These plugins offer websites the toolsets they need to help get visitors to interact with their social media pages and share content with friends. They range from tools that focus on a specific medium to ones that cover most major platforms.

However, due to how essential social media has become, there is no shortage of plugins to choose from. This has made selecting one for your website very difficult, but this list can help you find the best ones.

Today, I will share the best social media plugins you can use with WordPress.

Why Use Social Sharing Plugins with WordPress?

Social media is arguably one of the major cornerstones of the Internet. More people are sharing their Snapchat or Instagram accounts more often than their phone numbers.

Because of the prevalence of these sites, you want to make sure your content is available and ready to consume by those people.

Using social media plugins can contribute to:

• Boosting traffic by reaching a larger audience.
• Increasing your online presence and reputation.
• The potential to make more money.
• Increasing engagement from your visitors, which may improve on-page time.

However, there is a downside to overloading your website with a social presence. Some tools can greatly affect your site’s performance, which could cause it to lose page ranking on Google.

Poor performance can lead to a reduced user experience when writing new post content in WordPress.

This is because some of them will use external, third-party data. The result is a slow loading time as the visitor has to wait for your website to collect the data from other sources.

Luckily, not all social sharing plugins will affect WordPress in such a negative way. Some will simply provide a button necessary for people to share your content on their social feeds.

Like any other plugin you install, make sure you test it to make sure it’s not having an incredibly adverse effect on performance.

Our Picks for the Best Social Media Plugins

1. Simple Social Icons

Without a doubt, the most helpful feature when it comes to sharing your content on social media are social icons. And no one does it better or easier than the Simple Social Icons plugin.

Social icons make it easier for visitors to find your social media pages and share your content with friends.

This plugin offers support for all of the major platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, and many more. And as the name implies, it is incredibly simple to use.

All you’ll need to do is choose which social media platforms to use with the Simple Social Icons widget in WordPress. Simply enter a URL link to your social media account in the appropriate space and the icon will appear in the sidebar.

Benefits of Using Simple Social Icons

• Since you only need a URL, you can link to any social media account, not just your own
• You can upload your own social media icons in WordPress
• You can choose what order the icons appear in (requires code)
• Supports over 20 social platforms
• Works in any widget area

Drawbacks of Simple Social Icons

• You’ll need to edit the code to reorder the icons

2. Social Sharing Plugin – Sassy Social Share

If you are looking for a highly customizable way to share social icons in WordPress, look no further than the Sassy Social Share plugin. This is a lightweight social icon plugin that offers several design options for sites.

Not only do the buttons have multiple designs, but the plugin also supports multiple layouts.

These include multiple horizontal and vertical design patterns to display your favorite social accounts. And this plugin sports the most social icons with over 100 platforms to select from.

Everything about the icons is customizable from the size to the color. This can help match the design of your website or even add a festive touch like making all of the icons orange for Halloween.

Benefits of using Sassy Social Share

• Full customization from design to layout of each social icon
• You can display the number of times visitors shared your content
• Compatible with BuddyPress, BBPress, and WooCommerce
• GDPR compliant
• Can toggle social icons on or off for certain posts and pages

Drawbacks of Sassy Social Share

• This plugin does not work on a local server

3. Jetpack

Jetpack does just about everything with its huge selection of modules to choose from. Most websites just use it as an anti-spam tool, but it has a great selection of social sharing tools as well.

The Sharing module allows you to display social icons at the bottom of any post or page in WordPress.

It supports all of the major sites and many smaller platforms as well. You’ll also have options to customize each icon. For instance, you could choose to only display the platform symbol instead of the full name.

You can choose what devices the buttons will appear on. For example, if you need to save room, you could choose to not display the icons on mobile devices, although, I wouldn’t recommend this as mobile sharing is huge.

Benefits of Using Jetpack

• It does way more than just social sharing
• Icons are highly customizable
• This is a free module that just needs to be toggled on
• The icons look very professional
• It’s very easy to choose which icons to display

Drawbacks of Jetpack

• The number of options can feel overwhelming

4. Smash Balloon

Smash Balloon isn’t merely a single plugin as it actually offers plugins for each of the major social networks including Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. Each plugin is tailored to that specific platform, and the quality really shows.

Honestly, if I were to rank them individually, each plugin by Smash Balloon would make the list.

There is even a plugin to help you combine the feeds from different platforms into a single social wall. Each plugin offers features for the specific platform and optimizes them for a WordPress environment.

For instance, the Smash Balloon YouTube Feed allows you to display the latest videos from your channel, display live streams, and even showcase playlists. It even provides multiple layouts for you to take advantage of.

Each of the social plugins is similar to this, but the feature differs on a platform basis.

Benefits of Using Smash Balloon

• Link Instagram Stories and photos in WordPress
• Display live Facebook broadcasts
• Display tweets that mention your account
• Offers an incredible amount of customization
• All elements are mobile-responsive

Drawbacks of Smash Balloon

• Each social platform has an individual tool

5. Uncanny Automator

Managing your social networks is a lot of work, but what if it didn’t have to be? While this may sound like wishful thinking, the Uncanny Automator plugin can help you achieve this by automating much of the process.

In short, this plugin allows you to integrate your WordPress site and your favorite social network together seamlessly.

What you can do depends entirely on what platform you are connecting. For instance, when you publish a new blog, you probably want to post that on Facebook and Twitter. You can set that up to happen automatically with this tool.

This plugin isn’t exclusively for social networks. You can also set it up to connect your site with popular apps like MailChimp or Slack.

Of course, while the free version exists, to really make the most of this, you will need to purchase the premium version.

Benefits of Using Uncanny Automator

• Automate asking users to leave a reviewer testimonial after the purchase
• Automates most routine tasks
• Customize all automatic messages
• Share job opportunities on LinkedIn
• Post content to your Facebook Groups

Drawbacks of Uncanny Automator

• A lot of integration options are locked behind the premium version

6. Better Click to Tweet

Do you create great content that is worth tweeting? If so, you should install the Better Click To Tweet plugin for WordPress today. With it, you can surround some of your content with a Twitter card and make it easier for visitors to share.

Not only does this help you highlight certain quotes, but it actually looks really nice in a blog post.

How does it work? Well, you just place the quote you want to place in the Twitter card into the block and that’s it. There’s nothing really fancy about this, but it’s incredibly effective at promoting your website.

I would say the best use of this is when dealing with statistics, definitions, or just amazing quotes or jokes. You can also change the style of the quote box by buying the premium add-on.

Benefits of Using Better Click To Tweet

• Supports the classic editor by using shortcodes
• The tweet includes a link back to your content
• It’s a great way to highlight content on a post or page
• Works really well with deals and sales for eCommerce shops
• Supports short links to give you the most room in your tweet

Drawbacks of Better Click to Tweet

• Locks style options behind the Pro version

7. WordPress Social Sharing Plugin – Social Warfare

Social media marketing is a warzone, and if you want a chance at winning, you are going to need the Social Warfare plugin. It’s a comprehensive lightweight plugin that makes it easy to add share buttons in WordPress.

It offers support for Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and more.

Each of the social icons is customizable in appearance, and you can also choose the layout of where they appear on your posts and pages.

All you’ll need to do is place the shortcode in the desired location and you are good to go.

It also has a slew of features for specific platforms. For instance, there is a Click-to-Tweet feature that makes it easy for visitors to share quotes from your website. You can also show the number of times something has been shared by upgrading to the Pro version.

Benefits of Using Social Warfare

• Includes a popular posts widget
• Image hover pin available for Pinterest users
• Display total shares once a minimum number of shares is achieved
• Twitter card support
• Link shortening available

Drawbacks of Social Warfare

• Some platforms like Reddit are locked behind the premium version

8. Instagram Theatre

Many influencers may only focus on a single platform. If your platform of choice happens to be Instagram, the Instagram Theatre plugin is the perfect plugin to install today.

Just keep in mind that this is a premium plugin without a free version.

So what does it include?

As you might expect, it allows you to pull images from your Instagram account and place them directly on your WordPress site. However, what makes this tool unique is the level of customization available.

With it, you’ll be able to turn your site into a full-screen gallery, utilize a thumbnail grid layout, display photos from Instagram that use a specific tag, and much more. It’s the ultimate plugin for everything Instagram.

Benefits of Using Instagram Theatre

• Mobile responsive so images always look good
• Lightweight design ensures your website doesn’t slow down
• Display photos based on the location they were taken
• Supports multiple Instagram users
• Access to a support team to aid you in using the plugin

Drawbacks of Instagram Theatre

• There is no free version available

9. Blog2Social: Social Media Auto Post & Scheduler

Blog2Social is another excellent social networking plugin that can help automate your workflow in WordPress. It supports a lot of social networks with some of the major ones including Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

While the plugin is free, there is a premium version that you can try for 30 days with a free trial.

This plugin allows you to auto-post content on the various social networks that you choose. The options you have available to you depend on which version of the plugin you have.

For instance, free users can post on their Facebook page while premium users also have the option to post to Facebook groups. Overall, the plugin is very simple to use and can really reduce the amount of time you spend managing social media accounts.

Benefits of Using Bog2Social

• Repost old posts to help them get views (great for evergreen content)
• The social media calendar makes it easy to schedule content
• Creates a backlink to help bring traffic to your site
• Supports multiple languages
• Compatible with WooCommerce

Drawbacks of Blog2Social

• Twitter support is locked behind the Pro version

10. Professional Social Sharing Buttons, Icons & Related Posts – Shareaholic

When it comes to growing your audience one of the best WordPress plugins for social media is Shareaholic. However, it goes way past just social media as it includes a host of engagement tools to take advantage of.

These include things like ad monetization, content analytics, displaying related posts, and much more. With that said, let’s just focus on the social media aspects.

The plugin supports multiple social networks like Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, WhatsApp, and much more. This includes dedicated sharing platforms.

You can add share buttons for your favorite medium and even include the number of times it was shared. You can also take advantage of URL shortening tools like Bitly to make your links as friendly as possible on these social venues.

Benefits of Using Shareaholic

• Multiple social icon designs to choose from
• If your URL changes, you don’t have to worry about your share count resetting
• Vector share buttons are available
• Supports HTML5
• Integrates with Google Analytics

Drawbacks of Shareaholic

• You’ll need to code to disable in-page apps

11. Monarch Social Sharing

When it comes to social media plugins, you really need to check out the Monarch Social Sharing plugin. This plugin is made by ElegeantThemes, and the design quality really shows.

Of course, this quality isn’t free. It is a premium-only plugin but has a 30-day money-back guarantee.

This plugin provides high-quality share buttons that fit into any theme. It supports pop-ups, fly-ins, share buttons for images and video content, and much more. And all of this is available on over 30 social networks.

Everything about the social icons is adjustable. This includes the color, icon placement, number of followers, the ability to just include the icon, and more. It’s an extremely robust tool that can benefit any website.

Benefits of Using Monarch Social Sharing

• View social statistics on your dashboard at any time
• Supports multiple sites with exports and imports
• Access to 24/7 customer support
• Place these social icons anywhere with a shortcode
• Buttons support multiple shapes

Drawbacks of Monarch Social Sharing

• The plugin is quite expensive compared to other premium options

12. ARSocial – Social Share Buttons & Social Locker Plugin

When it comes to integrating your WordPress website with your favorite social media platform, ARSocial should be one of the first choices. It’s a comprehensive social media plugin that can handle just about anything.

It is a premium plugin, but since the price tag is quite small, it shouldn’t scare anyone away.

Users will have access to over 42 social networks and a variety of customizable social share buttons, and all of this is accomplished through a very simple interface. As a result, it’s perfect for beginners.

One of the most unique aspects is the social locker feature. This will make it so that visitors must share the content to be able to view it. On one hand, this can help boost conversion. On the other, it could scare visitors away, so be sure to see how visitors respond.

