

        TablePress is specifically useful for displaying a lot of information in a well-ordered form. For instance, a business can apply it to show pricing tables, comparisons, or even event timetables. The plugin also allows users to sort data, paginate, or even search for a particular value in the set data source. 

        For example, if you want to present your data in a stylish way, or simply break down the complex data into easy-to-understand tabular form, TablePress can be very handy. It maintains a clean and professional look. It will make your website look user-friendly and informative. 

        WP Mail SMTP

          WP Mail SMTP is required to work with contact forms and associated notifications. Customer relations management appears to be one of the main reasons many enterprises utilize contact forms to collect leads, respond to clients’ requests, and receive feedback. It is, therefore, important that these emails are delivered and received as intended to sustain the interaction with your audience.

          For example, if you are already using a plugin for forms, you can integrate WP Mail SMTP to ensure that these filled forms find their way to your inbox. This will help you offer a seamless customer experience to your users. It will also help you distinguish between your happy and dissatisfied customers.

          Redirection

            Redirection is important in SEO, and it should be done correctly. Altering a page’s URL is likely to cause it to lose the rank and traffic that the corresponding page used to attract. It is common to create what is known as 301 redirects so that users and search engine spiders are taken to the new URL, and your SEO value is not lost. 

            For example, if you are planning to make changes to your website’s structure, redirection helps you execute them without losing traffic. This plugin also helps you analyze the broken links that are pulling back your SEO effort. 

            What are the Best Practices for Integrating Plugins? 

            Before you integrate these plugins into your WordPress website, you must be aware of the best practices to follow. These practices help in easy integration without failure. 

            Here are three things you need to do before choosing and implementing these lesser-known plugins. 

            1. Check whether these plugins are compatible with your existing WordPress site. Beta-test them first before publishing. 
            2. Regularly update your plugins and monitor their performance. 
            3. Avoid conflicts within plugins. Like, using two different plugins for the same tasks can confuse your users. 

            Key Takeaways 

            WordPress is the most popular content management system (CMS) globally. It is estimated to help run more than 40% of all the websites in use today. This is highly appreciated as one of the primary features of the application, as it may be easily extended with the help of plugins. Plugins are additional tools that users can install or integrate on their WordPress site for additional functionalities.  

            Therefore, if you can find plugins that are specific to your business niche with far less competition, you can edge past your competitors with ease. These plugins can deal with nearly all necessary operations, including SEO, security, integration with social networks, and availability of useful e-commerce functions. So, it’s about time you make the most of these lesser-known plugins. Work out the magic that deserves to be out there in the open. 

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