WordPress has LOTS of plugins. There are over 48K FREE plugins alone. The list is endless, and certainly, you aren’t going to overwhelm your site with too many useless plugins.
But… over time, I’ve found that I consistently come back to a few, that provide useful features, and are easy to use, and in some cases… FREE.
Here’s my list, with a BRIEF explanation by each.
Genesis Theme Framework by StudioPress
This is a great framework for building WordPress child themes under the Genesis Framework, or adding additional functionality to a Genesis Compatible theme (Full Documentation) – See also this WPBeginner article for a detailed overview
Other Genesis Plugins on WordPress
A few of the specific plugins that work within the Genesis Framework.
Infinite WP Admin
A great tool for administering multiple WordPress sites from a single site.
– Works in conjunction with the client installed InfiniteWP – Client
Ninja Forms
A Great form building tool, with interfaces to Mailchimp, popups.
– and LOTS more add-ons
PODS.io
A tool that lets you build your custom post types easily. This includes data objects, fields, relationships, and an EASY way of managing this custom data. Then.. build out your custom templates all day long
Admin Columns Pro
I use this tool to manage my data grids, modify columns that show, and supercharge HOW to edit data.
Admin Columns Pro – Pods
Now, manage your custom PODS items just as you do in Admin Column Pro
Popup Maker
A powerful tool for building popups, and integrating seamlessly into other WordPress plugins (Mailchimp, etc…)
Advanced Custom Fields PRO
A GREAT tool for adding pretty much any type of custom field to any of your existing post types.
Post-Types Order
A tool to allow for EASY reordering of any of your post types
WP Real Media Library
A slick way of managing the WP media library, without TOO much weight. Create a virtual folder, and reorganize as needed to keep a clean and reusable library
Layer Slider WP
Great tool for creating home page sliders, with content and links, and great performance.
Admin Menu Editor
Allows you to manually edit the order of menu items in the Admin Dashboard Menu
Advanced Access Manager
Allows you to fully manage aspects of roles and permissions and MORE for your site users.