Benefits of Using ARScoial

• Supports custom position for share buttons on mobile devices
• Get access to analytics to see how each social platform performs
• The plugin is optimized for speed
• Supports multiple languages
• Includes a variety of templates to choose from

Drawbacks of ARSocial

• There is no free version of the plugin

13. Social Media Share Buttons | MashShare

Closing out this list of the social sharing plugins for WordPress is MashShare, but don’t let its placement fool you. MashShare is a terrific plugin with high levels of customization available.

MashShare is completely free to use, so there’s nothing stopping you from giving it a try.

You’ll find the social share buttons highly customizable, short link support to help make your links more attractive, analytics on your dashboard to see how each platform performs, and much more.

You can also take your social media game further by taking advantage of some of the free add-ons this plugin offers. For instance, you can set specific Twitter hashtags for your images to make sharing more effective.

Benefits of Using MashShare

• Access to a Most Shared Posts widget
• Support AMP to ensure the best performance possible
• Swap the colors of share buttons at any time from the settings
• Sort your share buttons with a drop-and-drag interface
• Supports shortcodes so you can place share buttons anywhere

Drawbacks of MashShare

• Sometimes the social share buttons disappear after updating and need to be reset

14. AddToAny Share Buttons

If you’re looking for a floating WordPress element that is responsive and customizable, AddToAny is a good choice. It’s one of the most popular social sharing plugins for WordPress and has an exceptionally high rating.

AddToAny uses vector graphics and a universal share button menu. This means visitors can quickly share content with social media, email systems, apps, and a long list of online web systems.

One of the things that makes this plugin stand out is the capacity to integrate with Google Analytics. You can get visitor traffic data any time the button is used even if the shared links have been processed using a link shortener.

If you need something for WooCommerce, this plugin also supports it as well as multilingual and multisite networks.

Benefits of Using AddToAny Share Buttons

• Supports all social media networks including new entries like Threads
• Create floating share buttons to follow users through a page
• Loads your content first to ensure fast speeds
• All social icons are responsive and come in a variety of sizes
• Supports Google AMP

Drawbacks of AddToAny Share Buttons

• Displaying custom social icons can be a bit confusing

15. Shared Counts

Shared Counts is yet another social media plugin for WordPress dedicated to displaying share buttons on your favorite platforms. It has an exceptionally high rating currently and is focused on delivering high performance.

When you consider how the bounce rate of a website vastly increases if the site takes longer than three seconds to load, performance is very important.

Another highlight of Shared Counts is the fact that it tracks values for both HTTP and HTTPS. This means you don’t lose the number of shares displayed next to each social media button when you upgrade your site with SSL.

This plugin also comes with several layouts to choose from while protecting email sharing with Google reCAPTCHA support. This helps you pick the perfect look for your website. Overall, it is a great option for displaying social icons in WordPress.

Benefits of Using Shared Counts

• Choose to display share buttons before or after the content
• Does not use cookies or store users data (GDPR compliant)
• Retrieves all share buttons in a single request for peak performance
• Display the number of likes, follow, subscribers, and more directly on the button
• Choose from a variety of social buttons and icons

Drawbacks of Shared Count

• Lacks any floating options that follow the user

16. Social Icons Widget by WPZOOM

The Social Icons Widget is more of a system to share your social profiles with visitors. Although many themes today come with built-in icons, this plugin has a lot of features that many layouts simply don’t have.

In fact, you’ll gain access to over 400 icons, so there really is something for everyone.

This tool is ready with over 100 social networks, four sets of icons, a color picker, and a searchable database. If you use WhatsApp, Skype, or Viber, you can easily connect your numbers and profiles so visitors are capable of contacting you directly.

For those who like to be unique, it’s not much trouble to change icons to your own designs. This gives your website a sense of individuality and helps it stand out. Overall, it is another one of the best social media plugins for adding social icons to WordPress.

Benefits of Using Social Icons Widget

• Use a color picker to change the share button color
• Search for icons by keyword
• Global options allow you to change every social button color in a single click
• Upload your own social icons
• Choose from multiple button shapes

Drawbacks of Social Icons Widget

• Support options are locked behind the premium version

17. Easy Social Share Buttons

Easy Social Share Buttons is one of the best premium social media plugins that offers a bit more than just a simple way for users to share their content on sites like Facebook. It comes equipped with everything you’ll need to engage your audience.

The plugin supports 50 of the most prominent social hubs while offering a wide range of colorful templates. Variable design positions, animations, and customizable features give you a great deal of control for building something perfect for your site.

One thing that stands out to me about this plugin is the ability to integrate live chat services through Facebook Messenger or Skype. With a click of the mouse, customers can get in touch with you directly from the website.

For those who like data, Easy Social Share Buttons comes with analytical tools to help you build a winning strategy for social sharing.

Benefits of Using Easy Social Share Buttons

• Choose from a variety of button shapes and sizes
• Create horizontal or vertical icon displays
• Includes a pop-up Instagram follow widget
• Includes a live chat feature for your site
• Display share buttons on WooCommerce products

Drawbacks of Easy Social Share Buttons

• No free version is available

18. ShareThis Share Buttons

ShareThis Share Buttons comes with a variety of ways users can share their posts in WordPress on their favorite social network. You can enable inline content using the default top or bottom placement, using shortcodes, or placing PHP snippets.

As such, it is easily among the best social media plugins for WordPress.

If you want sticky share buttons that follow a user as he or she scrolls, this plugin does that as well. It’s also possible to customize the layout so you can ignore sticky buttons on specific posts or pages.

The plugin comes with several options to help you fit it perfectly into your content. For instance, you have access to the alignment of the buttons, size, labels, and whether to show the share count or not.

Benefits of Using ShareThis Share Buttons

• Anchor social buttons to the sidebars as visitors scroll
• Includes top and bottom margin controls for buttons
• Enable or disable sticky share buttons on a post-by-post basis
• Includes over 15 language options
• Choose from multiple button designs

Drawbacks of ShareThis Share Buttons

• Does not support custom icons

FAQs About Social Media Plugins

Start Growing Your Social Media Presence Today

As you can see, there are a lot of amazing social media plugins to choose from on the WordPress platform. Making that choice is hard, but the longer you take, the longer it takes to begin building a presence.

While social media is touted as a fast way to increase traffic, it’s more of a relative sense. Truthfully, it is much like SEO where it could take months before you build a sizable following.

However, don’t let that discourage you from starting ASAP.

Once your social media accounts grow in size, you are going to find success. You just need to make sure you are delivering high-quality content to your followers. Otherwise, they won’t stay as a follower.

What are your favorite social media plugins for WordPress? Do you create original content on your social account?

The post 18 Best Social Media Plugins in WordPress to Promote Your Site appeared first on GreenGeeks Blog.

Choosing the right theme helps you set the tone and experience for visitors. However, any kind of site can be a membership site, thus the ideal candidates are all multipurpose themes that can work for any niche.

That said, some themes do have built-in membership functionality, but these features can be added in with the right plugins. And some more niche-specific sites have great theme options available like online learning, dating, and so on.

Let’s take a look at the best membership themes WordPress has to offer.

Our Picks for the Best Membership Themes in WordPress

Since there are many types of membership sites, the goal of this list is to cover themes for different niches that give you creative freedom, access to different templates, and excellent support.

Not all plugins will natively have membership functionality, but they can easily be added by installing a plugin. As such, any theme can be used as a membership site.

1. Astra

When it comes to multipurpose themes that are great for any occasion, Astra is easily the best and most popular option in WordPress. Its major selling point would be a huge library of templates that can accommodate any niche.

As a result, it is one of the best membership themes to use in WordPress because it works for any topic.

With this said, Astra, itself does not have any built-in membership tools for you to use. Instead, you’ll need to install a membership plugin, which won’t be an issue since it is so popular. This theme is full of customization options to explore.

For instance, you can build your own header and footer from scratch with a drag-and-drop builder. Essentially, when it comes to customization, you have complete control over every aspect of your site, which makes it a standout theme no matter the situation.

Benefits of Using Astra

• Optimized for speed with load times in just half a second
• Compatible with your favorite page builder plugins for even more options
• This theme is translation-ready with RTL support
• Clean code with plenty of hooks and filter options available
• Easily customize the layout, colors, fonts, and everything else in this theme

Drawbacks of Astra

• Many of the most popular site templates are locked behind the Pro version
• Lacks any dedicated membership features

2. Vayvo

It has become very common for YouTube content creators to create a site for their Patreons and other supporters to get first access to the content. If that is your intention or anything to do with video content, then Vayvo is the perfect theme for you.

As a premium theme for membership sites, it comes bundled with the ARMember plugin.

This plugin allows you to create a membership subscription, lock content behind that subscription, and accept payments. It even gives you the power to create free trials for your subscriptions to help let customers see what they are paying for.

In terms of design, you’ll have a drag-and-drop page builder at your disposal to make any kind of page. There are also subscription page templates to help you create sales pages. The overall design is for video content, thus if that is your niche, this theme is for you.

Benefits of Using Vayvo

• Has a variety of templates for different site niches
• Includes a video player for self-hosted videos, but also has support for YouTube and Vimeo
• Boosted Elements Add-on plugin is included to help make maps, popups, and other types of content
• Sell posts separately instead of forcing into a subscription
• Users can add ratings to your video content

Drawbacks of Vayvo

• There is no free version available
• The theme is focused on video content

3. Aardvark

Aardvark is a membership theme that includes all of the tools you’ll need to build a strong and active community in WordPress. It comes bundled with a variety of premium plugins that allow you to create membership subscriptions, allow users to rate content, and more.

As such, it is easily among the best membership themes for WordPress. It also has a great selection of subscription templates.

Each template is built for a particular niche and will serve a membership website well. For instance, if you want to build a dating membership site, there is a template for that. The real power of this theme comes from included plugins.

You’ll have a full-page builder with WPBakery to build pages from scratch or edit existing templates with. If you are offering online courses, you can use Sensei Certificates to create certificates for course completion.

Benefits of Using Aardvark

• This theme is translation-ready with RTL support
• Includes access to some of the best support available for a theme
• Gain access to a variety of social network functionality like social logins and share buttons
• Choose from a great selection of menu styles like mega menus
• Includes a great selection of layout options for blog content like grid view, masonry, lists, and more

Drawbacks of Aardvark

• No free version is available
• Page speeds are slightly behind others on this list

4. LMS WordPress Theme

One of the most popular forms of membership sites is for online courses. There are a variety of platforms that offer users courses to gain certain skills like learning how to program or learning about how to invest their money responsibly.

In any case, when it comes to building a membership site like this, the LMS WordPress theme is one of the best options.

The theme includes a lot of tools to help you build course material. You can build courses and pages with a drag-and-drop editor where you just need to drag the specific element to the desired location and add content to it. Thus, no coding is required.

The theme allows you to build paid and free courses for your students, which is a great way to entice users to sign up for paid courses after they get a feel for them. There’s also a variety of pre-made pages and templates to help save you time.

Benefits of Using LMS WordPress Theme

• Includes a contact form builder to help you construct sign-up forms for students
• Gain access to over 700 Google Fonts to give instructors more options when creating courses
• Offers excellent performance with a 96 on GTMetrix
• Offer courses in several languages with WPML integration
• Fully compatible with WooCommerce to help you sell course materials to students

Drawbacks of LMS WordPress Theme

• No free version is available
• Focuses exclusively on online courses, but does excel at them

5. Sweet Date

Perhaps one of the most popular forms of membership sites would be those focused on dating. Not only have these types of sites gained significant popularity, but they can be quite a lucrative business model when done right.

And when it comes to building a member-only dating site, the Sweet Date theme is one of the best options.

First and foremost, let’s talk about memberships. This theme includes a plugin that allows you to build multiple membership tiers, including a free option. As such you can lock certain content behind different membership tiers.

