Tim - Tower Marketing

After looking into website pricing and speaking with experts, one thing becomes clear: there’s no universal price tag. Your custom website design costs depend on a mix of factors, from the size of the site to the features you need, and who you hire to build it. And knowing that most websites have five seconds to make a first impression, you want to get it right.

Let’s discuss the cost to build a website and what to think about before you start building.

In a hurry? Check out our guide to get our quick tips.

Download Our Hidden Costs Guide

Marketing specialist typing on laptop at desk.

Hidden Custom Website Design Costs You Might Not Have Budgeted For

When people ask “What are the costs associated with a website,” most only budget for the launch, such as the design, development, and basic hosting. The reality is, the true cost of a website is its life cycle cost, which includes invisible initial expenses and unavoidable recurring fees. Here are some of the key website cost factors you might’ve missed.

The Content Gap

Content is the fuel for your site, but it’s often overlooked in the initial cost to build a website. High-converting websites need compelling, SEO-optimized copy. If your team isn’t skilled in writing for the web, hiring a professional copywriter is an essential (and often unbudgeted) expense.

Image Assets

Free stock images look generic. Professional stock photo licenses or custom photography/videography can add higher costs. Licensing fees for unique typography, premium fonts, and specialized graphic design assets are also recurring or one-time premium expenses.

The Cost of Custom Development

Features like e-commerce functionality, recurring events, memberships, and extended search filters require significant development time and often specialized or paid tools. Some elements of your site may require custom blocks, which are built from scratch and tailored to a client’s needs and can be reused on your site. Custom blocks can be an added expense to your budget, especially if they’re added partway through a web project.

Some examples of custom blocks are:

Accordions
Sliders
Tabs
Grids
CTA Blocks

Extra “flare,” like transitions (text or blocks appearing from the sides or fading in), also takes time to make sure they work properly on all devices.

E-commerce Fees

E-commerce functionality almost always comes with an additional cost. All-in-one e-commerce platforms usually include hosting and a website builder, but content management system (CMS) platforms, like WooCommerce for WordPress, also offer e-commerce capabilities.

In addition to the platform fee, the e-commerce software may connect with other providers, such as shipping and payment processors. But e-commerce functionality often comes with additional costs, such as processing fees. The most important features to budget for include a checkout system, product management, shipping integrations, and sales tax calculations.

Apps and Plugins

If you are using a CMS such as WordPress or a website builder, much of your website’s functionality will be handled by plugins or apps. These are software applications built to work with your specific design platform. Some are free, but many paid apps may cost one-time fees or come with necessary subscription costs—especially those that handle features like live chat, advanced SEO, and specialized e-commerce functions.

SSL Certificates

Implementing an SSL certificate is essential, since it safeguards the transfer of sensitive data and instills trust in your audience by displaying HTTPS and a padlock in the URL. An SSL certificate not only enhances your site’s security by encrypting information but also improves your SEO performance. This leads many people to ask, “How much does an SSL certificate cost?” An SSL certificate can cost up to $1,500 per year, depending on the level of protection and features you require.

Beyond SSL

Additionally, ongoing website security measures, such as dedicated security software and monitoring like web application firewalls (WAFs), may have monthly or annual costs. These investments are crucial for maintaining the integrity and reliability of your site against modern threats.

Compliance Costs

Making sure your website design and interface are accessible with ADA compliance or adhere to privacy regulations (GDPR, CCPA) requires specialized tools, audits, and developer fixes. If your site doesn’t comply with these standards, it can result in substantial fines, a potentially expensive cost you didn’t budget for.

Maintenance and Upgrades

Website maintenance costs are one of the biggest surprises for new website owners. One way to think about your website is that it’s a tool that must be regularly maintained.

Your initial hosting is cheap, but as your site grows in traffic and complexity, you’ll need to upgrade to more expensive VPS or dedicated hosting. Renewal prices are often much higher than introductory rates.

If using a CMS, the core software, theme, and all plugins require ongoing updates to remain secure. This takes time, technical skill, or a paid maintenance retainer.

Tips From Our Team

Before you start your website design and development, there are a few items to consider that can make the process easier on you and your team.

Tip 1: Prioritize Your Must-Have Features

Know your priorities and identify which features are essential for your business and which ones can wait. For instance, an e-commerce site can’t function without secure payment options and checkout pages, but you might not need flare features right away. By focusing on your must-haves, you can stretch your budget further and avoid unnecessary development costs upfront.

