As a freelancer or agency, your toolkit can make or break your efficiency and productivity. One area where it’s crucial to have the right tools at your fingertips is when developing and managing WordPress websites.
The WordPress Plugins for Developers can significantly enhance your workflow, streamline tasks, and provide powerful solutions to common challenges. This article introduces you to some of the most popular and transformative WordPress plugins favored by freelancers and developers alike.
From debugging and managing cron events to enhancing the user interface and troubleshooting, these plugins cover a broad spectrum of needs and functionalities.
Whether you’re an experienced developer looking for new tools to add to your arsenal, or you’re new to WordPress development and seeking guidance on the best plugins to start with, this listicle promises a wealth of insights and practical solutions.
The promise is simple: by the end of this article, you’ll have a better understanding of how to leverage these plugins to make your WordPress development more efficient and effective.
Table of Contents
WordPress Plugins for Developers
Advanced Custom Fields (ACF)
Advanced Custom Fields (ACF) is a powerful WordPress plugin designed to enhance developers’ productivity by transforming their WordPress sites into a full-featured content management system.
The plugin addresses the need for a more streamlined and efficient way of managing data on WordPress sites by providing an intuitive interface for creating custom fields.
It is a perfect tool for agencies and freelancers who wish to gain more control over their WordPress data.
Features and Benefits
- Simple & Intuitive: ACF features a user-friendly interface that allows users to add custom fields to their WordPress edit screens with just a few clicks.
- Powerful Functions: The plugin provides robust functions that make it easy to load and display custom field values in any theme template file.
- Over 30 Field Types: ACF supports more than 30 field types, providing users with a wide range of options to choose from.
- Extensive Documentation: ACF is backed by comprehensive documentation and developer guides, making it easy for users to find the help they need.
- Millions of Users: ACF is trusted and used by millions of users worldwide, showcasing its reliability and effectiveness.
- PRO Version: The professional version includes additional features like the Repeater Field, ACF Blocks, Flexible Content Field, Options Page, Gallery Field, and Clone Field.
Pricing Structure
The plugin is free to use with the premium version starting from $49/ year.
Query Monitor
Query Monitor is an essential WordPress plugin for developers, freelancers, and agencies who want to streamline their debugging process.
This tool acts as a developer’s panel, providing an in-depth analysis of database queries, PHP errors, hooks and actions, and much more.
The major problem it solves is the time-consuming task of identifying and debugging poorly performing plugins, themes, or functions. With Query Monitor, developers can easily optimize their WordPress websites, ensuring smooth and efficient performance.
Features and Benefits
- Database queries: The plugin provides notifications for slow, duplicate, or erroneous queries, allowing users to filter by query type, responsible component, and calling function. This helps in identifying and rectifying database problems promptly, thereby improving the website’s performance.
- PHP errors: Query Monitor presents PHP errors in a user-friendly manner, complete with their responsible component and call stack. This simplifies debugging and allows developers to quickly identify and fix PHP errors.
- Deprecated functionality: The plugin alerts users about the usage of outdated or incorrect functionality in their code. This promotes best programming practices and ensures code quality.
- Blocks and properties: This tool provides details about blocks within post content and full site editing (FSE). This improves the editing and layout management of the website.
- Enqueued scripts and stylesheets: Query Monitor provides information about enqueued scripts and stylesheets, along with their dependencies, dependents, and alerts for broken dependencies. This helps in managing scripts and stylesheets efficiently, ensuring the smooth functioning of the website.
- HTTP API requests: The plugin provides detailed information on HTTP API requests, including response code, responsible component, and time taken. This allows developers to monitor and manage HTTP API requests effectively, improving the website’s response time.
- User capability checks: Query Monitor provides information on user capability checks, along with the result and any parameters passed to the capability check. This ensures proper user management and security on the website.
Pricing Structure
The Query Monitor plugin is open-source and available for free.
