My 3 RULES for selecting PLUGINS:
- Feedback rating of at least 4+ stars [and for more than 10 people]
- At least version 1.0! [NO betas]
- Less that 1 year old so it’s compatible with your current website!
Read reviews like http://www.wpexplorer.com/premium-wordpress-plugins/
Adrian’s full list of favorite WordPress plugins…
https://profiles.wordpress.org/amikeliunas#content-favorites
PLUGIN FAMILIES
ShortCodes Ultimate extra “tweaks” to your site https://wordpress.org/plugins/shortcodes-ultimate/
SiteOrigin Widgets Bundle – collection of widgets, neatly bundled into a single plugin: https://wordpress.org/plugins/so-widgets-bundle/
SEO
Yoast SEO https://wordpress.org/plugins/wordpress-seo/
SOCIAL
Sumome or SuperSocializer for SOCIAL sharing https://wordpress.org/plugins/sumome/
SPEED
W3 Total cache https://wordpress.org/plugins/w3-total-cache/
SECURITY
WordFence for security https://wordpress.org/plugins/wordfence/
Duplicator clones and migrates your site https://wordpress.org/plugins/duplicator/
OTHER
WP Edit edit content toolbar with fonts, media and grid [note: grid requires in settings/Post/Pages Enable the column shortcode]https://wordpress.org/plugins/wp-edit/
WP Maintenance Mode https://wordpress.org/plugins/wp-maintenance-mode/
The visual editor widget for WordPress: https://wordpress.org/plugins/black-studio-tinymce-widget/
Page Builders
Page Builder by SiteOrigin – Build responsive page layouts using the widgets you know and love using this simple drag and drop page builder: https://wordpress.org/plugins/siteorigin-panels/
Elementor Page Builder – The most advanced frontend drag & drop page builder. Create high-end, pixel perfect websites at record speeds: https://wordpress.org/plugins/elementor/ or https://elementor.com/
Other references:
http://www.sampicarello.com/11-must-have-wordpress-plugins/
https://pippinsplugins.com/wordpress-page-builder-plugins-critical-review/
http://www.wpexplorer.com/premium-wordpress-plugins/
Must Have WordPress Plugins & Their Uses – 2019 Edition https://wpsutra.com/must-have-wordpress-plugins/