Tip 2: Provide Content Feedback Where You Can

To make sure your main messages reach your audience, share any important information you want highlighted with the writing team. Giving them this input helps create a solid foundation and makes sure those key items are in the first drafts, which saves review time and headaches for everyone.

Tip 3: Share Approved Images

Send any high-quality, approved images directly to the design team. Having authentic assets gives your site an authenticity that can resonate with your audience. This can help save the team time and money when looking for images to include on your new website.

Tip 4: Invest in Scalable Solutions

A quick fix, such as new landing pages or updating designs on specific pages, may seem like a cheaper and tempting option, but if your business is growing, scalability matters. This means you won’t have to rebuild your website from scratch as your needs evolve, which saves you time and money in the long run. Choosing scalable tools lets you start small and expand over time without major disruptions to your site. Platforms like WordPress offer flexibility with extensive plugins and built-in features, but they aren’t the only options you have.

Other Scalable Options for You

Squarespace is a website builder that provides everything you need to build a website. It allows people who have little to no technical knowledge to quickly build and launch a custom site without worrying about day-to-day management.

Another option is Shopify, which is specifically designed for building and managing e-commerce websites. It offers several features to support businesses and create accessible online storefronts, including basic SEO and blogging functionality, easy-to-use online store editors, built-in functions for handling all eCommerce needs, and customizable templates and themes.

Wix has become a popular option because its founders wanted to create a platform that allows users to easily build a site without coding or extensive design skills. The platform features include access to over 800 designed templates, a drag-and-drop content editor, starter SEO tools, built-in eCommerce functionality, a code development platform for advanced users, an app market for third-party integrations, and options for automation, custom forms, and a built-in CRM.

Duda is a software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform that allows you to build a website in your own browser. It uses basic drag-and-drop content and design techniques to create each page, with no coding required, which is positive if you don’t have any web development experience. Some of the most useful Duda features include basic SEO tools, blogging capabilities, a widget builder, and designed templates.

Preventing spam form submissions through a contact form on a website.

Build the Site That Works For Your Business

For business owners looking for a new website, a strategic budget is everything. We always recommend you start by defining your goals and must-have features. Then you can gather quotes to find the right provider that fits your needs and budget.

Also, treat your website as an ongoing investment, not a one-off purchase, and allocate a fixed budget for maintenance and upgrades. Some careful thought and planning will help you build a website that works hard for your business, without draining your bank account.

At Tower, our web developers and designers have the experience and knowledge to help you build a site that not only looks great but also works with your audience. If you have a tight budget, our Business Development team can work with you to find the right web options for you.

Ready to take the next step? Schedule a meeting with us to start building your website.

Let’s Talk About Your Site

Around-the-clock support. No wait time. Letting AI do the hard work. What’s not to love about live chat on websites? It may seem like an easy solution for an overwhelmed customer service team, but is it really beneficial to your business? We’re going to break down the advantages and disadvantages of online chat so you can decide for yourself!

What Is Live Chat?

Live chat on websites is a way for customers to communicate with a company representative via real-time online messaging. This can be easily installed on your site, typically as a pop-up window where users can start a chat.

Most live chat features rely on AI to answer frequently asked questions and only give you a real person if requested. Online chat can support sales, customer service, and many other departments.

Customer service online chat began in the late 1990s and early 2000s, but it was slow to gain popularity. Now with the rise of AI, chatbots have become much more complex. As the industry evolves, so do the advantages and disadvantages of online chat.

Pros & Cons: The Advantages and Disadvantages of Online Chat

While there are many benefits of having live chat on your website, it’s not all sunshine and roses. There are also significant disadvantages of live chat that need to be considered before deciding if it’s right for you.

Live Chat Pros

#1. Real-Time Support

One of the biggest pros of online chat is that people can find answers to their questions quickly. With the boom in AI, this is even more prevalent. The instant gratification of getting an immediate response leaves your customers feeling more satisfied. According to one survey, 63% of users choose live chat as their preferred method of contacting a business.

#2. Easier For Your Customer Service Reps

Installing a website chat software on your site lets your customer service representatives (CSRs) field more questions and juggle multiple chats at once. They also get a live preview of what the user is typing, even before they hit send. Lastly, angry complaints are much easier to handle. It is less taxing to deal with a frustrated customer over chat than it is over the phone.