Activity Log
As a freelancer or developer, having a comprehensive understanding of your WordPress site’s activity is vital for troubleshooting, security, and overall management. The Activity Log WordPress plugin is designed to provide an in-depth record of all actions taken within your WordPress website.
This tool serves as a valuable resource for agencies and freelancers to easily monitor and track website activities, identify potential security threats, and streamline website management.
Features and Benefits
- Comprehensive Monitoring: The plugin records all activities within your WordPress website, from posts and pages creation to user login/logout, plugin/theme changes, and more.
- Email Logging: This feature captures all emails sent from your WordPress site, aiding in troubleshooting and record-keeping, particularly beneficial for WooCommerce stores.
- Export to CSV: You can export your Activity Log data records to CSV for further analysis or for meeting compliance requirements.
- Data Privacy and GDPR: The plugin provides tools to help you adhere to GDPR compliance standards, including Export/Erasure of data via the WordPress Privacy Tools.
- Reliable Storage and Optimization: The plugin stores all events and logs data in a dedicated custom table within your WordPress database, ensuring minimal impact on your website’s performance.
- Uninstall Clean-up: When the plugin is uninstalled, it removes all traces of its presence from your website, maintaining a clean and efficient database environment.
Pricing Structure
As of now, the Activity Log plugin is available for free.
WP Crontrol
For freelancers and developers managing various WordPress websites, keeping track of cron events can be a daunting task. This is where WP Crontrol, a WordPress plugin for developers, comes into play.
WP Crontrol is a comprehensive tool that allows you to take full control of the cron events on your WordPress website. It offers an easy-to-use interface that lets you view, edit, delete, pause, resume, and run cron events right from the admin screens.
Whether you’re a freelancer handling multiple client websites or a developer managing a single site, WP Crontrol provides a streamlined solution for managing cron events.
Features and Benefits
- View all cron events: WP Crontrol offers a clear overview of all cron events along with their arguments, recurrence, callback functions, and next due time, making it easy for users to keep track of all events in one place.
- Edit, delete, pause, resume, and run cron events: Allows users to easily manage cron events without needing advanced coding skills.
- Add new cron events: The plugin lets you add new cron events, giving you complete control over scheduling and executing tasks on your website.
- Bulk delete cron events: Especially helpful for users managing large websites, this feature allows deletion of multiple cron events at once, saving time and effort.
- Add and remove custom cron schedules: Gives users the flexibility to create custom schedules as per their requirements, ensuring tasks are executed at the right time.
- Export and download cron event lists: Users can export and download the list of cron events as a CSV file, making it easy to review or share the information.
Pricing Structure
The plugin is free to use.
Code Snippets
Code Snippets is a powerful WordPress plugin designed to cater to the needs of developers, freelancers, and agencies.
This tool is an excellent solution to the common problem of having to modify your theme’s functions.php file or download numerous plugins to add functionality to your site.
Code Snippets provides an easy-to-use graphical interface for adding snippets to your site, offering added functionality without cluttering your website.
Features and Benefits
- Effortless Integration: Code Snippets simplifies enhancing your WordPress site by providing an easy way to add snippets, mini-plugins that add functionality without clutter.
- Real-Time Execution: Unlike other solutions that require dumping code into your functions.php file, Code Snippets offers an intuitive graphical interface for seamless integration and real-time execution.
- Simplified Management: Managing snippets with Code Snippets is as easy as activating and deactivating plugins, eliminating unnecessary bloat and overhead.
- Community-Powered: Each copy of Code Snippets includes full integration with the community-powered Code Snippets Cloud platform, offering easy access to hundreds of tweaks and enhancements for any WordPress site.
- Pro Version: The Pro version of Code Snippets offers complete CSS, JavaScript, Gutenberg, Elementor, and cloud synchronization integrations, elevating your snippets experience.
Pricing Structure
The plugin is free to use with the premium version starting from $3.90.
Gutenberg
The Gutenberg WordPress plugin is an innovative tool for developers, freelancers, and agencies seeking to revolutionize their web creation experience.