When it comes to design, the theme has a good initial layout with lots of options for customization including a full drag-and-drop page builder. It also has the Slider Revolution plugin included so you can build stylish sliders on your site effortlessly.

Benefits of Using Sweet Date

• Includes an excellent mobile version that streamlines communications between profiles
• Integrates with BuddyPress to allow users to build robust dating profiles
• Easily swap the color pallet of your site to better match the tone or season
• Includes access to a child theme to help with development
• Gain access to icon fonts and Font Awesome for more design options

Drawbacks of Sweet Date

• Lacks a free version to test it out
• Doesn’t have a lot of templates to choose from

6. Ultra

Ultra is one of the most well-known themes in the WordPress ecosystem due to its extensive customization options and compatibility with nearly every plugin. Combine this with a huge library of templates and it’s no wonder it is so popular.

While the theme itself lacks any membership functionality, it is easily remedied by installing a membership plugin.

As such, it can fit the needs of any membership niche thanks to its huge selection of site templates of customization options. Fitness, finance, and music are just some of the options at your disposal. There are also 60 pre-made layout options available.

This theme also supports section scrolling and even horizontal scrolling for more unique options. You can also allow for filters to be applied to images on the site like Sepia, Blur, or Grayscale. If you’re looking for creative freedom, Ultra is the perfect choice.

Benefits of Using Ultra

• Come with a variety of add-ons like progress bars, timelines, countdowns, and more
• Includes a Map Pro add-on to help users find addresses listed on your site
• Choose From 17 header styles, 5 post layouts, 6 header backgrounds, and much more
• Build mega menus to improve navigation on larger websites
• Create animated color backgrounds on any page

Drawbacks of Ultra

• While the theme isn’t hard to use, there is a learning curve for beginners
• There could be more site templates

7. Woffice

Woffice brings a unique twist to the idea of a membership site as it is business focused. This is a community-driven office setting that works great for project collaboration for school and business use. As such, it can reach quite a large audience.

For example, imagine a small business that needs an online work environment they can use. This theme creates one.

You can create a membership for users to access these tools as part of the membership. Some of the tools include calendar add-ons, Line Ajax Chat, File Manager, Directories, and much more. You can even create full forums for your organization.

Many organizations pay for similar features per member, this can help provide a cheaper alternative for smaller businesses. It’s also compatible with other common business tools. For instance, you can see Slack notifications.

Benefits of Using Woffice

• Create different membership tiers with functionality locked behind each one
• Create badges that can be awarded to users when they complete certain tasks
• Also compatible with LMS software like LearnDash
• Allow users to log in with their Facebook credentials
• This theme is translation-ready with RTL support

Drawbacks of Woffice

• Only includes 6 months of support
• The options can be a bit overwhelming at first

8. BuddyApp

When it comes to great membership themes for WordPress, BuffyApp is great for building a tight community-driven site. It places a huge focus on the mobile experience, which can help keep users connected even when they are not home.

Essentially, this is a theme for building a membership site around specific topics that like-minded individuals can talk about together.

It has a lot of features with the most important ones being centered around the chat. Users can chat with each other in real time and receive notifications when a new message is received on mobile devices.

In terms of customization, this theme brings a lot to the table. You can choose where your menus appear, change site colors, and even includes a pre-made landing page. This theme can be used to create a great environment for your users.

Benefits of Using BuddyApp

• Build full forums with bbPress integration
• This theme is translation ready with WPML support
• Includes a drag-and-drop page builder to build site content
• Gain access to a dedicated support team that can help answer any of your inquiries
• Allow users to build their own profiles with BuddyPress integration

Drawbacks of BuddyApp

• No free version is available
• There are not many site templates to use

9. JNews

Closing out our list of the best membership themes in WordPress is JNews.

It might seem like a foreign concept today, but many people were happy to pay for newspapers delivered to their front step years ago. And there is still a healthy market for news and magazine sites to deliver that experience with membership sites online.

In fact, there are several major news outlets like the New York Times and Washington Post that have a subscription plan in place.

If you want to do the same, the JNews theme is one of the best membership themes for news and magazine sites for WordPress. It comes with an AI writing assistant that can not only help you come up with ideas, but even generate content for you.

When it comes to design, the theme has over 250 homepage demo sites that you can install. You can also switch seamlessly between dark and light modes. It’s also worth pointing out it has a membership plugin included, so you’ll have everything you’ll need.

Benefits of Using JNews

• Allows you to keep track of payments to your writers and contributors
• Provides a donation button to ask users to donate to their favorite writers
• Works well with video and audio content with dedicated players for both (perfect for podcasts)
• This theme is translation ready with RTL support
• Display the reader’s current progress when going through long blog content

Drawbacks of JNews

• The weather forecast system is a bit buggy
• There is no free version available
• Some of the demo content uses a lot of DOM Elements which can slow down sites

FAQs About Membership Themes in WordPress

Build Your Membership Site Today

As you can see, WordPress has a lot of amazing themes that either have membership tools baked in or are compatible with membership plugins. In either case, you’ll have no issue creating a membership site in WordPress.

Multipurpose themes typically are the best choice because they have a lot of templates you can use to build any type of site, after all, a membership site is really more of a website model than a design.

You can have a membership site about sports, finance, video games, music, or anything at all. Thus, making sure you have a theme that is designed to meet your niche is infinitely more important than one that has membership tools baked in.

In any case, I hope this list has helped you find a great theme to start building a membership site today.

What types of marketing strategies did you use to promote your website? Do you run ads on your membership site?

The post 9 Best WordPress Membership Themes to Build a Community appeared first on GreenGeeks Blog.

Unfortunately, that can also make it difficult to track down the best themes the platform has to offer. It’s also worth noting that financial sites can focus on very different topics. For example, one website could focus on stocks, while another focuses on crypto.

As such, you’ll also need to keep your niche in mind when selecting a theme. Here are the best financial themes on WordPress.

Our Picks for the Best Financial Themes in WordPress

1. Astra

Astra is one of the most popular themes in WordPress with millions of users. It has achieved this high level of popularity because of its insane customization potential, a huge library of premade templates, and you can even use it for free.

This, of course, means they have a healthy selection of financial website templates for you to choose from.

These templates have a professional tone to them and can be customized to fit your needs. You can even install your favorite page builder to edit them as Astra is compatible with all of the major players like Elementor.

However, one of the strongest aspects of this theme would be how easy it is to use. This theme is full of customization, but everything is intuitive and beginners can get excellent results. Overall, Astra may just be the best theme for WordPress in general.

Benefits of Using Astra

• Lightweight design ensures your website is fast
• Includes a Header and Footer builder
• Create mobile headers to better fit the latest mobile design trends
• Build mega menus to help improve navigation on larger sites
• Fully integrates with WooCommerce for excellent eCommerce support

Drawbacks of Astra

• Many of the key features are locked behind the Pro version

2. Mai Prosper

Are you a financial advisor looking for a theme for your website? If so, look no further than the Mai Prosper theme. It is perfect for presenting your skills to clients and leaving a strong impact that will keep them coming back.

It is a block-based theme built on the Genesis framework, so there are tons of customization options to choose from.

When it comes to design, it utilizes a professional tone that tries to show off your skills or explain the services your financial business provides. As such, it is a great choice for any investment firms or financial advisors looking to show off their skill set.

When it comes to actually using the theme, it was built to be easy. It has a simple one-click setup that will help you get started immediately. The rest of the features are intuitive to use and you won’t need any coding experience to get the best experience.

Benefits of Using

• Supports Google AMP for better mobile experiences
• Easily upload your logo and center it on your site
• Powerful site customizer makes editing your site a breeze
• Fully compatible with WooCommerce for eCommerce functionality
• Excellent performance results in high page scores

Drawbacks of

• Lacks template options
• Does not have a free version

3. Divi

Divi is another wildly popular theme for WordPress that brings a lot to the table. It has one of the most robust libraries of templates to choose from, which means it is a great choice no matter what kind of website you are building.

One of the standout template options is for an accounting website. It has several homepage designs you can choose from to make your site stand out.

There are also more traditional templates for financial blogs.

When it comes to design, Divi is one of the best. It comes equipped with a drag-and-drop editor to help you build pages any way you want, which only adds more versatility to the templates.

As such, you really do have full creative freedom when using Divi. It is also feature-rich. Sliders, testimonials, galleries, forms, and more are just some of the built-in modules you can gain access to when using Divi.

Benefits of Using Divi

• Create background gradient colors by adjusting a slider
• Includes access to a variety of animation effects
• Add hover states to your site elements to make them pop out for visitors
• Choose different fonts from a big selection
• Create shape dividers for your content

Drawbacks of Divi

• Some of the modules cause compatibility issues with popular plugins

4. Sydney

Sydney is another multipurpose theme that can work well in any situation. This theme offers a great free version and focuses on delivering fast load times and full integration with the most popular plugins.

As such, it is easily one of the best financial themes available in WordPress. And it has an excellent professional vibe going for it.

There are several templates you can use to build your site and one of them is perfect for financial websites. More importantly, when you purchase the Pro version, you’ll gain access to a template builder module.

This allows you to build your own templates with unique layouts and you can also include Elementor design options. The Pro version also comes with extra Elementor widgets you can use for extra customization options.

Benefits of Using Sydney

• Choose from 7 blog layouts to get the right fit for your site
• Customize how every slider behaves on your website
• Includes a Wishlist for WooCommerce integration
• Includes plenty of pre-built sections to help save time
• Includes several mobile header options

Drawbacks of Sydney

• The Pro version is more expensive than most premium themes

5. Financity

Finacity was built specifically for finance websites of any kind. This includes financial advice, accountants, financial blogs, or anything else that you can think of in the field. The theme can be customized to fit any niche and includes a lot of templates to help save time.

As such, it is one of the best themes about making money. Naturally, it has a professional vibe that is expected of these kinds of websites.

The theme includes a drag-and-drop page builder that you can use to build your own pages and layouts. You’ll have an unlimited number of options, so there really are no limits when it comes to creating a website.

Of course, the site also includes several demo sites that you can use as the base for your website. They are all ready to use, but taking some time to add your own unique spin on them is recommended. Importing the demos only takes a single click, so it is quite easy.

Benefits of Using Financity

• Naturally responsive design ensures your website looks great on any device
• The admin panel allows you to do anything from changing the page layout to enabling maintenance mode
• Create individual sidebars for your pages to reach more users effectively
• Includes access to over 700 Google Fonts
• Dedicated support teams respond within 12-14 hours

Drawbacks of Financity

• No free version is available

6. OceanWP

OceanWP is another one of the more popular themes on the WordPress platform. It is multipurpose and offers users a huge library of demo sites that you can use to build any kind of site. It is also really simple to configure, which makes it perfect for beginners.

I cannot praise the templates enough as it has some of the best website templates for financial services on the market.

It takes a single click to import the demo content into WordPress. You can then edit using the vast customization options offered through OceanWP, or you could use your favorite page builder plugin.

OceanWP is compatible with Elementor, Beaver Builder, and other heavy hitters. One of the best parts of this theme is building global sections. These sections can be reused on your other pages and posts to help save time and edited all at once (great for pricing tables).

Benefits of Using OceanWP

• Change everything from fonts to colors on a global level
• Choose from 7 header styles
• Includes 3 mobile menu styles
• Gain access to powerful Elementor widgets exclusive to this theme
• Seamless integration with WooCommerce

Drawbacks of OceanWP

• The free version has a lot of advertisements

7. Rise

Rise is another one of the best financial themes for WordPress. It is a theme built for consultants and offers a lot of customization to help you create the right image for your business.

That said, there are plenty of templates that work for other financial topics or news sites.

One of the first things that stands out with this theme is that it includes an AI assistant. You can even use the AI to generate content or to use it as a support tool as it can answer your questions about the theme.