#3. Increases Conversions

If implemented and staffed correctly, live chat functions have the potential to increase conversion rates and sales for your business. When a real person walks someone through a purchase, it’s more likely they will spend money or come back a second time.

#4. Not Disruptive

Online chat allows customers to get support without it disrupting their entire day. They don’t have to stay on the line for hours, waiting to talk to someone. They can get easy help while at work, home, or out and about. Agents can even send links, files, and other documents without needing to change communication channels.

#5. Builds Relationships

Live chat on websites is inherently more casual than other forms of communication. This opens the door for more personalization in agent’s responses, making it easier to build a relationship with customers. If they have a positive experience, they are more likely to come back again, increasing user engagement.

#6. Everything Is In Writing

Another pro of online chat is that it leaves a digital paper trail. Your conversation is all documented, so you can refer back and keep the receipts if needed. With everything in writing, it is easier to understand the customer’s issue and pass it on to another member of your team without them having to repeat themselves over the phone.

#7. Customer Feedback

Another major benefit of having live chat on your website is that most software allows the user to rate the experience as soon as it ends. This gives your team more insights into the effectiveness of your chat program.

Live Chat Cons

#1. Not Good For Every Demographic

Gen X and Baby Boomers prefer more traditional methods of communication, such as phone or email. To them, online chat may feel impersonal. Depending on your target audience, live chat may not be the right choice for your business.

#2. Bothersome Pop-Ups

A lot of people find the chat box pop-up window to be bothersome. Sometimes it even blocks content on a page! If the pop-up window distracts from the website or negatively impacts the user experience, it may turn people away from your site. They can often come across as intrusive and gimmicky, so be careful when installing them.

#3. Limits to AI

Another disadvantage of live chat is the limitations of AI. For simple FAQs, chatbots can be beneficial, but any complex questions require a real person. In fact, many people immediately skip the chatbot and request a live agent from the start. It can be frustrating and a waste of time to work with an AI that you know can’t help you.

#4. Requires Someone to Monitor

While the idea of passing on simple questions to an AI seems great, it’s not that easy. For online chat to be effective, someone always needs to be monitoring it so they can handle issues too involved for the bot. Users have high expectations for response time, and you don’t want to disappoint them.

#5. Timely Set Up

A common misconception about live chat is that it’s quick and easy to set up. Unfortunately, that’s not true. To set up software that will be beneficial, you need to write automated responses for every potential question. This content should be customized to your business goals, and it can take a lot of time and effort to set those pathways up.

#6. Can Be Costly

With the price of the software, plus the cost of having someone monitoring, online chat can become quite expensive. If it’s not driving sales for your business, it may not be worth it in the long run.

#7. Privacy Concerns

CSRs are able to see a user’s location, what pages they’ve visited, what’s in their shopping cart, and even what they are typing in real time before they hit send. Plus if you’re sharing confidential information over chat, all this can lead to privacy concerns.

#8. More Channels to Monitor

With the addition of live chat, your customer service team is now responsible for monitoring multiple channels. During peak hours, this can be a lot to handle, especially if they are getting many requests at once.

Implementing Live Chat Functions

When it’s time to implement website chat software, you first need to set it up. This process involves developing a chatbot decision tree.

A decision tree maps out conversations in a logical way. Each interaction will have many “branches” and every topic the chatbot covers will need its own flow. As you can imagine, all this content really adds up! The more complex your chatbot, the more branches you’ll need—and the more helpful it will be to your customers.

Remember: your chatbot is only as good as your decision tree.

Some common chatbot mistakes we see:

They only provide general information that cannot answer people’s specific queries.
They take users on too long of a journey to get the answer they need.
They don’t recognize certain keywords, so they are unable to provide customers with useful responses.

Now let’s get to the set-up.

#1. Choose and Install Your Software

There are many website chat softwares available at varying price points. The more you pay, the more options you have for customization. Our dev team will provide you with a few software options to pick from, depending on your business goals.

Once it’s installed, be aware that it is going to affect your core web vitals. Since the script has to run on almost every page of your site, that will lead to longer page loads and an overall dip in vitals.

#2. Customize It To Your Brand

The customization options will depend on the software you choose. In our experience, these options tend to be limited and often don’t work well. They can be finicky to implement.

