WordPress powers a sizeable percentage of the web today and continues to grow every day. This popularity is down to users having access to more than 55,000 free to use plugins, coupled with ease of use and functionality. The key to unleashing the full potential of WordPress is finding a balance between simplicity and functionality. Basic features are work well, but solely sticking to them means you have to contend in the limits functionality. The answer lies in premium plugins. When you need more than the basics and require extendibility to complete core functionality. Then you should consider buying premium WordPress Plugins.

What is a Premium Plugin?

WordPress is open-source, which means third parties develop a majority of its plugins. The motivation for developers building free plugins can be anything from marketing themselves to merely trying to make a positive contribution.

As you can imagine, developing, maintaining, updating, and offering support for plugins requires time and resources. Free plugins don’t earn the developers any financial returns, and they can’t, therefore, invest too much in them. Often, they are only as useful as their shelf life determines.

Premium plugins are paid versions of WordPress plugins that come loaded with all the full functionality and features that you would expect in any paid service. For a fee, premium WordPress plugins offer priority support, enhanced functions, regular updates, and more.

Premium plugins not only give you a more vibrant and more refined product, but they also enable the developer to earn some money to improve them. Purchasing a premium WordPress plugin is a win-win for both client and developer.

How Do I Decide Between Free and Paid?

Thankfully, each plugin found in the WordPress.org directory has to meet a certain level of quality before it can go to end-users. That said it is up to the user to sift through the catalog to find what best suits them.

Premium plugins offer a full range of function, but it is essential to verify reputability. Another critical determining factor when picking a premium plugin is compatibility.

If you choose to install a premium plugin, especially from sources outside the WordPress directory, it is essential to research and take into account the views and ratings of users current and past. Additional support and tutorials on how to best utilize the plugin are a must-have.

WordPress gives you the ability to select any combination of plugins you need for your site. A mix of both free and paid can sometimes work best. Some free versions of plugins, however, may not be entirely free to use but offered as an incentive to upgrade to premium versions. It is advisable always to read the small print.

Premium Plugins for Different Uses

Most paid plugins come with a GPL license, allowing for better user flexibility. Choosing the right WordPress plugin for your website requires proper consideration as it isn’t a one-off usage tool. A paid-for plugin should be able to serve you for a long time.

Mainstream plugins that contribute critical functionality are primarily similar to one another. However, you will need to find one that not only suits your unique needs, but that is also future proof. WordPress is a continually evolving entity, and plugins must have the capacity to accommodate changes.

WordPress is the world’s most popular content management system (CMS) provider and achieved this status owing to its flexibility.

As a platform, WordPress is flexible enough to allow for the most expert of developers to thrive, yet it remains simple enough for even novice users to use.

When creating your WordPress-powered website, one primary consideration is the type of plugin you should be using. There are five basic categories that you should always make sure are covered when sourcing and installing WordPress plugins.

These five categories are vital to the functionality and security of your site. They will guide you on which Premium plugins you should pay your hard-earned cash for as well as which free ones are more complementary to them.

1. To Back up Your Data:

We all know the sinking feeling of spending hours or even days, creating content only for our laptop to power off and take with it all that hard work. You can spend weeks, months, and in some instances, even years generating content such as writing blog posts only for a web host to experience a server crash.

Devastating is what it is when it comes to losing that magnitude of work. While hosts tend to have backup systems to have backups, you should not wholly rely on them. It is a good idea to ensure your site is adequately backed up.

There are dedicated plugins in the market that can put your mind at ease by ensuring there is a complete back up of your database. Paid plugins will give you more storage and backup options. From hosting to cloud backups, premium plugins will ensure you don’t lose your work.

2. Site Security:

Online security is and always be a significant issue. As a website owner, you need to take measures to ensure your site’s protection at all times. From hackers targeting your website to automated bots hell-bent on infiltrating any WordPress blog they encounter, there is no shortage of security threats.

You must have measures in place to help thwart unwanted unauthorized entry or outright attacks. Depending on threat severity or vulnerability, there are fully-fledged solutions or more straightforward plugins that prevent multiple failed login attempts.

Available in both free and premium versions, you should find a plugin that can offer better website protection. A great plugin extension will facilitate your security suite to scan your site for malware, help block brute-force attacks, and include a firewall.

One handy feature only found in premium plugin versions for WordPress is the ability to block user login attempts by country. While it may not necessarily be suitable for all websites, it can come in handy when trying to isolate attacks from an identified region.

Websites can also use a security plugin with a smaller, centralized group of users as it can prevent unauthorized bots from gaining access to a WordPress dashboard.

