Here's a list of 10 must-have plugins along with brief installation instructions

WordPress has tens of thousands of plugins, and most sites need only a handful. This list covers ten well-maintained plugins for the jobs nearly every business website has: search engines, speed, security, spam, selling, page design, backups, images, forms and visitor statistics. Each one has a free version in the WordPress plugin directory, and the picks are checked against how Domain India shared hosting actually works.

1. Before you install anything

Every plugin adds code that runs on your site, and each one is software you must keep updated. Three rules keep a plugin list healthy:

• One plugin per job. Two caching plugins, or two security plugins, often fight each other and slow or break the site.
• Choose maintained plugins. In the plugin directory, check "Last updated" (within the last few months is a good sign), "Tested up to" (close to the current WordPress version) and the number of active installations.
• Delete what you don't use. A deactivated plugin still sits on the server and can still be attacked if it has a security hole.

2. The ten plugins at a glance

3. Search engines, speed and security

1. Yoast SEO. Lets you set the title and description that appear in Google for each page, builds an XML sitemap automatically and checks readability as you write. After activating it, run its setup wizard, then submit the sitemap address it gives you (usually /sitemap_index.xml) in Google Search Console. Don't install a second SEO plugin alongside it.

2. WP Super Cache. Saves each page as ready-made HTML so WordPress doesn't rebuild it for every visitor, which is usually the single biggest speed gain. Domain India shared hosting (cPanel, DirectAdmin and Webuzo) runs the Apache web server, so use WP Super Cache or W3 Total Cache. LiteSpeed Cache's page caching needs a LiteSpeed server and won't work here. WP Rocket is a paid alternative that also works on Apache. For the full speed checklist, see Optimizing WordPress.

3. Wordfence Security. Adds login protection, two-factor authentication, a malware and file-change scanner and alerts. Pick one main security plugin; our guide to WordPress security plugins compares Wordfence with Solid Security and All-In-One Security. On our cPanel servers, Imunify360 already runs a web application firewall for every account, so the plugin's main value is protecting your logins and alerting you to changes.

4. Spam, selling and page design

4. Akismet Anti-Spam. Checks comments, and forms that support it, against a spam database and files the spam away. It needs an API key from Akismet: personal sites can use it free, but a business or commercial site needs a paid plan. If that doesn't suit you, Antispam Bee is a free alternative for comments.

5. WooCommerce. Turns WordPress into an online shop with products, cart, checkout, shipping and tax settings. Payment gateways used in India, such as Razorpay, Cashfree and PayU, provide their own WooCommerce plugins. Install it only if you actually sell online: it is a large plugin that adds database tables and scheduled tasks. See Installing WooCommerce on Domain India cPanel hosting.

6. Elementor. A drag-and-drop page builder for custom layouts without code. Before you add it, try the built-in block editor: modern block themes can build most business pages without a separate builder, and every builder adds weight to each page.

5. Backups, images, forms and statistics

7. UpdraftPlus. Schedules backups of your files and database and can send them to Google Drive, Dropbox or other cloud storage, so a copy exists away from your hosting. Domain India cPanel and DirectAdmin hosting already keeps weekly JetBackup backups you can restore yourself (see Backup and restore with JetBackup); UpdraftPlus adds more frequent copies and a copy you control.

8. Smush. Compresses images, resizes very large uploads and can optimise existing images in bulk. WordPress already lazy-loads images by default, so you don't need a plugin just for that.

9. Contact Form 7. Creates contact forms with a simple shortcode and works with Akismet and reCAPTCHA to cut spam. On Domain India cPanel hosting, form emails go out through PHP's mail() function. Don't install an SMTP plugin there: SMTP connections from PHP don't work on our cPanel servers because the functions they need are disabled. If form emails don't arrive, read I can receive mail but I cannot send it and How to use PHPMailer for contact forms. Outgoing mail on cPanel is limited to 200 messages per hour per account.

10. Site Kit by Google. Connects your site to Google Analytics and Search Console and shows the key numbers in your dashboard. It replaces the old "Google Analytics Dashboard for WP (GADWP)" plugin, which was renamed and is no longer the usual choice.

6. How to install a plugin

Premium plugins, or add-ons you buy, come as a .zip file: use Plugins → Add New Plugin → Upload Plugin. Only download plugins from the WordPress directory or the developer's own site. "Nulled" (pirated) premium plugins are a common way sites get hacked.

7. Keep plugins updated

Out-of-date plugins are one of the most common ways WordPress sites get hacked.

• Check Dashboard → Updates at least weekly and update WordPress, plugins and themes.
• Turn on auto-updates for trusted plugins from the Plugins screen ("Enable auto-updates" next to each plugin).
• Replace abandoned plugins. If a plugin hasn't been updated in a year or more, or has been closed in the directory, find a maintained alternative.

If a plugin update breaks your site and you can't reach the dashboard, rename that plugin's folder in wp-content/plugins using the File Manager. WordPress then deactivates it and you can log in again.

8. WordPress hosting at Domain India

Our cPanel hosting runs WordPress on Apache with PHP OPcache on, Imunify360 security, free SSL, WP Toolkit and Softaculous for one-click installs, and weekly JetBackup backups. Shared hosting has a full refund within 30 days for new purchases.

For a complete walkthrough of setting up WordPress, see Mastering WordPress: a step-by-step guide.

Frequently asked questions

Ready to build your WordPress site? See WordPress hosting or compare cPanel hosting plans. Stuck on a plugin? Open a support ticket.