#3. Develop The Decision Tree

Creating your automated responses will take the most time. First, you need to decide what queries it must be able to answer—the most common FAQs you receive about your product or service. If you’re not sure, ask your customer service or sales team. You’ll also need to decide on a personality for the bot to match your overall brand voice.

Next, create the flow. Guide your customers through a smooth journey from start to finish. Begin by grouping potential queries into categories and then branching out from there. Every possible response needs a branch, but remember to make it natural and conversational, not robotic.

Newer live chat features are keyword based. Make sure your system can recognize relevant keywords and answer accordingly. At the point your chatbot doesn’t know the answer (which will happen), always have the option for someone to contact a live agent.

How to Decide If It’s Right For You

Now that you understand the advantages and disadvantages of online chat, it’s time to decide if it’s right for you. Just like any of our customized web solutions, live chat is not for everyone. Before installing any software, ask yourself:

What problem am I trying to solve with online chat, and do I have the resources to monitor it?

You need to have a specific reason for wanting a chatbot, besides just jumping on the bandwagon. Be intentional and ask: What problems will it be addressing? Do you think your client base will really use it? And why do you think a chatbot is the best answer?

Sometimes, your desire for a live chat feature points to another problem—maybe you need better site content or an updated FAQ page instead. At the end of the day, it all comes down to cost. Is it going to save you money or generate sales? Is the investment worth it? If not, it’s just going to cost you.

Live Chat Best Practices

With the advantages and disadvantages of online chat fresh in your mind, let’s dive into some best practices.

Always have a clear purpose for installing it.
Put the necessary resources behind it. This includes the time to set it up correctly and the manpower to monitor it.
Respond quickly—don’t make people wait. When your response time lags, people get frustrated.
Make sure the placement is not intrusive. Most people put the chat box in the bottom right corner so it won’t cover any site content.
Content loads first. Your chat software should be the last thing to load on a page, giving the website content priority.
Keep it human. Even if you’re using AI, always incorporate a human touch.
Have an offline plan. Figure out a system for after hours when you don’t have an agent online.

Not sure if live chat is right for you? Get expert advice from our dev team to find a customized solution for all your website needs!

Explore Web Services

Interested in learning more about the different types of hosting methods because you are ready to launch a new site, or make upgrades to your existing one? Maybe your site is, more often than you would like, creating problems for your organization, and you don’t quite understand how to fix them.

This blog will take a high-level overview of the key differences between shared vs. dedicated vs. cloud hosting. We will dive into the pros and cons of dedicated hosting, shared hosting, and cloud hosting.

Before we get into all that you may ask yourself, what is shared hosting? Or cloud hosting? Or dedicated hosting? And why may one be better for my organization? Don’t worry, we will cover that too.

Factors to Consider

Before you decipher through the different hosting options, ask yourself the following questions:

How many visitors come to my site monthly? The amount of traffic coming to your site helps determine the number of resources you need to run a successful site. If you have a smaller amount of traffic, shared hosting probably has enough resources.

What is your budget? With each hosting service, there will be differing costs based on whether you have a single server just for you or share a server with other organizations. There is also an option to pay an additional fee for managed hosting, which is like AAA Car insurance but for your website.

What are your website needs? Consider what your website’s purposes are. Users could be coming to your site to read blogs, get information, make payments, purchase a product or service, or fill out a form and request more information about your company.

What is Shared Hosting?

The main difference between shared vs dedicated hosting is the allocation of resources. In shared hosting, you “share” resources of one server with multiple companies. You’ll often see this referred to as “multi-tenant hosting.” This type of hosting benefits small businesses with low traffic, blogs, and personal websites.

Think of shared hosting as living in an apartment building. The building itself is shared by multiple people, and you may hear your neighbors through the walls or experience power outages all at once, but you are in your own space.

Advantages

Since you are sharing your resources, this type of hosting is the most economical. Also, since you do not own the server, there’s usually a web hosting company that can help you when there are issues with your website. This will depend on whether you decide to pursue managed vs unmanaged hosting, which is explained later in this blog.

Another benefit of shared hosting is simplicity. You’re not expected to manage the server yourself and many tools are often available to get your site up and running quickly. You’ll not require a dedicated person to operate and maintain the web server.

