WordPress plugins are always a fun topic to discuss. I figure since we have not discussed WordPress plugins lately let’s remedy that with a quick list of our three favorites.
First off, what is a WordPress Plugin? A plugin in a contained set of code that you introduce into your WordPress site through the dashboard from a .zip file that enhances functionality. This code works with your site’s functions.php files, but is introduced autonomously. This way should anything go wrong the plugins source code can be deactivated without blowing up your whole site.
Now that we are on the same page, here are the three WordPress plugins we use on every site Trinity Web Media builds.
Our Three Favorite WordPress Plugins
1. Widget Logic: (FREE) This plugin gives every widget an extra control field that lets you control the pages that the widget will appear on. The text field lets you use WP’s Conditional Tags, or any general PHP code. We often use this plugin to add hero images, menus or forms to specific designated pages, thus enhancing the user experience.
2. BackupBuddy: (Premium) This is one of those plugins that saves us a lot of time, headaches and heartaches. We use BackupBuddy from iThemes, to migrate new sites upon launch and also backup our client’s sites databases and themes. Before we update any plugins or to a new version of WordPress we use BackupBUddy to make sure that we have everything saved and stored. Backups can be sent offsite to Dropbox or sent to you via email. Also, BB is used for routine backups of site we maintain. Better safe than sorry with BackupBuddy.
3. Gravity Forms: (Premium) Created by Rocket Genuis, Gravity Forms is the best form system for WordPress. The forms are easy to create, route and develop with conditional php logic. With a developers license you can easily tie Gravity Forms and your WordPress site into third party applications like MailChimp, Stripe, PayPal and many more. Add the Quizzes add-on and create quizzes and assessments. Trinity Web Media’s Marketing Assessment is built 100% with Gravity Forms.
These three WordPress plugins are essential to Trinity Web Media’s web development team. Without licenses and the use of these systems our job would be much more difficult. Using these plugins helps our team bring cost effective WordPress development to our clients and our market. Give them a shot and let us know what you think.
