Are you planning to start a WordPress blog with no coding skills, you are in luck! In this article, I’m going to share my favorite WordPress plugins and themes that are beginner friendly.
Best WordPress Plugins for Beginners
When it comes to plugins, there are literally thousands of them in the WordPress plugin directory. And while that can be overwhelming, it’s also a good thing because it means that there’s a plugin for just about everything you could possibly want to do with your WordPress site.
That said, as a beginner, you probably don’t need all of those plugins. In fact, you might not even need that many.
To help you get started, here are some of the best WordPress plugins for beginners:
1. WPForms
WPForms is a powerful yet easy-to-use drag and drop form builder plugin that lets you create custom forms for your WordPress site without any coding.
With WPForms, you can create contact forms, subscription forms, surveys, quizzes, and more. It’s a great plugin for beginners as it comes with a number of pre-built form templates that you can use to get started quickly.
2. Yoast SEO
Yoast SEO is one of the most popular WordPress plugins of all time and it’s a must-have for any WordPress site.
Yoast SEO is an all-in-one SEO plugin that helps you optimize your website for the search engines. It comes with features like keyword optimization, XML sitemaps, social media integration, and more.
3. Jetpack
Jetpack is a plugin developed by WordPress.com that comes with a ton of features for WordPress sites. Some of the most useful features include social media integration, security, backup, and performance enhancements.
While Jetpack is a great plugin, it’s worth noting that it can be quite resource-intensive. So, if you’re running a low-end hosting plan, you might want to consider using another plugin for some of the features that Jetpack offers.
4. Google Analytics for WordPress
Google Analytics is a free service that lets you track your website’s traffic and performance. And while you can use it without a plugin, installing the Google Analytics for WordPress plugin makes it a lot easier to set up and use.
With this plugin, you can easily view your website’s traffic statistics, bounce rate, average time on site, and more right from your WordPress dashboard.
5. W3 Total Cache
W3 Total Cache is a performance enhancement plugin that speeds up your website by caching your pages and posts.
When you have W3 Total Cache installed, your website’s pages will be served to your visitors from the cache instead of being generated fresh each time someone visits your site. This can lead to a significant decrease in page load times, which is good for both your visitors and your search engine ranking.
6. WordPress SEO by Yoast
WordPress SEO by Yoast is another great plugin from the team at Yoast. It’s an all-in-one SEO solution that lets you control everything from your website’s title and meta tags to your XML sitemap.
One of the best things about this plugin is that it comes with built-in support for Google Analytics, so you can easily track your website’s traffic and performance right from your WordPress dashboard.
7. Gravity Forms
Gravity Forms is a premium plugin that lets you create custom forms for your WordPress site. With Gravity Forms, you can create contact forms, subscription forms, surveys, quizzes, and more.
While Gravity Forms is a premium plugin, it’s worth the cost as it’s one of the most popular and well-supported plugins on the market.
8. WP Super Cache
WP Super Cache is a performance enhancement plugin that speeds up your website by caching your pages and posts.
When you have WP Super Cache installed, your website’s pages will be served to your visitors from the cache instead of being generated fresh each time someone visits your site. This can lead to a significant decrease in page load times, which is good for both your visitors and your search engine ranking.
9. Better WordPress Security
Better WordPress Security is a plugin that helps you secure your WordPress site against hackers. With this plugin, you can easily add two-factor authentication, password expiration, malware scanning, and other security features to your site.
10. Cloudflare
Cloudflare is a free CDN and security service that can speed up your website and protect it from attacks. With Cloudflare, your website’s content is delivered to your visitors from servers located around the world, which can lead to faster page load times.
Additionally, Cloudflare can block malicious traffic before it reaches your website, which can protect your site from attacks.
These are just a few of the best WordPress plugins for beginners. While there are thousands of other plugins available, these ten should give you a good starting point for building a great WordPress site.
Best WordPress Themes for Beginners
1. Twenty Seventeen
Twenty Seventeen is a great default WordPress theme that comes with a simple, clean design and plenty of customization options. With this theme, you can easily change your website’s colors, fonts, and layout without needing to know any code.
2. Astra
Astra is a lightweight WordPress theme that comes with a clean and minimal design. With Astra, you can easily change your website’s colors, fonts, and layout without needing to know any code.
3. GeneratePress
GeneratePress is a lightweight WordPress theme that comes with a clean and minimal design. With GeneratePress, you can easily change your website’s colors, fonts, and layout without needing to know any code.
4. OceanWP
OceanWP is a great multipurpose WordPress theme that can be used for any type of website. With OceanWP, you can easily change your website’s colors, fonts, and layout without needing to know any code.
5. Hestia
Hestia is a great multipurpose WordPress theme that can be used for any type of website. With Hestia, you can easily change your website’s colors, fonts, and layout without needing to know any code.
6. Neve
Neve is a great multipurpose WordPress theme that can be used for any type of website. With Neve, you can easily change your website’s colors, fonts, and layout without needing to know any code.
7. Sydney
Sydney is a great business WordPress theme that comes with a clean and professional design. With Sydney, you can easily change your website’s colors, fonts, and layout without needing to know any code.
8. Shop Isle
Shop Isle is a fantastic WordPress theme for building an online store. You can quickly modify the colors, type, and layout of your website without having to understand any code with Shop Isle.
9. Divi
Divi is a great WordPress theme for creating a business and casual website. With Divi, you can easily change your website’s colors, fonts, and layout without needing to know any code. Plus, Divi comes with thousands of different layouts and ready-made templates that you can 1-click import to create your unique WordPress site without coding skills.
10. Thrive Suites
Last but not least, Thrive Suites is by far one of the most popular options for freelancers, WordPress agencies, and business owners who have limited funds. Thrive Suites comes in several parts including Thrive Leads and other Thrive products that you can get separately to build your desired WordPress site.
Most of us use Thrive Suites simply because it comes with multiple features and functions that allow us to reduce using other 3rd party WordPress plugins that could impact our website loading speed.
I recommend you to take a look at Thrive Suites here.
Summary
As you can see, there are plenty of amazing WordPress themes and plugins available for beginners.
While there are many other great options out there, these ten should give you a good starting point for building a great WordPress site without having to code.