For smaller businesses that feel they don’t need a ton of resources to run a successful website, shared hosting may be your best option. This allows you to save some money and still get enough assets required for your site.

Disadvantages

While shared hosting does provide an economical solution, it isn’t without some drawbacks. Because shared hosting relies on a shared pool of resources, one site could affect other sites on the server. This could range from slow performance to being impacted by server crashes due to resource exhaustion.

If you become a repeat offender, you may end up in violation of a Terms of Service clause and may be evicted from the platform.

The simplicity of shared hosting may not be best for those who need something more complex. For example, if your website requires special software to be installed, your hosting provider may not be able to comply.

A special software could include an older version of PHP that is necessary for your site to run. In this case, because older versions of PHP may no longer be supported, your hosting provider may refuse your request, and you’d be unable to run the code that would need that version of PHP.

Just like living in an apartment building, sometimes a problem arises that affects the whole building. For example, a pipe bursts and floods a floor. The same applies to shared hosting. Sometimes your website may be impacted by an issue from another website on the same server.

A close up of a dedicated hosting server

What is Dedicated Hosting?

This type of hosting dedicates a server to a single business customer, meaning you have the most control of your physical hosting resources. Since all the resources are allocated to your server, and you have full control, dedicated hosting is the most expensive option.

If your website brings in high levels of traffic (300,000 or more page views monthly), and you’ll need all the resources, you may consider spending the extra money to provide dedicated hosting to your company.

Also, if you’re looking to build an e-commerce site where users need to make payments, dedicated hosting is the most secure option. Since credit card and personal information will be inputted into these types of sites, a more secure hosting option would be best.

Advantages

When comparing dedicated vs shared hosting, dedicated hosting allows you to have the most resources as well as the most control. You will not compete with other websites on your server for resources, since the server is strictly for you.

As your resources are only yours, so are your issues. With other hosting options, you have the potential to be affected by other websites’ problems. Dedicated hosting keeps everything isolated, so this not only makes your website more secure, but it keeps your website performing smoothly.

Disadvantages

Although having all the resources for yourself can be a dedicated hosting benefit, it may be the most expensive option. Additionally, dedicated hosting requires very skilled and technical management. Maintaining a server is an art unto itself and ensuring reliable and stable operation requires specialized knowledge and training.

VPS Hosting

VPS (Virtual Private Server) hosting is a hybrid solution between shared hosting and dedicated hosting. It has a similar foundation to shared hosting, but the resources are specifically allocated to you. Because of this, VPS hosting is arguably the most popular type of hosting.

Advantages

This type of hosting runs on its own operating system and offers flexibility and a high level of performance. Having a VPS will give you full control of your allocated resources and what you want to do on the server. For many, a VPS may be the solution for cost and benefit.

Disadvantages

Since VPS is a blend of the best of both worlds, it may have those same drawbacks, but to a lesser degree. For example, a VPS may require technical expertise, as you may need to manage the server instance yourself, but you won’t have to worry as much about hardware issues.

Similar to shared hosting, you still have issues with rowdy neighbors, as hosting providers will frequently have many VPS instances sharing a server. This is comparable to living in a city, you have your own space, but you’ll still be able to hear what your neighbors are doing from time to time.

What is Cloud Hosting?

A completely virtual hosting service, cloud hosting uses distributed computing resources. You’ll often see this referred to as PaaS (Platform-as-a-service), SaaS (Software-as-a-Service), or IaaS (Infrastructure-as-a-service). With the ability to move between regions relatively easily and quickly, cloud hosting is an effective solution for servers that need to be elastic and resilient.

Advantages

Cloud hosting allows you to pick and choose services you need without having to deal with resources that aren’t relevant to your needs. Your cloud vendor may also provide the means of easily scaling your resource needs on demand.

A good scenario would be planning for a surge in traffic and employing load-balancers to manage traffic load, spinning up additional servers to cover the surge, and then decommissioning those resources when the surge has subsided. Many times, a hosting company will partner with a Cloud Hosting provider to provide a solution for end-users.

Disadvantages

While cloud hosting has a lot of technological benefits, it can also be very complex and very costly. Many cloud services operate on an “à la carte” style price model, where your bill is based on the number of resources you use.

This structure may be affordable for low-resource sites, but you need to be aware of your usage so you don’t end up with a massive bill at the end of your term. It’s not uncommon to hear of a story where a company ran up a several thousand dollar invoice on Amazon Web Service because of some technical issue.

