Best Free WordPress Plugins for Bloggers 2025
If you want to start a blog or already have one, WordPress is the best thing for you. Here’s the thing, though: installing WordPress is only the beginning. Plug-ins are what you need to really grow your blog.
You can think of plugins as “apps” for your site. They add new tools without having to know how to code. The best part? A huge number of them are free and very strong.
There are a lot of free apps out there in 2025, but not all of them are good. Some may not be updated often, while others may slow down your site. That’s why I made this list: to help you figure out which free WordPress tools will help your blog do well.
Like a nice coffee chat, let’s go over each one. I’ll tell you what it does, why it’s important, and how to set it up.
1. Yoast SEO (Free Version)
Category:
SEO Optimization
People who blog and want their posts to show up higher in search engines like Google use Yoast SEO.
Why you need it:
It’s possible for even the best-written posts to get lost on page 10 of Google results if you don’t use SEO. Yoast SEO helps you write content that search engines like.
Important free features:
- Analysis of SEO scores for pages and articles
- Check for readability to increase engagement
- Editing meta title and description
- Generation of an XML file for Google to index
Tips:
- To connect with Google Search Console, go to SEO → General → First-time setup after installing.
- Use the green light system. Before you post, you should try to get both the SEO and Readability lights to turn green.
2. Rank Math SEO (Free)
Category:
SEO Optimization
A lot of people use Yoast, but Rank Math has gotten a lot of attention because its free version has more features.
Why You Need It:
Rank Math gives you access to advanced SEO tools without having to pay for them. It does this by letting you track keywords, use schema markup, and even get writing help from AI.
Important free features:
- Each post can have up to five topic keywords (Yoast free only lets one).
- Integration of rich snippits and schema
- Integration of Google Analytics
- 404 error tracking
Quick Setup Tip:
If you use the setup guide, it will set up your SEO settings for you; just pick the Blog site type when asked.
3. WP Forms Lite
Type of Form:
Contact Forms
For people to get in touch with you, you’ll need a form. The easiest one to use is WPForms Lite.
Why You Need It:
Every writer should have a contact form so that people can get in touch with them about working together, getting sponsored, or asking questions.
Important free features:
- Build forms with drag and drop
- Templates that are already made (contact, feedback, membership)
- Spam defence with reCAPTCHA
A quick tip for setting up:
Make a new form, copy the shortcode, and put it into your Contact page.
4. Elementor (Free)
Category:
Page Builder
With Elementor, you can make beautiful pages even if you don’t know how to code.
Why You Need It:
If you’re sick of blog pages that look plain, Elementor lets you create in style with drag-and-drop.
Important free features:
- A preview is available during live editing.
- template layouts already made for blogs
- Mobile-friendly design controls
Quick Setup Tip:
Use Elementor on your home page and about page to make them look more professional.
5. The Google Site Kit
Category:
SEO and Analytics
This add-on links your blog to Google services like AdSense, Analytics, and Search Console.
Why You Need It:
It will help you understand how people find your blog, what they read, and how they connect with it.
Important free features:
- Integration of Google Analytics
- Search Console keyword analysis
- Insights on page speed
Quick Tip:
Once you’re done installing, sign in with your Google account and follow the steps to join.
6. LiteSpeed Cache
Category:
Speed Optimization
People leave a site that is too slow. By caching and optimizing your page, LiteSpeed Cache speeds it up.
Why You Need It:
Google gives websites that load faster more weight, and people stay on your site longer when pages load quickly.
Important free features:
- Caching pages to make them load faster
- Optimization of images
- CSS and JS minification
Tip for Quick Setup:
To get the best results, turn on Page Optimization in the app settings.
7. Jetpack Plan (Free Plan)
Category:
All-in-One
Jetpack is like a Swiss Army knife; it has a lot of different tools all in one program.
Why You Need It:
It has everything you need for protection, backups, and speed in one place.
Important free features:
- Tracking downtime
- Protection against brute force attacks
- Basic site statistics
Easy to Set Up Tip:
To use all of Jetpack’s free features, connect it to your WordPress.com account.
8. The UpdraftPlus
Category:
Backups
To protect yourself, make backups. You can fix your site if something goes wrong.
Why You Need It:
If you don’t make backups, you could lose everything if there is a hack or an update goes wrong.
Important free features:
- Both manual and automatic backups
- Save your files on Google Drive, Dropbox, or email.
- Restore with one click
Easy to Set Up Tip:
Back up your files once a week and store them in Google Drive.
9. Smush (Free Version)
Category:
Image Optimization
Smush lets you shrink your pictures without losing quality.
Why You Need It:
Large photos cause your blog to load more slowly. Smush shrinks them so that web pages load faster.
Important free features:
- Image compression in bulk
- Lazy loading
- Resizing automatically
Quick Tip:
To get the most out of all your past files, run a bulk smush after installation.
10. Akismet Anti-Spam
Category:
Stopping Spam
With this tool, spam comments won’t show up on your blog.
Why you need it:
Spam can hurt your blog’s SEO and make it look fake.
Important free features:
- Automatically detects spam.
- Tracing your spam history
Quick Tip:
To turn it on, you’ll need a free API key from Akismet.com.
11. Broken Link Checker
Category:
SEO & Maintenance
Your blog posts may lose their links over time. This tool finds them and makes it easy to fix them.
Important free features:
- Scans the posts, pages, and comments
- Dashboard and email alerts
- Directly change or remove links
12. MonsterInsights Lite
Category:
Analytics
It makes it easier to see Google Analytics info in WordPress.
Important free features:
- Real-time statistics
- Most popular posts and traffic sources
13. Sassy Social Share
Category:
Social Sharing
Makes your posts look better by adding share buttons.
Important free features:
- Floating buttons
- Support for more than 100 networks
14. MailPoet
Category:
Email Marketing
It lets you send messages and build an email list right from WordPress.
Important free features:
- Forms for signing up
- Sending welcome emails automatically
15. Table of Contents Plus
Category:
Navigation
It adds a clickable table of topics automatically.
Important free features:
- Auto-generated table of contents
- Sections that collapsable
16. Really Simple SSL
Category:
Security
Makes the whole site use SSL to protect surfing.
17. WP Super Cache
Category:
Speed Optimization
Makes flat HTML pages that will help your site load faster.
18. Advanced Editor Tools
Category:
Content Editing
Gives the writer more ways to format text.
19. Redirection
Category:
SEO & Maintenance
It helps you fix 404 problems and handle 301 redirects.
20. WP Maintenance Mode & Coming Soon
Category:
Design & Branding
Displays a “coming soon” or “maintenance” page while you work on your site.
More Advice on How to Use Plugins Smartly in 2025
- Don’t Add Too Many Plugins—Only add the apps that you really need. Adding too many can slow down your site.
- Maintain – Plugins that are out of date pose a security risk.
- Get rid of things you don’t need – Plugins that are turned off but not used can still take up room.
- Check for Reviews and Updates—Only install apps that have been updated in the last six to twelve months.
- If you don’t want to break your blog, test new plugins on a testing site before putting them live.
Last Thoughts
Here are the 20 best free WordPress apps for bloggers in 2025. They cover everything from speed and SEO to design and safety.
You do not need all of them at the same time. Choose the ones that help you reach your current goals. You can add more tools to help you with your blog as it grows.
Out of these plugins, which one is your favorite? Or do you know of another free gem that should be added? Leave a comment with your recommendations so that other bloggers can find them.
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