When you first install WordPress, your website is like a blank canvas — beautiful in its simplicity, but missing a few essential tools that turn it into a functional, secure, and optimized website.
That’s where plugins come in.
Plugins are add-ons that expand WordPress’s capabilities. Whether you want to optimize your site for search engines, secure it from hackers, or add a contact form, there’s a plugin for it.
But here’s the catch: there are over 60,000 free plugins available in the WordPress repository. Not all of them are worth installing, and some can even slow down your site or cause conflicts.
To help you get started right, we’ve curated a list of the Top 10 Free WordPress Plugins that every website should have in 2025, whether you’re running a small business site, a portfolio, or a blog.
1. Yoast SEO
Purpose: Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Active Installations: 5+ million
If you want people to actually find your website, SEO is non-negotiable — and Yoast SEO remains the gold standard for optimizing WordPress sites.
Why You Need It:
Helps you optimize pages and posts for your target keywords.
Offers readability checks to ensure content is easy to digest.
Automatically handles meta titles, descriptions, and canonical URLs.
Creates an XML sitemap so search engines can crawl your site faster.
Pro Tip:
Yoast’s red-yellow-green “traffic light” system makes SEO simple even for beginners — just follow its color-coded recommendations.
Alternatives: Rank Math, All-in-One SEO
2. Contact Form 7
Purpose: Simple contact and feedback forms
Active Installations: 5+ million
Every website needs a way for visitors to reach you — and Contact Form 7 has been the go-to solution for years. It’s lightweight, flexible, and works out of the box.
Why You Need It:
Allows you to create unlimited forms with basic HTML tags.
Integrates easily with reCAPTCHA to prevent spam submissions.
Works with popular extensions for database storage and file uploads.
Fully free and open-source, with strong community support.
Pro Tip:
You can extend Contact Form 7’s features using companion plugins like Flamingo (to store messages in your dashboard) or CF7 Conditional Fields (for dynamic forms).
Alternatives: WPForms Lite, Formidable Forms
3. Elementor
Purpose: Drag-and-drop page builder
Active Installations: 5+ million
For non-developers, designing a beautiful WordPress website can be intimidating. Elementor makes it easy with a visual editor that lets you drag, drop, and customize everything in real time.
Why You Need It:
Offers a front-end live editing experience — no coding required.
Includes pre-designed templates and blocks for faster design.
Works with almost any theme.
Pro Tip:
You can create entire landing pages using the free version. For advanced features like theme building or motion effects, consider the paid plan later.
Alternatives: Beaver Builder, Bricks Builder (paid)
4. Duplicate Page
Purpose: Quickly clone pages, posts, or custom post types
Active Installations: 4+ million
When you’re working on multiple similar layouts or need to create content variations, Duplicate Page saves you tons of time. Instead of rebuilding a page from scratch, it lets you duplicate any post or page with just one click — keeping all your content, formatting, and settings intact.
Why You Need It:
Instantly clone pages, posts, or custom templates for faster workflow.
Maintains SEO settings, featured images, and formatting.
Perfect for designers, developers, and content editors managing large sites.
Pro Tip:
Use Duplicate Page to create test versions of important pages before publishing updates. You can safely make changes and review them without affecting the live version.
Alternatives: Yoast Duplicate Post, Post Duplicator
5. Redirection
Purpose: Manage 301 redirects and fix broken links
Active Installations: 2+ million
Broken links can hurt your SEO and confuse users. The Redirection plugin makes it simple to manage all your redirects in one place.
Why You Need It:
Easily create 301 redirects for changed or deleted URLs.
Tracks 404 errors so you can fix them quickly.
Prevents users from landing on dead pages.
Pro Tip:
Use Redirection after redesigning your website or changing permalink structures to preserve your SEO rankings.
Alternatives: Simple 301 Redirects
6. LiteSpeed Cache
Purpose: Quickly clone pages, posts, or custom post types
Active Installations: 4+ million
When you’re working on multiple similar layouts or need to create content variations, Duplicate Page saves you tons of time. Instead of rebuilding a page from scratch, it lets you duplicate any post or page with just one click — keeping all your content, formatting, and settings intact.
Why You Need It:
Instantly clone pages, posts, or custom templates for faster workflow.
Maintains SEO settings, featured images, and formatting.
Perfect for designers, developers, and content editors managing large sites.
Pro Tip:
Use Duplicate Page to create test versions of important pages before publishing updates. You can safely make changes and review them without affecting the live version.
Alternatives: Yoast Duplicate Post, Post Duplicator
7. Smush
Purpose: Image optimization
Active Installations: 1+ million
High-quality images can make your site beautiful — but they can also make it slow. Smush compresses your images without reducing quality.
Why You Need It:
Automatically compresses images on upload.
Offers lazy loading to improve page speed.
Supports bulk optimization for existing images.
Pro Tip:
After installing, run the bulk smush feature to optimize all current media in your library.
Alternatives: EWWW Image Optimizer, ShortPixel
8. Solid Security
Purpose: Protect your WordPress site from hacks and unauthorized access
Active Installations: 1+ million
Website security isn’t optional — it’s essential. Solid Security (formerly iThemes Security) provides a powerful set of tools to safeguard your WordPress site against common threats like brute-force attacks, malware, and suspicious logins.
Why You Need It:
Limits login attempts to block automated attacks.
Detects and repairs common WordPress vulnerabilities.
Enforces strong passwords and two-factor authentication.
Monitors file changes and keeps an activity log for transparency.
Pro Tip:
After installing Solid Security, enable Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) and File Change Detection — two features that drastically reduce the risk of unauthorized access.
Alternatives: Wordfence Security, All-In-One WP Security & Firewall
9. Contact Form 7 Database Addon
Purpose: Save Contact Form 7 submissions directly to your WordPress database
Active Installations: 300,000+
While Contact Form 7 handles form submissions beautifully, it doesn’t store messages by default. Contact Form CFDB7 fills that gap — automatically saving all submissions so you never lose important inquiries, even if email delivery fails.
Why You Need It:
Automatically saves all Contact Form 7 submissions in your WordPress dashboard.
Export entries to CSV or Excel for reporting and backups.
View, search, and manage form data directly within WordPress.
Protects against lost leads due to email issues.
Pro Tip:
Combine Contact Form CFDB7 with Akismet to reduce spam entries, and schedule regular exports to keep your lead database organized.
Alternatives: Flamingo, WPForms Lite (includes built-in entry storage)
10. Smart Slider 3
Purpose: Create responsive, animated sliders and hero sections easily
Active Installations: 1+ million
A visually engaging website keeps visitors hooked — and Smart Slider 3 helps you do just that. It’s one of the most powerful free slider plugins for WordPress, allowing you to design stunning sliders, carousels, and hero headers without touching a line of code.
Why You Need It:
Intuitive drag-and-drop interface for building sliders visually.
Fully responsive and touch-friendly layouts.
Add animations, layers, and dynamic content easily.
Works seamlessly with popular page builders like Elementor and Gutenberg.
Pro Tip:
Use Smart Slider 3 to design an eye-catching hero section for your homepage. Keep text concise, use high-quality images, and add subtle animations for a professional, modern feel.
Alternatives: MetaSlider, Slider by 10Web
Whether you’re managing your own website or preparing to launch your business online, these plugins provide a solid foundation — all for free.
At CliqAlly, we specialize in building accessible, high-performing WordPress websites that are ready to grow with your business. If you’d rather focus on your brand while experts handle the technical setup, our team can help you choose, configure, and maintain the right tools for your site.
Get in touch with us today and let’s build a website that works as hard as you do.