In the same vein as the high-tech aspect of cloud hosting, setting up a site on a cloud hosting platform can be complex and may require more professional knowledge. In some cases, cloud hosting providers take a hands-off approach to your server and will only cover support for the infrastructure surrounding it, leaving you to fend for yourself if an issue occurs.

Unmanaged vs. Managed Hosting

Now that we’ve determined the differences between shared vs. dedicated vs. cloud hosting, you have to decide whether your company will benefit from unmanaged or managed hosting. When comparing unmanaged vs managed hosting, consider the ability and goals of your organization.

Managed hosting means paying extra but gaining support services. So, when your site goes down, or you run out of resources, you won’t have to worry about how to fix it. You’ll simply call your web development team to help you out. With unmanaged hosting, you’ll be tasked with performing these issues yourself with minimal support from your vendor.

Managed hosting allows you to focus on your organizational goals and achievements rather than the technical management of your website. Here are some services that could be included in your managed hosting.

Automated Backups
Performance Monitoring
Malware Scanning and Removal
Hardware and Software Maintenance

Partnering with a Web Hosting Service

Once you compare shared vs cloud vs dedicated hosting and decide what’s best for you, your next step will be partnering with a web hosting service. Investing in a group of web developers and a marketing agency can help you focus on your organization’s success, with the assurance your site is taken care of.

At Tower Marketing, you have the opportunity to work with a full-service, innovative marketing agency with real people on the other side of the phone. Our development team works with WPEngine as a hosting solution provider for the majority of our WordPress clients.

Our developers also have the flexibility to utilize AWS (Amazon Web Services) for clients that require cloud computing solutions and use Linode and Digital Ocean for clients that need non-WordPress solutions.

Allow your organization to focus on what matters – your growth, your goals, and your future. Contact us today to learn more about our managed hosting and maintenance services.

With 50,000+ free and paid WordPress plugins available, it can be time-consuming and overwhelming to choose the best ones for your website. There’s a plugin for every need or problem, but this wealth of options can complicate your decision-making, especially if you don’t have web development experience.

If you’re asking yourself, “what are the best plugins for WordPress?” or “what WordPress plugins do I need?”, you’ve come to the right place. In this blog, we’ll review ten of the best WordPress plugins in alphabetical order, including their main features, cost(s), and pros and cons.

You can also use the index to the left (or above if you’re on mobile) to jump to any of the most popular WordPress plugins based on the capabilities you’re looking for.

1. Advanced Custom Fields

This WordPress tool allows you to easily add extra content fields (known as Custom Fields) to your WordPress edit screens without writing any code. This means you can build your website more quickly, regardless of your theme template or web development skills. You can use Advanced Custom Fields (ACF) on any of the following WordPress edit screens:

Attachments
Categories
Comments
Custom Posts
Custom Taxonomies
Menus
Options
Pages
Posts
Taxonomies
Users
Widgets

Advanced Custom Fields comes standard with 30+ field types, and there are also hundreds of user-created fields available. These field types include basic, choice, content, jQuery, layout, and relational, among others. The plugin also provides PHP functions that developers can use to display stored field information in their front-end templates.

Advanced Custom Fields The 10 Best WordPress Plugins for Your Website

What It Costs

Advanced Custom Fields is a free plugin. However, there is also a paid version (ACF PRO) that includes five premium features: repeater field, gallery field, flexible content field, clone field, and options pages. You can find ACF PRO pricing below:

ACF PRO Personal (1 website): $49/year
ACF PRO Freelancer (10 websites): $149/year
ACF PRO Agency (unlimited websites): $249/year

Pros & Cons

Advanced Custom Fields make it easy to create and manage custom fields for WordPress, making it one of the best WordPress plugins for blogs. However, it may require some web development knowledge to implement your custom fields into WordPress themes and plugins.

2. Bulk Page Creator

Bulk Page Creator allows you to generate multiple pages in bulk batches, which can save you time when you create your WordPress site. Once you’ve added all of your pages, you can create them with a click of a button. This plugin also offers backwards capability, which means the full length of the short description will be used and the markdown parsed if a section is missing.

Bulk Page Creator The 10 Best WordPress Plugins for Your Website

What It Costs

Bulk Page Creator is a free, open-source plugin that you can download from the WordPress plugin library.