When it comes to design, you’ll gain access to plenty of pre-made pages that use a professional aesthetic. Each can be customized using over 200 design options available in the theme.

Rise even includes a form builder, so give it a try today.

Benefits of Using Rise

• Build stunning portfolio pages to show off your skill set
• Fill WooCommerce integration to sell products, or accept payments for services online
• Includes a built-in animation engine
• Supports custom fonts
• Create marketing banners to commemorate active deals

Drawbacks of Rise

• No free version is available

8. Ultra

Ultra is another wildly popular multipurpose theme that has an amazing selection of templates to choose from. Naturally, that means it has templates that are perfect for financial websites. In this case, it has a great one for accountants.

That said, you can repurpose other templates if you like the aesthetic, so you really do have a lot of options available.

As with most multipurpose themes, customization is the name of the game, and Ultra doesn’t disappoint in this regard. It is full of options and style choices that can help you craft any kind of website. Most importantly, it is very easy to use at any skill level.

This is because it offers the Themify Builder. This editor allows you to build pages and tweak templates using a drag-and-drop interface. You can add entire site elements in minutes with this tool, which makes it a perfect choice for beginners.

Benefits of Using Ultra

• Includes multiple add-ons like a countdown plugin
• Includes over 60 pre-designed layouts
• Add image filters to all of your pictures like greyscale
• Build mega menus to accommodate larger websites
• Gain access to section scrolling

Drawbacks of Ultra

• There are a lot of options, which can make it a bit overwhelming when starting

9. Exponent

Exponent is another amazing premium business theme that can adapt to any kind of environment. It includes access to 26 pre-built websites that you can use as a starting point for your website. Each one is fully customizable using a drag-and-drop WYSIWYG editor.

On top of this, you’ll also have access to over 200-page layouts. If you are looking for options, this is the theme for you.

The editor isn’t just for pages either, as you can use it to build custom headers and footers. It even has a full portfolio builder, which is perfect for businesses. You can show off your staff’s experience, skillset, and past projects through this builder.

Since many financial businesses today operate on an international level, you’ll be pleased to know that Exponent is compatible with popular translation plugins like WPML and Polylang to ensure your content is readable in most languages. It even has GDPR support options to help with compliance.

Benefits of Using Exponent

• Create sections for your website and save them for reuse
• Edit global sections and make changes that affect the whole site
• Import demo content in a single click
• Fully compatible with WooCommerce to sell products and services to customers
• Gain access to terrific support and documentation

Drawbacks of Exponent

• Some of the templates fail to stand out from one another

10. Adri

Adri is a theme built for consulting and business websites. It offers nine templates that you can use to start your website, but the real power comes from its customization options and support for page builders like Elementor.

Thus, no matter what kind of business site you want to make, this theme has you covered.

One thing that is important to note about the demo content is that it comes in both a one-page variant and a multipage variant. As such, it’s really like having twice as many options. Naturally, this means the theme is well suited for one-page designs.

One of the strongest aspects of this theme would be the high level of support you get access to. Not only is there a support team that can help, and documentation, but the developers go the extra mile and even have a tutorial video to help you get started.

Benefits of Using Adri

• Import all demo content in a single click
• Easily change the colors of the site to match your brand
• Add transparent navigation menus to follow users down the page
• This theme is translation-ready with WPML support
• Create your own templates

Drawbacks of Adri

• It doesn’t have many templates to choose from

11. Hestia Pro

While business sites come in many shapes and sizes, one of the most popular design options remains the one-page design. The one-page design allows you to display all of the business information in one location and leave a strong impression on users.

After all, many users lose interest when they have to spend time navigating through different sections of a website.

When it comes to one-page designs, no theme does it better than Hestia Pro. As such, it is one of the best financial themes for WordPress thanks to a huge library of demo content you can utilize. It has a demo for every niche including finance.

You also have complete freedom when it comes to design. The theme is compatible with nearly every major page builder, so you can use your favorite tools to build.

You can even create slider and video headers for your pages to help capture visitor attention immediately.

Benefits of Using Hestia Pro

• This theme is translation-ready with RTL support
• Includes unique features for WooCommerce integration
• Lightweight design ensures that your pages load fast
• Responsive design ensures the site looks great on any device
• Includes a full-width layout for blogs

Drawbacks of Hestia Pro

• Site templates are locked behind the Pro version of the theme

12. Success

Success is one of the best financial themes for WordPress and focuses on businesses that provide professional services to clients. This makes it perfect for consulting firms, financial advisors, and so on. That said, you can branch out to other fields with some creativity.

This theme only offers you a single demo site, but that is because it also offers you a ton of customization.

As a result, you can realistically build any kind of site with the Success theme. One way you can accomplish this is through the creation of global sections. For instance, you may want to create a pricing table as a global section that you can reuse.

You can also edit a global section and see the changes throughout your website with a single edit (great for sales/deals). Perhaps one of the most interesting features is that it includes a narrated video tutorial. This theme will help you learn about everything it offers in an easy-to-understand way.

Benefits of Using Success

• Fully compatible with Google Schema
• Includes access to WPBakery
• This theme is translation-ready with RTL support
• Gain access to a talented support team that is ready to help
• Supports a full-width layout

Drawbacks of Success

• Does not include multiple templates

13. Neve

Neve is one of the best financial themes for WordPress due to a huge library of site templates and a wide range of customization tools. With them, you can create any kind of financial site from basic financial advice to a full-on consulting agency.

Neve’s signature feature would be its flexibility. Seriously, you name it and Neve probably supports it.

For example, when it comes to building pages, you can use any of the popular options like Elementor, Beaver Builder, Divi Builder, and more. It is also compatible with nearly every plugin you would use like WooCommerce, Contact Form 7, Yoast SEO, and more.

As such, you have so many options available to you. Did I mention that this theme also provides over 100 starter site templates? When combined with all of the other options there is no limit on what kind of sites you can create. It also fully supports one-page designs.

Benefits of Using Neve

• Fast lightweight design helps keep visitors on your pages
• Build your own header and footer areas
• Change the colors of your website from a global level to save time
• Choose from several blog layouts
• This theme is translation-ready with RTL support

Drawbacks of Neve

• Support is not available 24/7

14. Level

Level is an interesting financial theme for WordPress that focuses on financial technology and crypto. That said, it has over 30 demo sites and over 200 templates to choose from. As such, you can pretty much make any kind of website with it.

Combine that with great customization options and it becomes pretty easy to see why this is one of the best financial themes for WordPress.

Naturally, with such a large pool of demo sites and templates to work with, all of them can be edited. To make that easier, Elementor is baked into the theme to help you build any kind of pages you’ll need or repurpose the demo content.

If you are looking to show off your staff, or just your own expertise, you’ll be pleased to know that this theme offers 4 portfolio layouts to choose from. A strong portfolio can help you land clients that are impressed with your credentials.

Benefits of Using Level

• Choose from over 990 Google Fonts
• Includes a custom 404 Error page
• Utilizes WPML to ensure your website supports multiple languages
• Responsive design ensures the website looks great on any device
• Includes a contact Form Builder

Drawbacks of Level

• Only includes 6 months of support

15. TheGem

Closing out this list of the best financial themes for WordPress is none other than TheGem. It is easily one of the most robust multipurpose themes for WordPress with over 400 demo sites you can use. Naturally, many of those demos are perfect for financial sites.

As you can imagine from such a large selection, the demos come in all shapes and sizes with single and multi-page designs supported.

When it comes to page design, you can tweak any of the demo content or create a new page with the WPBakery page builder. As such, you gain access to a drop-and-drag that can help streamline the creation process for your website.

One of the crowning jewels of TheGem would be its support. Not only do you get top-notch support, but you get it in four languages. This makes it one of the most accessible support options on this list.

If you are looking for a lot of flexibility, look no further than TheGem.

Benefits of Using TheGem

• Includes access to Slider Revolution for more options
• This theme is translation-ready with RTL support
• Combine template pieces
• Create your own sections and reuse them
• Choose from over 20 portfolio layouts

Drawbacks of TheGem

• The number of options is pretty overwhelming, so expect a learning curve

FAQs About Financial Themes in WordPress

Build A Financial Site with These WordPress Themes

As you can see, WordPress has an amazing selection of financial themes to choose from. Even most multipurpose themes include financial website templates that you can take advantage of, which means you have a ton of options to choose from.

It is really about finding a theme that matches the design aesthetic you are going for while also having a professional vibe. This is one field where trying to be different will most likely backfire.

In any event, I hope this list has helped you find the perfect theme for your new website.

Which theme do you use for your financial website in WordPress? What is the most important factor when picking a theme?

The post 15 Best Financial WordPress Themes for Professional Websites appeared first on GreenGeeks Blog.

These plugins can help you make site navigation easier and get visitors to view more of your content. These plugins add all types of design from mega menus to mobile menus, not to mention hundreds of animation options.

Today, I will share the best menu plugins to use in WordPress to expand your site’s navigation.

Our Picks for the Best Menu Plugins

1. Max Mega Menu

As websites grow over time, it becomes more challenging to fit all of the important links a website offers into a menu. That’s where a mega menu comes into play. This is a much larger menu designed to fit lots of links in a visually appealing way.

There is no better plugin to build one of these than using the Max Mega Menu plugin.

This plugin utilizes a drag-and-drop editor to help you put together your mega menu in minutes at any skill level. Any menu you do build with this plugin is naturally responsive, and it even has unique mobile options for very large menus.

The plugin is fully functional with the free version. But if you are looking for more options, the Pro version is definitely superior. It even has sticky menu support and WooCommerce integration options.

Max Mega Menu is easy to use and starts out free, so give it a try.

Benefits of Using Max Mega Menu

• Toggle Blocks for Mobile Users
• Basic Support for Free Version
• Add Menus Anywhere with Max Mega Menu Block
• Restrict Menu Options Based on User Role
• Uses Font Awesome, Genericon & Custom Icons

Drawbacks of Max Mega Menu

• WooCommerce Options Are Locked Behind the Pro Version

2. WP Mobile Menu

Regular WordPress menus are responsive and can work fine on mobile devices. However, if you ever compare them to custom-made mobile menus, you’ll see that they leave a lot to be desired. The WP Mobile Menu plugin can help you build custom menus for mobile.

You can install the plugin for free, but the premium version is where most of the standout features reside.

Perhaps one of the most prominent features of this plugin would definitely be the sliding menus designed specifically for mobile users. They can drag the menu into or out of view in one movement. You can also choose to hide other elements when the menu is on display.

This makes sure that users don’t accidentally click on elements not fully covered by the menus. When it comes to customization, you are in full control of the colors, fonts, and even have access to over 2,000 icons, or you can even upload your own.

Benefits of Using WP Mobile Menu

• Gain Access to Animated Icons
• Includes A Premade Copyright Section
• Easily Upload Your Own Logo to the Menu
• Add Background Images to Your Menus
• Supports 3 Depth Menus

Drawbacks of WP Mobile Menu

• Menu Cart Icon Locked Behind Premium

3. Menu Image

Images are powerful tools a website can use to help direct users around their website. And as such, they can be implemented in your WordPress menus. That said, you need to make sure they are properly sized and accurately fit the content they are pointing to.

The Menu Item plugin was made specifically for this purpose and offers a lot of useful features.

The bread and butter of this plugin is to allow images to act as links in your menus. For example, if you run a gym and offer Yoga classes, you could just use an image of an instructor doing Yoga to help users find that option.

This works for any type of business, just make sure the image makes sense and is properly sized. The other part of this plugin is a big focus on icons. You’ll be able to utilize Font Awesome and more for hundreds of options.

