Whether you’re starting a blog or a website, plugins are a great way of adding functionality to your online platform. No matter if you’re looking to improve your site’s SEO, increase your opt-in conversion rate, or add social media features to your site, there’s bound to be a plugin out there that does exactly what you’re looking for.

That said, it’s very easy to waste your time trying out a load of unnecessary and poorly designed plugins when you’re starting out. There are so many out there and many of them do little more than mess up your code and slow your site down.

So how’s a blogger to know which plugins to install? Simple. Just read on to find out which seven plugins you should install tomorrow.

1. Askimet

Anyone who’s been blogging for over a week will tell you that you need to install some kind of anti-spam plugin. As soon as your blog goes live, you’ll be bombarded with pitches for fake handbags and magic pills. It’s a nightmare.

Askimet takes care of those comments, allowing you to focus on the ones left by your readers. Simply install Askimet, activate it using, and forget that spam even exists.

Download: Askimet

2. LeadPages

If you’re at all serious about making money from your blog or website, LeadPages is a must. It’s the simplest and best way there is to create mobile responsive landing pages without hiring a designer or messing around with code.

And whether it’s a webinar registration page or a regular sales page that you’re putting together, with LeadPages you can collect and analyze your conversion data to find out which pages convert best. I’ve created my highest ever converting landing pages with LeadPages, so I know how much of a difference it can make to your income.

Download: LeadPages

3. ThirstyAffiliates

If you do affiliate marketing, you’ll know how ugly affiliate links can be. And how frustrating it can be to have to go back through all your old content trying to locate now broken links and replace them with working ones.

This is where ThirstyAffiliates comes in. ThirstyAffiliates gives you a central location from which to manage your affiliate links, it turns long and ugly links into short and easy-to-remember ones, and it adds a handy affiliate button into your WordPress text editor, so that you can quickly insert affiliate links as you type.

Download: ThirstyAffiliates

4. Genesis Simple Share

There are a ridiculous number of social media sharing plugins out there and sifting through them to pick the best one is a nightmare. Luckily I’m here to tell you that Genesis Simple Share is the one you want.

Once you’ve downloaded and installed this plugin, simply select the social media platforms you want to enable, rearrange them, and customize the appearance from the display options provided. That’s it and you’re good to go.

Download: Genesis Simple Share

5. OptinMonster

Again, if you’re at all serious about blogging (and by that I mean you’re not just blogging about your cat and what you had for lunch today), this plugin is a must for you. OptinMonster converts visitors into subscribers and customers by capturing their email addresses with well-designed opt-in forms that are optimized for the highest conversion rates.

Download: OptinMonster

6. BackupBuddy

Until you’ve lost all of your most recent updates either because you tinkered with your databases or your site was hacked, you will not understand how valuable this plugin is. Having BackupBuddy installed gives you the peace of mind that goes with knowing that your online assets are safe, no matter what happens.

Download it: BackupBuddy

7. Yoast SEO

If you want your blog, website, or posts to rank in Google, you need to make use of and target the appropriate keywords. With Yoast SEO installed, targeting those keywords is a matter of simply plugging in a few details each time you write a new post.

Download: Yoast SEO

Searching for the right plugins can be a headache, but with these seven WordPress plugins, you can be sure that you’re getting exactly what you need. These plugins are the best WordPress plugins around and I recommend each of them personally.

For more information on WordPress plugins, as well as a detailed tutorial on how to start your own blog or website, read How To Start A Blog (The Definitive Guide).