Pros & Cons

If you already know the structure of your new website, Bulk Page Creator is a great way to quickly generate all of your pages. However, you can only bulk create pages – not posts or custom post types. That means it’s more useful for setting up new sites with existing content than building out established ones.

3. Gravity Forms

This plugin allows you to quickly create and build WordPress forms using an intuitive visual editor tool. You can easily select fields, configure options, and embed forms on your website to create a superior, streamlined user experience.

Gravity Forms comes standard with 30+ ready-to-use form fields, allowing you to create customized forms that facilitate your marketing goals. Plus, built-in conditional logic means you can configure your form to show or hide fields, sections, pages, and the “submit” button based on your needs.

Additional Gravity Forms features include:

Advanced calculations
Email autoresponders
Entry limitations
Form scheduling
File upload fields
reCAPTCHA, Really Simple CAPTCHA, and Akismet
Responsive design
Save partially-completed forms
WordPress Post creation

Depending on the license you choose, Gravity Forms includes a variety of add-ons and integrations. These include ActiveCampaign, Constant Contact, HubSpot, Mailchimp, PayPal, Square, Zapier, and many more.

Gravity Forms The 10 Best WordPress Plugins for Your Website

What It Costs

Gravity Forms is a paid plugin with three license tiers: Basic, Pro, and Elite. You can find pricing below:

Basic License (1 website): $59/year
Pro License (3 websites): $159/year
Elite License (unlimited websites): $259/year

Pros & Cons

As one of the best WordPress form plugins, Gravity Forms offers easy form creation and is highly customizable to meet any need. However, it’s a paid plugin, and the Pro and Elite licenses offer many more useful features than the Basic one.

4. Intuitive Custom Post Order

Intuitive Custom Post Order allows you to arrange Custom Post Types, Custom Taxonomies, Pages, Posts, and Sites using drag-and-drop, sortable JavaScript. You can use the parameters included in your WordPress theme and override auto-converted parameters for additional customization.

Intuitive Custom Post Order The 10 Best WordPress Plugins for Your Website

What It Costs

Intuitive Custom Post Order is a free, open-source plugin that you can download from the WordPress plugin library.

Pros & Cons

One of the best free WordPress plugins, this tool is great for rearranging the order of your Pages and Posts, even if they’re customized. It also allows for custom sorting and is useful if you need to order items anachronistically. However, it’s important to realize that your designated order will remain the same even if you remove the plugin. And depending on your page build, Intuitive Custom Post Order may not be helpful since posts are naturally ordered by descending date.

5. Query Monitor

This essential WordPress plugin is geared towards web developers and allows you to inspect and debug many aspects of your website. These include database queries, PHP errors, theme template files, rewrite rules, and more. Query Monitor presents information in a logical, organized manner, allowing you to efficiently determine which plugins, themes, and functions are underperforming.

Query Monitor The 10 Best WordPress Plugins for Your Website

What It Costs

Query Monitor is a free, open-source plugin that you can download from the WordPress plugin library. It’s also included in some of the most popular WordPress platforms, including Altis and WordPress.com VIP.

Pros & Cons

This plugin is great for checking theme template file errors and inspecting and debugging your website. However, if you don’t have a web development background, you may need to consult a developer to fully utilize its capabilities.

6. Regenerate Thumbnails

Regenerate Thumbnails allows you to recreate all thumbnail sizes for any images you’ve uploaded to your WordPress Media Library. You can also delete old thumbnails to free up space on your server, making it one of the best WordPress gallery plugins. This plugin is particularly useful if you want to:

Update the thumbnail size of past uploads
Change the dimensions of existing thumbnails
Update thumbnail sizes to match a new WordPress theme

Regenerate Thumbnails The 10 Best WordPress Plugins for Your Website

What It Costs

Regenerate Thumbnails is a free, open-source plugin that you can download from the WordPress plugin library.

Pros & Cons

This plugin is ideal for resizing images if you’ve changed the dimensions of the three default WordPress image sizes (thumbnail, medium, and large) in your Media Library settings. It’s also useful if you’ve created a custom image size after already uploading images. Plus, it can fix issues with image sizes, especially if new ones have been uploaded. However, it doesn’t work with WebP image formats or upscale images to fit sizes larger than the original.