Benefits of Using Menu Image

• Add Cart Count to Menu (How Many Items Are in Your Cart)
• Display the Total Price Of Your Cart
• Choose From Font Awesome or DashIcons Libraries
• Add “Hiring Now” to Career Menu
• Choose the Dimensions of Images in Your Menu

Drawbacks of Menu Image

• The Plugin Doesn’t Really Do Anything Else Besides Images, Icons, and Notification Symbols

4. Responsive Menu

The name really says it all with this plugin. Responsive Menu is exactly what it sounds like; a plugin for creating responsive menus that can be navigated on any device. Most importantly, it is easy to use and free.

The plugin utilizes a visual builder to ensure it is accessible at any skill level, which makes it perfect for beginners.

As you might expect from a visual builder, you have a lot of customization. You can easily control the colors, font, icons, and every other element in your menus. The plugin boasts 22,500 options to choose from, so there is something for everyone.

While the free version brings a lot to the table, there are a lot of worthwhile features in the premium version. For instance, you’ll be able to preview changes before implementing them. This can help you spot mistakes and avoid confusing typos.

Benefits of Using Responsive Menu

• This Plugin Is Translation Ready
• Choose From Premade Menu Themes
• Menus Look Great on Any Screen Size
• Add Custom HTML Components
• Choose Which Side A Menu Appears On

Drawbacks of Responsive Menu

• There Are a Lot of Options, Which May Get Confusing

5. UberMenu

UberMenu is an amazing premium menu builder for WordPress that creates responsive menus that look great on any screen size. Since it is premium, you can expect a lot of features and more importantly, access to dedicated support.

This makes it a great choice for beginners that may need more help to troubleshoot issues.

In terms of menu types, this plugin handles everything. Flyouts mega menus, images as menu items, submenus, and anything else you could think of are in this plugin. You’ll also be in full control of the menu style from the color to the font being used.

One of the most tedious parts of building menus is adding all of the individual links, but UberMenu can help with that. It can automatically fill in menu items for you by entering certain taxonomies like categories or tags.

Benefits of Using UberMenu

• Create Tabbed Submenus
• Over 100 Font Awesome Icons Included
• Add Custom Badges to Menu Items
• Choose From A Variety of Drop Down Transitions
• Insert Your Own Custom CSS

Drawbacks of UberMenu

• There Are No Free Options

6. WP Mega Menu

WP Mega Menu is one of the best plugins for WordPress when it comes to building large scalable menus. It utilizes a visual editor to allow you to move elements around and get them into the best position in seconds.

As such, you won’t need any coding skills to make the most of this plugin, which is ideal for beginners.

Design is really the bread and butter of WP Mega Menu, and you have a nearly endless amount of options at your disposal including layouts, fonts, colors, icons, and anything else you could put in a menu.

One of the standout features is the integration options with WooCommerce. In the Pro version, you can create product menus with pricing information and allow users to add items directly to their cart from the menu.

Benefits of Using WP Mega Menu

• Add Menus to Widget Areas
• Add Your Logo to Menus
• Includes Social Media Options
• Display Animation Effects In Menus
• Create Tabbed Submenus

Drawbacks of WP Mega Menu

• Premium version is For a One-Year License

7. JetMenu

JetMenu is one of the best premium menu plugins for WordPress. It has nearly every feature you can think of when it comes to menu creation and utilizes a drag-and-drop interface to ensure it is accessible to all users.

Perhaps the most noteworthy feature is support for both horizontal and vertical menus.

Horizontal menus are more traditional and work well on most sites, at least when users are on a desktop. On mobile devices, they can be hard to use, but vertical menus are ideal. It’s much easier to go up and down a page instead of horizontally.

Design-wise, JetMenu might just have the most options. Nothing makes that more apparent than the integration options for Elementor. You can insert these menus onto any page created with the Elementor page builder.

Benefits of Using JetMenu

• Add Transitions And Animations to Menus
• Create Menus to Show Off WooCommerce Products
• Supports Hamburger Menus (3 Horizontal Lines)
• Control What Menu Items Appear on Desktop And Mobile
• Add Your Own Icons

Drawbacks of JetMenu

• No Free Option is Available

8. QuadMenu

When it comes to the best free menu plugins in WordPress, QuadMenu easily makes the list. It offers stunning design options thanks to a drag-and-drop menu builder that is perfect for users of all skill levels.

And no matter what you build with it, you can rest easy that it will look great on mobile devices.

The plugin focuses on providing a way to build mega menus, tab menus, and carousel menus. In terms of layout, you have complete freedom to create columns and rows as needed, add icons, and more.

Since it is all done through the editor, you won’t need any coding skills to get great results. It’s also worth pointing out that this plugin supports both horizontal and vertical menus, so you get the best of both worlds.

Benefits of Using QuadMenu

• Show or Hide Menu Items Depending on the Screen Size
• Add Dropdown Animations
• Supports Font Awesome Icons
• Easily Change colors and Fonts to Match Your Theme
• Add WordPress Widgets to Your Menus

Drawbacks of QuadMenu

• Carousel Features Are Locked Behind Premium

9. Advanced Sidebar Menu

Advanced Sidebar Menu is easily one of the best menu plugins for WordPress. And as the name implies, it focuses on adding menus to your sidebar. This is great for showing related post content or content by category or other taxonomies.

As you might expect from sidebar content, this plugin utilizes a widget to display the menus.

The plugin allows you to show children of the current page or post, or alternatively, you can use it to display posts or pages that share the same category. You also have the option to exclude some content from appearing.

To do this, you would just need to enter the page or post ID into the respective exclude box and it will not appear. In the case a child page also has a child page, it will appear indented underneath it.

Benefits of Using Advanced Sidebar Menu

• The Pro Version Adds A Navigation Menu Block
• Enable Accordion View To Prevent Long Lists
• Add Icons to Your Menu Items
• Priority Support Is Available In the Pro Version
• Includes English French, German, and Spanish Translations

Drawbacks of Advanced Sidebar Menu

• Features Are Very Limited In the Free Version

10. Hero Mega Menu

Closing out this list of the best menu plugins for WordPress is Hero Mega Menu. It is yet another terrific drag-and-drop menu builder for WordPress that can do just about anything when it comes to menu design.

One of the main focuses of this plugin is on integration with WooCommerce.

You can create full mega menus with your WooCommerce products on display. This can help you show off current sales or hot products on your site.

Hero Mega Menu also has a ton of options to help make the menu more accessible for users.

For example, if you have a lot of products on your page, scrolling back up to the top can be a real pain. You can avoid this by enabling the sticky menu with a single click. That way, it follows the user throughout the page.

Benefits of Using Hero Mega Menu

• Add Line Dividers Between Navigation Items
• Choose From Hundreds of Menu Icons
• Includes Three Different Search Fields
• Change the Color of Menu Items Separately
• Decorate Menus With CSS Gradients

Drawbacks of QuadMenu

• No Free Version is Available

FAQs for Managing Menus

Improve Your WordPress Menu With These Plugins

As you can see, WordPress has an excellent selection of menu plugins to choose from. Improving your website’s navigation helps improve the user experience and can be used to guide users to the content you want them to see.

You’ll also need to be mindful of the devices visitors use to view your content. A good menu for desktop users is not always good on mobile devices. Creating a menu for each device requires more work, but can greatly improve your site.

The plugins on this list offer unique solutions, so be sure to find the ones that best suit your needs and design philosophies.

Do you think WordPress should have more menu options? Do you use sticky menus on your website?

The post 10 Best WordPress Menu Plugins to Expand Navigation appeared first on GreenGeeks Blog.

Most importantly, they can help you build a dedicated user base. As a result, users will come back to your website to interact with one another instead of just your content, which can be a huge boon to your website.

Today, we are going to see what the best forum plugins on WordPress are to promote that interaction.

Our Picks for the Best Forum Plugins

1. bbPress

When it comes to creating forums in WordPress, there are few plugins that can match the power and versatility of bbPress. The goal of this plugin is to allow users of any skill level to build forums in WordPress and it is free to use.

It even has its own free theme you can use to get the most out of it, but rest assured that it works with any theme.

With this plugin, forums are easy to create, and more importantly, maintain. The truth is that you will end up spending a lot of time maintaining your forums from low-effort posts, spam, and just general moderation. This plugin can help with all of that.

One of the coolest things about bbPress would be how well the community has received this plugin. There are a ton of free extensions for bbPress that you can use to add extra functionality to it.

For instance, one of them will allow you to make your forum a members-only platform.

Benefits of Using bbPress

• Supports Multisite Forums
• Lightweight Design Ensures Speed
• Completely Free To Use (No Premium Version)
• Built By The Same Team Behind WP Core
• Supports CAPTCHA Through Extensions

Drawbacks of bbPress

• The Core Plugin is Basic, You’ll Need to Install Extensions

2. wpForo Forum

The wpForo Forum plugin is easily among the best forum plugins for WordPress. It is extremely versatile in terms of function and design. As such, it is a great choice for any website looking to add a forum in WordPress.

The free version includes basic forum features, but the real power is available in the premium version.

This plugin has three main forum modes that include simplified, extended, and question-and-answer. Combining these with the other customization options available gives you complete control over how your forum will look.

In terms of usability, this plugin is great when you have the premium version. You can utilize a drag-and-drop forum design to move threads around as needed and offers popular forum features like polls and more. This is one of the best options for WordPress.

Benefits of Using wpForo Forum

• Allow Users to Earn Forum Badges
• Integrates With BuddyPress
• Make It Easy to Share on Social Media with Share Buttons
• Built-in Forum Caching System
• Supports Live User Notifications

Drawbacks of wpForo Forum

• The Free Version Is Very Basic And Lacks Common Features

3. Answers

Asking and answering questions is easily the most popular use of the internet, and that will probably never change. One of the best ways to make your site one of the best places to do this is to build a Q&A forum with Answers.

This plugin allows you to build a Quora-like forum in WordPress where users can post questions and receive answers.

It is a premium plugin that is full of awesome features that you can take advantage of. For example, one of the latest features is ChatGPT integration. You can set it up so that AI answers the question in certain categories on your forums.

Of course, there are more traditional features like notifications. You can receive live notifications when new posts are made on the forums themselves, or opt in to email notifications for specific posts, or entire forum categories.

Benefits of Using Answers

• Charge Users to Ask A Question
• Users Can Vote What the Best Answer Is
• Categorize Your Questions
• Allow Question Editing
• Include A Bad Word Filter

Drawbacks of Answers

• No Free Version or Free Trial
• No reCAPTCHA Option to Combat Spam

4. Asgaros Forum

Asgaros Forum is an amazing forum plugin for WordPress that allows you to expand and enhance your community. It focuses on being an easy-to-understand system that allows developers of all skill levels to build robust forums.

When it comes to pricing, you’ll be pleased to know that this plugin is completely free. No premium version, or extensions.

As such, you get all of the features from the get-go. In fact, many of the features are similar to what you would expect from premium tools. This includes things like file uploads, polls, forum searching, polling, and more.

It also comes with some great shortcode options to help you place specific parts of your forums on pages.

For instance, maybe you want to create a page about a specific topic. Well, you can use the shortcode to include forum posts about that category.

Benefits of Using Asgaros Forum

• Allows Users to Mention Each Other
• Assign Moderator Role to Other Users
• Add Ranks and Levels to Your Forum
• Customize The Forum Appearance With Code
• Users Can Add Reactions to Posts

Drawbacks of Asgaros Forum

• Lacks Additional Functionality

5. Forum Engine

Forum Engine is a very unique entry on this list because it is actually not a plugin, but instead a full-fledged theme for forums. However, it comes fully equipped with a ready-to-use forum that is professionally designed.

As such, that gives it a pretty big advantage over some of the other entries on this list.

You might expect it to be a weaker option, but that really isn’t the case. It includes all of the features you would expect from a premium forum plugin like style options, a user badge system, live notifications, and so much more.

More importantly, this is all baked right into your theme so there are no compatibility issues or weird design quirks to worry about. It is easily one of the best forum solutions for WordPress even if it is only a theme.