Named after Johannes Gutenberg, who transformed the world with the printed word, this plugin aims to redefine WordPress publishing. It offers a modular approach to editing your entire site, making it easier and more intuitive than ever before.
Whether you’re seeking to enhance the look of your blog posts or adjust the layout of your entire website, Gutenberg is the all-in-one solution for your needs.
Features and Benefits
- Block Editor: Gutenberg introduces a block editor, a modular approach to modifying your website. Each piece of content, be it a paragraph, image gallery, or headline, is its own block. These blocks can be added, arranged, and rearranged, allowing users to create media-rich content and site layouts in a visually intuitive way without using shortcodes or custom HTML and PHP. This makes website editing more flexible and user-friendly, enhancing overall appeal and functionality.
- Full Site Editing: Gutenberg supports full site editing, enabling users to design their site headers, footers, and navigation. This gives users complete control over their website’s design, ensuring every element aligns with their brand image and goals.
- Early Access: The Gutenberg plugin offers early access to its latest features for tech-savvy users who enjoy testing and experimenting with features still in development. This allows users to stay ahead by incorporating the latest web design trends and features into their website.
- Contributor Opportunities: Gutenberg is an open-source project that welcomes contributors to help test and develop features, design elements, and build their own blocks. This fosters a community of innovation and collaboration, where users can contribute to the project and learn from others.
Pricing Structure
As an open-source project, the Gutenberg plugin for WordPress is free to use.
WP Reset
As a WordPress developer, whether you’re an agency, freelancer, or a generic user, you may often find yourself needing to reset your WordPress site to its default settings.
This is where the WP Reset – Most Advanced WordPress Reset Tool comes in handy. This plugin allows you to quickly reset your site’s database to default values without modifying any files. It provides a one-click restore functionality with built-in snapshots, making it safe to use.
This feature is especially beneficial for plugin and theme developers as it speeds up testing and debugging, providing a quick way to reset settings and re-test code.
Features and Benefits
- Resets WordPress site’s database: Quickly reset your site’s settings for faster debugging and testing.
- Built-in snapshots: Provides a fail-safe mechanism to ensure you never accidentally lose data.
- Deletes customizations and content: Control over what you want to reset, including theme settings.
- Does not modify files: Ensures your files remain untouched during the reset process.
- WP-CLI support: Ideal for those who prefer to work with command lines.
- Database snapshots: Quickly restore your development environment after testing database-related changes.
- Partial reset tools: Control over elements you want to reset, from deleting all plugins to resetting theme options.
Pricing Structure
The plugin is free to use with the premium version starting from $79.
Simple Custom CSS and JS
For developers, freelancers, and agencies that work with WordPress, having the right set of tools can significantly streamline the development process.
One such tool is the WordPress Plugin for Developers. This plugin is designed to help developers customize the appearance of a WordPress site without the need to modify theme or plugin files.
It’s a perfect solution for adding custom CSS and JS code, allowing for a unique and personalized website design.
Features and Benefits
- Syntax Highlighting: Makes it easier to write and review code, speeding up the development process.
- Print Code Inline or External: Offers flexibility in code organization, streamlining the coding process.
- Print Code in Header or Footer: Allows for more control over where the code appears on the page.
- Add CSS/JS to Frontend/Admin: Customizes both the user-facing side of the website and the backend admin area.
- Unlimited Code Additions: Provides the freedom to make as many customizations as needed to achieve the desired website design.
- Retain Changes After Theme Change: Ensures customizations remain intact even when the theme is changed.
Pricing Structure
The plugin is free to use with the premium version starting from $48.50.
Health Check & Troubleshooting
WordPress Plugins for Developers are essential tools that enhance the functionality and features of a WordPress website. One such powerful and highly useful plugin is the Health Check & Troubleshooting plugin.
This plugin is specifically designed to perform a comprehensive check on your WordPress installation to detect common configuration errors and known issues.