7. Safe SVG

This plugin for your WordPress website allows you to safely upload scalable vector graphic (SVG) files to your Media Library. Safe SVG includes features like SVGO optimization, Gutenberg block compatibility, previous file upload scans, and restricted upload capabilities.

Scalable vector graphics are used to render two-dimensional images and are optimized for search engines, programmable, and capable of dynamic interactions. However, they’re also inherently insecure because they open your server up to XML-based attacks.

What It Costs

Safe SVG is a free, open-source plugin that you can download from the WordPress plugin library. There’s also a paid version (called WP SVG), but it’s currently unavailable from the third-party developer.

Pros & Cons

Another one of the best WordPress plugins, Safe SVG provides a secure, convenient way to upload SVGs to your Media Library and embed them via code. However, it hasn’t been tested in WordPress 5.5 yet, so it may be unsafe in newer versions until it’s updated by the developer. It’s also somewhat hampered by how WordPress incorporates SVGs and may be inaccessible to users who are unfamiliar with this file type.

8. The Events Calendar

The Events Calendar allows you to manage your organization’s events in one place, making it one of the best calendar plugins for WordPress. You can share important dates with users while keeping details organized using categories and tags. It’s also fully responsive, developer-friendly, and designed for use on the go.

There are two versions of The Events Calendar: free and Pro. With the free version, you can choose from day, month, and list calendar views, all of which integrate seamlessly with your WordPress theme. You can also promote featured events to boost user engagement and attendance.

The Pro version offers all of the capabilities of the free one, along with the following additional features:

Photo grid, map, week, and summary calendar views
Monthly, weekly, and custom recurring events
Shortcodes for easy embedding
Advanced widgets
Premium support
Elementor integration
Custom fields
Location search

The Events Calendar The 10 Best WordPress Plugins for Your Website

What It Costs

If you upgrade from the free version, The Events Calendar Pro costs $99/ year for one website.

Pros & Cons

While this WordPress tool makes it easy to manage and create or edit events, the free version is rather limited in comparison to The Events Calendar Pro.

9. WooCommerce

With everything you need to start selling merchandise online, WooCommerce is WordPress’s premier eCommerce plugin. It’s developer-friendly and built with a REST API, and you can add extensions from the WooCommerce Marketplace to extend your store’s functionality. These range from customer relationship management and product types to shipping and subscriptions, among many others.

WooCommerce allows you to customize your homepage, site structure, menus, and payment and shipping options. Plus, it comes bundled with the ability to accept major credit cards, bank transfers, checks, and cash on delivery. Best of all, there are no fees on transactions beyond that of the payment service provider, making it the most affordable way to sell your products online.

You can also take advantage of WooCommerce Payments, WooCommerce Marketing, and WooCommerce Shipping, all of which help make it the best eCommerce plugin for WordPress.

WooCommerce The 10 Best WordPress Plugins for Your Website

What It Costs

WooCommerce is a free plugin that you can download from the WordPress plugin library. Some of the extensions you may choose to add cost extra, though.

Pros & Cons

Because it’s a free plugin, WooCommerce is very popular among users who are new to eCommerce. However, it’s important to understand that it requires additional plugins for enhanced functionality, which often vary in cost and quality.

10. Wordfence Premium

Wordfence Premium is an endpoint firewall and malware scanner plugin that’s specifically designed for WordPress. It pairs a firewall and security scanner and is armed with the newest firewall rules, malicious IP addresses, and malware signatures. Because it runs at the endpoint (your server), Wordfence Premium provides superior protection than cloud alternatives.

This plugin also includes the following standard features:

Two-factor authentication (2FA)
Source code verification
Country blocking
Malicious network blocking
Live traffic monitoring
Leaked password protection

Wordfence Premium The 10 Best WordPress Plugins for Your Website

What It Costs

Wordfence Premium is a paid plugin that costs $99/year for one license. However, there are percentage discounts available if you purchase additional licenses or extend your license span.

Pros & Cons

Arguably the best WordPress security plugin, Wordfence Premium is customized to protect your WordPress website. However, it costs money and requires knowledge to properly secure your WordPress installation.

The smartest way to select the best WordPress plugins for your website is by partnering with a digital marketing agency like Tower Marketing. Contact us today and connect with our web developers to outfit your WordPress website with the right plugins.