Related Read: Top 10 WordPress Security Plugins 2019 (Keep Your Site Secure)

3. Lead Generation:

Another category of plugin that any website owner needs is one that caters for contract forms or lead generation. One of the more basic needs of websites the world over, lead generation is nevertheless one of the most critical.

As you can expect, there are tons of plugins out there developed to tap into this need. While these are among the simplest plugins to use, you need to find one that is perfectly suited to your WordPress website and offers a host of available features.

When it comes to commercial WordPress Plugins, even the more basic types need to be easy enough to use for anyone intending to create a form. For added security, you want a plugin that can make use of conditional logic to make fields appear and disappear depending on user interaction and response.

Some all-round plugins go even further to facilitate payments, automatically add users to email lists, and so on. As always, it is essential to use plugins from developers whose level of support and technical assistance is above reproach.

4. Social Media:

Social media integration is paramount to the success of your website. When it comes to driving traffic to your website, social media is second to none. Integrating your blog with social media is vital to its success.

If you are thinking SEO and conversions, then you need to bridge the gap between social media and your blog. Plugins come in to solve this problem. Adding share buttons or social media plugins to your blog is one of a great plugin’s characteristics.

With a premium WordPress plugin on your website, you can better encourage social shares, track follower counts, amplify your content, and much more. It can and does get a little confusing as there are tens of thousands of plugins out there.

Read on to see how to find the best WordPress plugins to increase traffic from social media sites.

5. Layout and Visibility:

As we have seen, social media is critical, but SEO still plays a vital role in drawing visitors to your site. Creating great content is one sure way to get there, but additionally, the right plugin can get the job one even quicker and easier.

Optimizing your WordPress site for search engines requires a premium plugin loaded with dedicated features. Page-by-page (or post-by-post) optimization and custom category support are some must-have functionalities an excellent WordPress plugin should have.

Other standout features should include breadcrumb navigation, auto-generated sitemaps, and a whole lot more. Some premium plugins even have an SEO rating feature for specific posts or pages.

Now that we have sorted out getting you seen, you will naturally need to impress your visitors with the design and layout of your website. For this, you need a plugin that can deliver stunning yet functional looks.

Aesthetics are a great crowd puller, but to keep them engaged, you will need a little more than that. A plugin that delivers great slider functionality, superb layout, and much more all the while looking great is a winner.

Additionally, you will need a plugin that offers audio-visual gallery support as well as a host of customizations for color, fonts, effects, and more.

Other Notable Reasons to Invest in Premium Plugins

In addition to the reasons stated above, here, we look at a few more important reasons why it is well worth your while to buy premium plugins for your WordPress website.

1. Customer Care:

As opposed to free plugins, premium WordPress plugin developers tend to stand behind their plugins and provide customer support. While this comes as standard with most paid services, it is good to know that your plugin comes with assistance should you have any issues or queries.

2. Better Coding:

Free WordPress plugins by their nature and design; often do not have the financial backing required of developing quality plugins. Failure to grasp coding guidelines can sometimes lead to poorly developed software.

Excellent premium plugin developers are more often than not knowledgeable and dedicated coders who have a reputation to uphold. Additionally, these plugins are developed with site performance in mind ensuring total synchronization and seamless integration.

3. Continuous Development:

Premium WordPress plugin developers are always updating the codes in their plugins to rid them of bugs, as well as adding new features for improved performance and design. Having paid fees for usage, you will receive these updates for free to keep your website running optimally.

As WordPress itself updates and evolves, premium plugins are better able to cope and remain compatible due to their upgradability. Having a plugin that grows with WordPress ensures you won’t get stuck with an incompatible plugin when you have active users on your site. That has the potential to ruin a business.

Also Read: WordPress Automation: 13 Ways To Automate Tasks And Save Your Time

4. Gives You an Edge:

The advanced features and functionality that come with premium word press plugins give you superior back end usability. Great software is beneficial as it can give you a clear and immediate advantage over the competition.

Think about it, if your rivals are using premium plugins to better their websites, why would you want to be stuck with mediocre freebie ones? It is difficult to argue with superior software technology.

Conclusion

We have looked at the various categories mentioned in this article and noted the need for decent premium plugins for each. While selecting the right plugin for your site will always be a matter of personal choice, it must be an informed one.

Be sure that you have the right plugins that will cover the needs of your website from aesthetics to function, security, and back up. A great site deserves proper technical support.

Plugins aren’t just an extension to better the functionality of a website; they can be a gamechanger in keeping you ahead of the competition if you find the right ones.

We hope this article has demonstrated the need for superior plugins for websites that mean business.

A great plugin is a premium one.