Benefits of Using Forum Engine

• Works Great as a Subdomain for Your Website
• Translation Ready with WPML Support
• Search Forums With Ajaz Live Search
• Excellent Mobile Design
• User-Friendly Design

Drawbacks of Forum Engine

• It’s a Theme Not a Plugin, So You’ll Need to Transfer Content to It

6. Discussion Board

Discussion Board is another one of the best forum plugins for WordPress that is easy to use and brings a lot to the table. Although, you will need the premium version to unlock a lot of the features this plugin offers.

With that said, the main strength of this plugin would be its simplicity.

You won’t need any coding skills or have to go through a long setup process. Instead, everything is quick and easy from start to finish. When it comes to design, the base version is very minimal, which makes it easily fit into any website.

However, with the premium version, you can style the forum however you want and even features a WYSIWYG editor. Discussion Board also comes with a great selection of shortcodes to add certain elements anywhere in WordPress like a login option.

Benefits of Using Discussion Board

• Easily Change the Forum Colors
• Limit Posting By Time To Reduce Spam
• One Click Setup
• Set Stauses for Posts as Open/Closed, Answered/Unanswered, etc.
• Users Can Follow Topics

Drawbacks of Discussion Board

• The Free Version is Too Basic for Many

7. Simple:Press

Simple:Press is another powerful forum plugin for WordPress that gives you a lot of creative freedom when it comes to forums. And it really shows visually as this plugin may just create the most appealing forums on this list.

This is a freemium plugin where you can use the base plugin for free, but it also includes a big library of premium add-ons.

Each of these add-ons brings a unique feature to the table. For example, you can use the Threading add-on to show replies underneath the post they are replying to. With over 70 add-ons to choose from, there are a lot of options.

Perhaps one of the more interesting and useful features of this plugin is the availability of forum statistics. You can see how active your posts are, how many times users have ever replied, and other interesting tidbits.

Benefits of Using Simple:Press

• Supports User Signatures
• Receive Email Notifications For Replies
• Create Private Forums
• Include Math CAPTCHA
• Members Can Customize Profiles

Drawbacks of Simple:Press

• The Add-Ons Are Very Expensive

8. Sabai Discuss

Sabai Discuss is one of the best premium forum plugins for WordPress. It focuses on providing a Questions and Answers forum format in the same vein as Quora. While it is a premium plugin, it is also on the cheaper side with a price tag of $24.

As you might expect from a premium tool, it comes with a plethora of useful abilities that your forum can take advantage of.

Since the focus is on questions and answers, users can close the post after they have received an answer. This helps prevent a question from getting multiple duplicate answers. Each user can also vote on what answer is the best answer.

This allows users to build up a reputation, which can help instill confidence in the answers a user receives on your forums. You can create categories to better filter questions and improve the search functionality of the forum.

Benefits of Using Sabai Discuss

• Search the Forums By Keywords, Categories, and More
• Users Can Build Profile Pages
• Forums Are Fully Translatable
• Includes 10 Email Notification Templates
• Allow Users to Reopen A Question

Drawbacks of Sabai Discuss

• The Forum Design Is Very Simple
• There Is Not a Free Version

9. ForumWP

Closing out this list of the best forum plugins for WordPress is ForumWP. It is another fantastic option to consider using when constructing a forum section for your website.

It is also natively responsive, which ensures your forums look great on any screen size.

One of the more interesting features for users would be the ability to see how active a forum post is. They can see the number of views it received, how many replies, the number of likes, and other information.

It’s worth pointing out that while you can make a general public forum with this plugin, you can also create individual forums as well. This is useful if you sell products and want to create a forum for a specific product.

Benefits of Using ForumWP

• Users Can Send Private Replies
• Bookmark Posts
• Moderate Posts From The Frontend
• Users Can Vote or Leave Likes
• Lightweight Design for Fast Load Times

Drawbacks of ForumWP

• The Pro Version Is a Bit On the Pricey Side

FAQs About Maintaining Forums

Build A WordPress Forum Today with These Plugins

As you can see, WordPress has a great selection of forum plugins to choose from. These plugins range from free to premium so it’s really all about finding what works for your website and what doesn’t.

As such, you should test them before implementing anything on your site and listen to feedback. After all, if users find it tedious to use a forum, or feel like it lacks basic features, they will probably not come back.

In any event, I hope this list helps you find the best forum plugin for your WordPress site.

Did you gamify your forum? Has adding a forum helped improve user engagement?

The post 9 Best WordPress Forum Plugins to Engage Visitors appeared first on GreenGeeks Blog.

Caching allows you to store data that is frequently accessed to deliver it to visitors when they visit your website. For example, most users access a website through the homepage, thus it is a great page to cache.

Since caching is an integral part of maintaining the performance of your website, WordPress has a lot of caching plugins you can choose from. Today, we are going to see the best options you can use in WordPress.

Our Picks for the Best Caching Plugins

1. LiteSpeed Cache

LiteSpeed Cache is the most popular caching plugin in WordPress with over 4 million active installs. It has achieved this popularity by being one of the best caching plugins for WordPress and providing most of its features for free.

Combine this with the fact that it is easy to use, you really do have the best caching plugin for WordPress.

When I say this plugin is easy to use, I really mean it. You can enable it by just toggling on a switch. Of course, there are more advanced options for experienced web developers, and it even offers server-side caching for free.

LiteSpeed Cache goes beyond just caching, as it is an all-in-one solution for improving site performance in WordPress. For example, this plugin implements lazy loading on your site. This causes images to only load when they are visible to reduce initial load times.

Benefits of Using LiteSpeed Cache

• Minifies CSS, JavaScript, and HTML
• Supports WebP Image Format
• Supports Memcached, LSMCD, and Redis Object Cache
• Database Optimizations
• Separate Desktop And Mobile Caching

Drawbacks of LiteSpeed Cache

• The Plugin Is Free, But The LightSpeed Servers Are Not
• The Sheer Number Of Features Can Be Overwhelming

2. WP Rocket

WP Rocket is another massively popular caching plugin for WordPress. And that is because it was designed for beginners. You’ll only need to press a single button and caching is enabled on your site.

Also, it will choose the best settings for your site to help boost performance. This means you don’t need any technical knowledge whatsoever to set up caching with WP Rocket.

One of the best aspects of WP Rocket is that it is geared towards eCommerce sites. It knows to never cache the Checkout, Cart, or related pages, as this can interfere with the entire process if an older version is loaded.

In terms of site performance, WP Rocket is easily among the top caching plugins for WordPress. It can dramatically speed up your website and even handles image optimization, enables lazy loading, and much more.

Benefits of Using WP Rocket

• No Setup, It Works After Activation
• Excellent Customer Support
• Cache Preloading
• Gzip Compression
• Integrates With CDNs

Drawbacks of WP Rocket

• There Is No Free Version
• Does Not Offer A Trial

3. WP-Optimize

WP-Optimize is a free caching and optimization plugin for WordPress. Its main focus is speeding up your website, and it certainly gets results, which is why over one million WordPress sites use it.

Since it is free to use, you lose nothing by giving it a shot.

When it comes to compression, this plugin is powerful. It detects when pages are loaded and creates static HTML files that are delivered to the next visitor that accesses the page.

This reduces the strain on your server and improves load times.

The other half of this plugin is all about optimization. This starts with cleaning the database where unused and temporary files are removed, defrags the MySQL tables, compresses images, and much more. It really is an all-in-one solution.

Benefits of Using WP-Optimize

• Auto Compresses Images
• Restore Original Images Before Compression
• Combine And Minify CSS and JS
• Implements Lazy Loading
• Premium Support Available

Drawbacks of WP-Optimize

• Lacks Advanced Cache Options
• Disables Some Features If InnoDB tables Are Detected

4. WP Fastest Cache

WP Fastest Cache is one of the best caching plugins for WordPress with over one million active installs. As the name implies, it strives to deliver the fastest caching experience, and while that may or may not be true, it is still pretty fast.

Most importantly, this plugin starts off as free to use, which makes it great for new websites looking to save some money.

As your website grows, you can purchase the premium version to get more features. Speaking of features, this plugin has a lot to offer.

For example, whenever you publish a new post or page, the plugin will automatically clear the cache.

This ensures that the newest version of those posts and pages are delivered to visitors. It’s worth pointing out that the settings of this plugin just boil down to checking or unchecking boxes. This makes it extremely easy to use for beginners.

Benefits of Using WP Fastest Cache

• Minify CSS, JS, and HTML
• Implements Lazy Loading
• Combine CSS to Reduce Requests
• Block Caching Certain Pages With Shortcode
• Leverage Browser Caching

Drawbacks of WP Fastest Cache

• The UI Isn’t Great
• Uses A Credit System For Image Optimization

5. W3 Total Cache

W3 Total Cache is another popular option in WordPress with over one million active installs. It focuses on improving your site performance through a myriad of features and optimization techniques.

As such, the experience can be a bit overwhelming due to the sheer number of options, but when done right, it is unmatched.

Unlike some of the other plugins on this list, this one isn’t for beginners. You will need to configure how caching works on your site, but this can have better results when done right compared to the automated setup that other plugins offer.

In fact, W3 Total Cache boasts that websites could see a 10x increase in performance depending on the configuration. It is worth noting that W3 Total Cache can integrate with CDNs to boost performance and save bandwidth.

Benefits of Using W3 Total Cache

• Support For AMP
• Minify CSS, JS, And HTML Files
• Supports Redis, Memcached, And More
• Instantly Deliver Repeat Pages Through Browser Caching
• Implements Lazy Loading

Drawbacks of W3 Total Cache

• Pricing Isn’t Great For Multiple Sites
• Setup And Configuration Are Not Simple

6. WP Super Cache

WP Super Cache is yet another excellent caching plugin for WordPress with over one million active installs. It delivers static HTML pages that are easier to load, which can significantly speed up your WordPress site.

This plugin was built with all skill levels in mind. It offers several setup methods that are ideal for virtually everyone from beginners to advanced users.

For example, if you are a beginner and don’t really know much about caching, the Simple option will take care of most things for you. Whereas if you are more experienced, you can dial settings up manually to get the best results.

When it comes to performance, this plugin is one of the best and it can preload as many posts as you enable the feature on. This can help you rapidly deliver your most popular posts to ensure users have the best experience possible.

Benefits of Using WP Super Cache

• CDN Support
• Regularly Deletes Old Files to Save Space
• Includes Three Web Hooks
• Comments Are Updated Immediately On Cached Content
• Does Not Cache Content Accessed By Bots

Drawbacks of WP Super Cache

• Complex Setup
• Utilizes Complex Technical Language

7. Redis Object Cache

While Memcached has continued to be the most popular caching method in WordPress for a long time, it is losing ground to Redis. It specializes in object caching and the Redis Object Cache plugin is the best way to implement it in WordPress.

When it comes to setup, it doesn’t get any easier than this. All you need to do is install the plugin, activate it, and enable caching.

However, if something does go wrong, you will find the plugin is a bit more complicated to use. It provides a ton of information in the Diagnostics section, but if you are not knowledgeable about caching and WordPress, it can be a headache.

Oddly enough, while many caching plugins focus on boosting performance, few actually show you how much faster your site is, that’s not the case here. This plugin shows you the average time it takes for pages to load in the Metrics section.

Benefits of Using Redis Object Cache

• View Several Stats In The Metrics Section
• Fully Compliant With WordPress API
• Optimized for WooCommerce
• Secure Connection With TLS
• Easy Setup

Drawbacks of Redis Object Cache

• Redis Requires More Server Memory to Use
• Not All Web Hosts Support Redis

FAQs About WordPress Caching Plugins

Speed Up WordPress With Caching Plugins Today

As you can see, WordPress has a huge selection of great caching plugins to choose from. Each one works slightly differently, so some tools may work better than others in some situations. The important part is that you have at least one active.