It is an indispensable tool for agencies, freelancers, and generic users who wish to maintain the optimum performance of their websites, reduce troubleshooting time, and ensure a seamless user experience.
Features and Benefits
- Comprehensive Health Check: The plugin performs an exhaustive scan of your WordPress installation to identify common configuration errors and known issues, saving you time and hassle.
- Debug Section: Collects information about your WordPress and server configuration, making it easier to get assistance quickly and efficiently from support representatives or on the official WordPress.org support forums.
- Troubleshooting Mode: Provides a clean WordPress session where all plugins are disabled and a default theme is used, allowing you to isolate and identify issues caused by plugins or themes.
- Tools Section: Enables you to check that WordPress files have not been tampered with, that emails can be sent, and if your plugins are compatible with future PHP version updates, ensuring file integrity and plugin compatibility.
Pricing Structure
The Health Check & Troubleshooting plugin is available for free. Being a part of WordPress.org’s repository, it can be downloaded and installed at no cost.
User Switching
User Switching is a top-rated WordPress plugin designed specifically for developers. It is an indispensable tool for agencies and freelancers who manage multiple user accounts for their clients or for testing purposes.
This plugin caters to a pressing need for a reliable, secure, and easy way to switch between user accounts in WordPress.
Whether you are managing a WooCommerce site, a membership site, or any other platform where you need to switch between accounts, User Switching is your go-to solution.
Features and Benefits
- Switch User: Instantly switch to any user account from the Users screen, assisting customers or testing different user roles easily.
- Switch Back: With one click, instantly switch back to your original account, saving time and effort.
- Switch Off: Log out of your account but still retain the ability to switch back instantly.
- Compatibility: Compatible with Multisite, WooCommerce, BuddyPress, and bbPress, making it versatile for all WordPress needs; works with most membership and user management plugins, and most two-factor authentication solutions.
- Security: Uses cookie authentication and nonce security system, ensuring only intended users can switch; supports user session validation and HTTPS for enhanced security.
Pricing Structure
User Switching is a free WordPress plugin available for download on the WordPress plugin directory.
Final Word
WordPress plugins are powerful tools that can aid freelancers and developers in enhancing their websites and providing a better user experience. These plugins can help in managing data efficiently, streamlining the debugging process, monitoring website activities, controlling cron events, and much more.
They open up exciting possibilities for growing your audience, boosting engagement, and establishing your authority in your niche. Don’t let the potential of your website remain untapped.
Take the step and explore the world of WordPress plugins today!
FAQs
- What are WordPress plugins and why are they essential for developers?
WordPress plugins are add-ons that extend the functionality of a WordPress site. They’re essential for developers because they allow customization, optimization, and enhancement of websites without needing to code everything from scratch. - How do I choose the right WordPress plugins as a freelancer?
When choosing plugins, consider factors like compatibility with your theme, regular updates, positive user reviews, support options, and whether they address specific needs such as SEO, security, or e-commerce functionality. - Which WordPress plugins are essential for improving website speed and performance?
Plugins like caching plugins (e.g., WP Super Cache, W3 Total Cache), image optimization plugins (e.g., Smush, Imagify), and performance monitoring plugins (e.g., Query Monitor) can significantly improve website speed and performance. - What are some must-have security plugins for WordPress freelancers?
Security plugins like Wordfence, Sucuri Security, and iThemes Security help protect WordPress sites from malware, brute-force attacks, and other security threats, making them essential for freelancers handling client websites. - How can SEO plugins benefit freelance developers working on WordPress sites?
SEO plugins such as Yoast SEO, All in One SEO Pack, and Rank Math help optimize content, meta tags, XML sitemaps, and other aspects crucial for improving a site’s search engine rankings and visibility. - Are there plugins that can assist with managing client projects and communication?
Project management plugins like WP Project Manager, Trello Integration for WordPress, and Asana for WordPress help freelancers organize tasks, collaborate with clients, and streamline project communication directly within WordPress.