Most users will leave a website if it takes too long to load and it negatively impacts your website’s search engine rankings. As such, maintaining a fast website is probably the most important aspect of modern web design.

What is your favorite caching plugin for WordPress? Did you notice a site performance increase after installing a caching plugin?

The post 7 Best WordPress Caching Plugins to Boost Site Performance appeared first on GreenGeeks Blog.

These tools allow you to display event information on that date in an easy-to-read fashion. Calendars are also quite intuitive to use, which makes them a great choice for beginners, not to mention most people know how to read a calendar.

WordPress does include a native Calendar block in Gutenberg. However, it is simply a static image of a month and lacks the ability for you to enter upcoming events or available office hours. Thus, it isn’t very useful.

Luckily, WordPress is home to a ton of great calendar plugins that can do this. Here are some of the best ones on the platform:

1. The Events Calendar

Without a doubt, the Events Calendar is the most popular calendar plugin for WordPress. And it’s for a very simple reason, it is the best. It provides a plethora of features that websites can take advantage of and can be placed anywhere on your website.

Perhaps one of its best features is the ability for users to place Google Maps within an event. This way, visitors will be able to see the date, time, and be able to get directions.

If you want to show off an upcoming product, you can add a “Buy Now” button to the calendar.

Benefits of Using The Events Calendar

• This plugin is translation ready so visitors from around the globe can understand your events
• Export your calendar to Google Calendar and other calendar systems
• Choose between calendar view or list view for your entries
• Place the calendar in your posts, pages, or widget area using a dedicated block
• Supports all types of content like text, images, video, and more

2. Booking Calendar

Many offices need to make appointments for customers or allow customers to book their own online. In either case, the Booking Calendar is one of the best options available due to its simplicity.

You can configure the plugin to include the necessary input fields from customers (name, phone number, email, etc.), which makes it work in any scenario.

It also includes spam protection with reCAPTCHA to ensure only humans are making appointments.

Benefits of Using Booking Calendar

• Color code your calendar to reflect what days you are open and closed
• Updates in real-time to avoid duplicate appointments
• Import Google Calendar events to quickly fill out the calendar
• Store all bookings in your database so no additional subscriptions are necessary
• Include seasonal pricing options when you upgrade to the premium version

3. Simple Calendar – Google Calendar Plugin

Many people rely on Google Calendar to keep track of events on their cell phones, which is why it is one of the most popular options out there. You can use the Simple Calendar to bring that same functionality to WordPress.

As a result, you can actually create all of your events within Google Calendar and just automatically import them to your WordPress website with this plugin.

On top of this, you are not limited to a single account, as you can import from multiple calendars and combine them.

Benefits of Using Simple Calendar

• Swap between daily, weekly, or monthly views to help identify openings
• Create color-coded calendars to help users identify different types of events or by who they are hosted by
• Receive email notifications if an event time is changed or a new event is added
• Display events in list mode to make event details easier to read
• This plugin includes priority email support to quickly answer any questions you have

4. Booking for Appointments and Events Calendar

The Bookings for Appointments and Events Calendar is another excellent booking system for WordPress. This plugin focuses on improving the user experience by providing an easy-to-use booking system that anyone can use.

The calendar works for anything from hair appointments to your next concert performance. The calendar can detect what time zone a user is in and adjust accordingly to ensure guests always have the right information.

Benefits of Using Booking for Appointments and Events Calendar

• Create confirmation messages for email notifications and via SMS
• This plugin is translation ready with over 20 languages supported
• Easily place the calendar on a post, page, or widget area by using a shortcode
• Define how long each type of appointment will take to ensure that appointments do not overlap
• Setup events to only allow a certain number of bookies to avoid overbooking

5. My Calendar

The My Calendar plugin for WordPress is built for beginners. It is easy to use for both developers and regular users looking to book an appointment.

With it, users can book or view events or appointments months in advance.

Users can even utilize a list view to display the dates and events with collapsible dates. That way, users can only see the information on specific dates to avoid confusion.

You can also color code the types of appointments or activities you are displaying.

Benefits of Using My Calendar

• Easily place different views of your calendar with a shortcode generator for easy placement
• Makes it easy to duplicate events for reoccurring events
• Import event information from CSV files for quick calendar generation
• Includes a “Share on Google Calendar” button to help visitors stay aware
• Includes Google Map links to help visitors find the location

6. Sugar Calendar

Sugar Calendar is a premium calendar plugin for WordPress that focuses on delivering a feature-rich experience, while also keeping things simple and intuitive. And good news, it achieves all of this.

It handles everything from event planning to regular bookings. Users can also share events through Google Calendar for more convivence.

One of Sugar Calendar’s more powerful features would be its event ticketing, which allows you to sell tickets to events through the calendar.

Benefits of Using Sugar Calendar

• Integrates with WPForms to allow for event submissions into your calendar
• Utilize WooCommerce or Stripe to sell tickets to visitors
• Sync Sugar Calendar with Google Calendar
• Create start and end times for events to help prevent overlapping bookings
• Duplicate recurring events to save time when adding them to the calendar

7. WP Simple Booking Calendar

The WP Simple Booking Calendar plugin for WordPress is another excellent solution if your business needs a booking solution. It allows users to book appointments or rooms at your business and offers a color coding system.

For example, you can make days you are closed red and days you are open green. You can also use another color if the day is fully booked.

It is quite a simple plugin, but if you need a calendar for booking appointments, there are not many that do it better.

Benefits of Using WP Simple Booking Calendar

• Choose from a long list of languages to accommodate more visitors
• Choose from a selection of calendar overlays to better match your website
• Highlight the current day to help focus attention and prevent booking on the wrong day
• Hide users booking info from other users
• Export booking dates to CSV files for better record keeping

8. WP Event Manager

The WP Event Manager plugin is a full-blown event planning solution for WordPress. It helps you list upcoming events with a calendar, which includes registration forms for users to sign up with and even allows you to sell tickets with WooCommerce integration.

This makes it a great choice for any event that needs to sell tickets for attendance.

Of course, you could just focus on the events calendar itself, as even without all of the other functions, it is packed with features that are sure to be a hit in WordPress.

Benefits of Using WP Event Manager

• Gain access to a wide array of payment gateways through WooCommerce integration
• Create event listing directly from your WordPress dashboard
• Users can use filters to help narrow the events they see (location, time, instructor, etc.)
• This plugin is translation ready to help you create international events
• Purchase a Google Maps add-on to add Google Maps to your event listings

9. Timely All-in-One Events Calendar

The Timely All-In-One Events Calendar plugin is another great option for WordPress sites. As the name suggests, it does everything from creating calendar views of upcoming events to selling the tickets guests will need to attend (add-on required).

It can help you create listings for any type of event from basic appointments, concerts, digital checkups, virtual conferences, and just about anything else you can imagine that would need a calendar or booking system.

It’s a great option for WordPress users.

Benefits of Using Timely All-In-One Events Calendar

• Include social share buttons on events to help users share them with friends and family
• Customize the way the calendar is viewable with custom CSS code
• If you have recurring events, you can duplicate existing ones to help save time
• This plugin is optimized for SEO and utilizes the best practices
• Choose from multiple display options to better suit your brand

10. Essential Addons for Elementor

Elementor is one of the most popular ways to create pages in WordPress. Due to its popularity, there are a variety of add-ons you can purchase that give you even more features to work with.

Essential Addons for Elementor is a popular option that adds an event calendar.

This plugin allows you to integrate an events calendar into any page you have built with Elementor, thus it is a no-brainer for many sites.

The calendar is simple to use but includes all of the basic features one would expect.

Benefits of Using Essential Addons for Elementor

• Integrates with Google Calendar and other popular calendar apps
• Choose between daily, weekly, monthly, or list views to better suit your customers
• Style your calendar with a variety of customization options
• Integrates with the Events Calendar plugin to import calendars
• Color code events to help visitors zero in on what they are looking for

11. ICS Calendar

Closing out this list of the best calendar plugins for WordPress is ICS Calendar. This plugin focuses on converting existing calendars you may already be using like Google Calendar, Office 365, and more into WordPress calendars.

If a calendar produces a public iCalendar subscription link, it can be converted into a WordPress calendar with this plugin.

You can manually edit any calendar or even create one from scratch if necessary. Overall, it’s a great way to use your favorite tool and bring it to WordPress through integration.

Benefits of Using ICS Calendar

• Combine multiple calendars to create one calendar that contains all of your events or appointments
• Place calendars anywhere a shortcode can be placed (pages, posts, widget areas, etc.)
• Supports a variety of language options to ensure more users can read the calendar
• Syncs with the original calendar to show updates and changes when they are made
• A detailed user guide can help you locate the necessary sync code from other calendar apps

Make Sure Your Calendar Is Readable

You might have noticed that many of the options on this list include color coding options. And there’s a good reason as they improve the visibility of events, which makes the overall calendar easier to read.

Unfortunately, even something as basic as a calendar can be hard to read when it is full of text, images, maps, and other types of content. Color coding the content to help it stand out is very effective.

For example, if you run a gym, you might have fitness courses taught throughout the week. The courses may be the same, but some users may prefer different instructors. Thus, color coding them by the instructor may help visitors identify the courses they want to attend.

This logic can be applied to just about anything, thus, it can be a great option to help keep calendars readable.

Help Organize Events With A Calendar Today

As you can see, WordPress has a ton of calendar and booking systems that can help your business or organization run events. Calendars are great at displaying information and at helping users find out where and when the next event is.

More importantly for you, they are really easy to manage. Many of the options on this list are compatible with popular calendar solutions like Google Calendar, which can help you import your own calendars to WordPress in just a few clicks.

By using any of the plugins on this list, you will be able to build or import calendars in and off of WordPress.

What is your favorite calendar plugin for WordPress? Do you think the native Calendar block in WordPress is worth using?

The post 11 Best WordPress Calendar Plugins to Use in 2023 appeared first on GreenGeeks Blog.

Not all project management plugins are created equal in WordPress. Some of them focus on specific niches, while others are general purpose, thus, you need to take the time to identify what you need from a project manager to get the most out of it.

Due to the popularity of the WordPress platform, this can be challenging due to the sheer number of plugins available. As such, it can take some time to find the best tool for the job, but this list can help you narrow down the search.

Note: Some of the options on this list lack an official plugin. Instead, you’ll only be able to use it in WordPress through integration options with other WordPress plugins.

What Are Project Management Plugins For WordPress?

Simply put, a project management plugin is a tool designed to help you organize project development teams to meet deadlines and streamline collaboration between members. Using one can significantly speed up development and improve team synergy.

This is even true in non-team environments. Freelancers and contractors regularly use these tools to improve their workflow.

For example, let’s consider something simple like a new blog post. On the surface, creating a blog may seem simple, but a lot more time and energy goes into creating one than most realize.

First, you need to come up with an idea that ranks well on search engines like Google. This includes coming up with a title and selecting the keywords that you are going to rank for. Next, you actually need to write the blog.

It’s quite common for many companies to outsource the images they use, thus your next step is to get all of the images, or other media in place. Once all of this is ready to go, you’ll need an editor to go through it and check for spelling, grammar, and other common issues.

You’re not done yet.

Now it’s time to schedule the blog post and make sure you also promote it on social media as a final touch.

Clearly, this is a lot and a single blog post may require multiple teams or individuals to work together before it goes live on a website. Using a project manager can help streamline this process by assigning each member their role, and alerting them to updates.

Remember, an editor can’t exactly do their job before the blog is written, and likewise, a writer can’t begin without a topic and keywords.

This is just for a “simple” blog. Projects can get extremely complicated, thus, using a tool to organize and bring all of those pieces together is essential.

Here are the best project management plugins WordPress has to offer:

1. WP Project Manager

The WP Project Manager is easily one of the best project management plugins for WordPress. It offers both a free and paid version, which makes it a great starting point for any website, and has the ability to meet the needs of larger teams.

Even if you just use the free, version, it offers a robust selection of tools that you can choose to enable or disable as necessary.

So what can you do with the free version? Well, you can create new projects, assign assignments to specific users, track how long it took for that user to complete the task, leave comments on assignments, and much more.

If you upgrade to the premium plans, you’ll gain access to the drop-and-drag assignment builder, the ability to create subtasks, and much more. Above all, it is easy to do and all of the tools are accessible from the WordPress dashboard.

Benefits of Using WP Project Manager:

• Generates a progress bar based on the number of tasks that have been completed
• Users can file share documents and media files with one another
• Send out email notifications to remind users about upcoming assignments, due date changes, and anything else
• Gain access to a massager system to allow team members to discuss a project
• Integrates with WooCommerce to create a project when a purchase is made to ensure a quick delivery

2. Zephyr Project Manager

Have you ever had an idea for your WordPress website while on the go? If so, you’ll be pleased to know that you can create projects for your WordPress site while being mobile with the Zephyr Project Manager plugin.

This has an official app that allows you to create projects on your smartphone and access them from your WordPress dashboard.

The plugin starts out as free and offers you all of the basic features you would expect from a project manager. There are no limits in regard to the number of projects you can make or the number of tasks within a project.

The Pro version expands the project functionality, but more importantly, adds integration options that your website can take advantage of. Most notably, you can integrate with Asana to easily import tasks from Asana to WordPress and vice versa.

Benefits of Using Zephyr Project Manager:

• Users can create their own personal dashboards to meet their needs
• Create discussions boards for individual projects to help team members stay in communication with one another
• Customize when email notifications are sent for overdue tasks, due date reminders, task completion, and more
• Allow users to share files with one another and upload as many as necessary
• Generates progress charts that can be printed for meetings

3. Monday.com

Monday.com is one of the most popular project managers on the internet and you can use it within WordPress through its WooCommerce integration add-on. Of course, it offers a lot more than just project management, which makes it a great pick.

It can also help with Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Human Resources (HR), Marketing, and more.

As you can probably tell by now, it is for businesses. And since it requires WooCommerce, you’ll most likely be using it for an eCommerce site. One popular way is to create a project when a customer places an order that assigns someone to fulfill the order.

In terms of project management features, Monday.com utilizes a visual project builder that makes it easy to use at any skill level. As you might expect from such a feature-rich tool, you will need to pay for a subscription, but it can quickly pay for itself.

Benefits of Using Monday.com:

• Limit project visibility so only those involved in the project can see details
• Integrates with the most popular business tools like MailChimp
• Provides a dedicated mobile app that you can use on the go and sync with WordPress
• Includes multiple ways to view projects like calendar view, list view, and more
• Assign user roles to specific tasks for better workflows

4. CoSchedule

When people think of project management, they often think of things like building software, fulfilling orders, and creating content, but what about marketing? While marketing has gotten more accessible for small businesses, it is still pretty complicated.

That’s where the CoSchedule plugin comes into play. With it, you can schedule marketing dates and tasks for your whole team.

It utilizes a calendar view that allows you to easily assign tasks to your marketing staff, or yourself, that can help you break up a marketing project into smaller pieces.

For example, think about when a new post is about to go live on your website.

You’re going to need to time a post on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and any other social media platform you use. You may also have a deal with another website for them to insert a backlink to your latest post.

The CoScheduler can help you manage marketing projects and campaigns.

Benefits of Using CoSchedule:

• Utilizes drag-and-drop controls within the calendar to easily move tasks as needed
• Receive notifications when a team member completes a task, or if a date is changed
• Helps you determine the best time to engage your audience on various social networks
• Determines what content is the best to reshare to increase user engagement
• Integration options for other popular platforms like Hubspot

5. UpStream

UpStream is a task management plugin for WordPress that is free to use. The big focus of this plugin is to create a visual plan for your project that clients can keep track of to see your progress and ensure it is on track to meet the deadline.

As such, there is a big emphasis on style and design since it is something intended for a client to see.

This is done by inserting your own custom CSS code to match the design of your website. All of the elements can be customized, so it is a really great option in this regard.

Creating a project plan is not quite as simple as other entries on this list, but it isn’t overly difficult.

Most of the options are entered through text boxes or selected from drop-down menus, which is easy, but can sometimes be frustrating to find what you are looking at when compared to visual builders.

Overall, it is a great plugin to consider.

Benefits of Using UpStream:

• Adds new user roles to WordPress to ensure they get the proper view of the project
• This plugin is translation ready to ensure it is readable by anyone
• Send out email notifications to both team members and clients when updates are made to the project plan
• Create custom fields to work for any kind of project
• Choose which parts of the project plan a client can view on the frontend

6. Panorama

Panorama is another excellent project management plugin for WordPress that focuses on providing progress reports to clients and keeps team members in the loop. It does this by making a front-end view of the project plan.

This makes it a great choice for businesses that regularly take on projects for clients like software design, graphic design, and more.

Having a visible progress report that clients can look at can reduce the number of inquiries you receive. This can help you save time by not having to engage with the customers more than necessary. It’s also quite an easy plugin to build project plans.

It utilizes a module approach, where you can create modules for individual tasks and group them together under a single project. You can even duplicate content to use as a template for similar projects.

Panorama also has plenty of customization options to make it pretty for clients.

Benefits of Using Panorama:

• Communicate with other team members through the project portal
• Clients can interact with the project portal to accept or reject certain reports
• Send back assignments as revisions when something is not correct
• Assign time for projects that can be altered to better reflect the amount of time a process will take before completed
• Team members can upload files to the project planner to easily share data

7. Task Manager Pro

Task Manager Pro is a premium plugin and comes with a host of useful features when it comes to project management. It’s also worth mentioning that while it is a premium plugin, it is much cheaper than most of the Pro versions of other plugins on this list.

One of the more unique features this plugin brings to the table would be creating groups and projects separately.

This means you could create a group for your sales, marketing, or development teams, and then create projects that are assigned to groups, or even specific members in that group. This makes it much easier to organize your staff and assign tasks.

There’s also a lot of customization. For instance, you can customize the progress bar to any color, or even change it from a bar to a circle that fills up as more progress is made.

There are tons of little things like this that make the plugin a great choice.

Benefits of Using Task Manager Pro:

• Import and export tasks to other programs as necessary
• Send out notifications when tasks are assigned, or when task details change
• Supports multiple languages for more accessibility
• Create tasks by filling out forms and assigning the correct team members
• Create a task board to show available tasks (perfect for handling support tickets)

8. Kanban Boards for WordPress

When it comes to the simplest project management plugins for WordPress, the Kanban Boards plugin is one of the best options. It focuses on ensuring that any user can create project plans that their teams can follow.

Of course, this plugin goes beyond just project planning. You can also track job applications, create sales pipelines, and much more.

It comes with all of the standard features you would expect from a project manager. It offers tools such as assigning tasks to users, allowing team members to communicate with one another, and sharing files.

One of the bigger focuses of this plugin would be the emphasis on sales data. It works really well in an eCommerce environment for assembling sales reports and generating product campaigns based on what is and isn’t selling.

Benefits of Using Kanban Boards for WordPress:

• Users can leave comments on tasks as reminders for themselves, or to communicate with other team members
• Create unique task boards for different groups of teams
• Color code tasks by department, users, or anything else you can think of
• Includes CRM functionality to help you determine how customers interact with your products
• Gain access to powerful premium add-ons to add more functionality to the plugin

9. Business Manager

Business Manager is another all-in-one solution for businesses and comes with ERP, HR, CRM, and project management functionality. As such, it is a great choice for any business that is seeking to improve customer relations.

You’ll be able to create departments and assign employees to each group, which can be used for both project management and HR.

The project management tools have two forms. The first is the employee view which allows you to assign team members to a project, view progress, and allow team members to communicate with one another.

The other part is the client’s view. This is where the client hiring your company or team can view the progress of a project. This can help reduce the amount of progress reports your team sends out and can reduce the number of inquiries from impatient customers.

Benefits of Using Business Manager:

• Create timelines to show how a project has progressed over a period of time
• Gain access to a contractor extension to easily store and assign work to contractors your company hires
• Supports all file types that WordPress does (PDFs, word documents, etc.)
• Drag and drop tasks around your project boards to easily change timelines and assignments
• Store team notes on projects for management and client viewing

10. Projectopia

Projectopia is one of the best premium project management plugins for WordPress. It is suitable for both freelancers and team environments, which makes it a strong choice for any kind of situation.

It has tools that are ideal for any business that handles support tickets, creating quotes and estimates, and general project building.

Each of these comes with its own pre-built form that you can fill out to create tasks and assign them to team members. You can set due dates and keep track of how long it takes for an employee to complete a task.

Projectopia also has payment collection options. You can utilize PayPal, Stripe, and other popular options to send out invoices to clients and collect payments. There are also integration options for WooCommerce and other popular business plugins and tools.

Benefits of Using Projectopia:

• Generate progress reports for projects to share with clients or display at meetings
• View a detailed report of your team’s workflow to find problem areas to help improve efficiency
• Create a client dashboard to ensure clients are always aware of any progress updates
• Allow clients to increase the priority of their tickets after a certain amount of time without a resolution or reply
• Check out the plugin through a great demo to see both the development and client side of things

11. WP Client

If there’s one thing that employees learn early in their careers is that customers want to know how progress is going on a project they commissioned. The WP Client plugin was built with this problem in mind and allows you to create a client portal in WordPress.

This portal allows clients to sign in and view the progress of a project they commissioned from your company.

It also has some project management tools that you can use to help manage teams, assign tasks, and keep clients front and center. It includes multiple communication options like Team Talk and Client Talk.

True to their name, team talk allows your team members to communicate with each other, while client talk is designed for the client to communicate with the team and vice versa. It’s a great tool if you are hoping to improve the customer experience.

Benefits of Using WP Client:

• Setup recurring projects for repeatable tasks like producing progress reports for the client
• Send out invoices to clients with the ability for them to pay online
• Easily add your company logo to any progress report, invoice, or email your client receives
• Allow for both team members and clients to upload and download files
• Supports eSigning for your documents and invoices

12. Freedcamp

Freedcamp is an amazing project management service that utilizes modern design systems like drag-and-drop tasks to ensure anyone can use this platform. Unfortunately, it does not have a dedicated plugin for WordPress.

Luckily, there is a workaround. If your business is using WooCommerce, there is an integration option to link Freedcamp to WordPress.

Freedcamp is a terrific service and allows you to build a series of triggers that can carry out certain actions when a task is completed. For example, it can be something simple like sending out an email notification.

Or, you could create a task for a manager to review a completed task to ensure it is correct. There is also a big focus on security with projects being password protected to ensure only the correct team members get access.

Benefits of Using Freedcamp:

• Gain access to a forum-like discussion section for team members to discuss their work
• Add more functionality through add-ons like CRM, invoicing, and more
• Includes a variety of templates to help you create tasks quickly
• Add two-factor authentication for additional security measures
• Create subtasks and even recurring tasks for tasks like progress reports

13. Avaza

Avaza is another popular project management solution that sadly lacks any official plugins for WordPress. It is an all-in-one solution for businesses when it comes to planning out and collecting payments for projects and commissions.

While there is not a dedicated plugin, do not fret, it is possible to utilize this tool in WordPress through Zapier integration.

In terms of features, there’s a lot to enjoy. Not only can you schedule the tasks for projects, but also manage project resources. This includes things like money, equipment access, and more. Its versatility makes it a great option for larger businesses.

It’s worth pointing out that Avaza is not cheap. It is for larger teams that need a powerful toolkit for project management. With that said, there is a free option that is limited in functionality but does allow for an unlimited number of collaborators.

Benefits of Using Avaza:

• Avaza chat is available through smartphones to ensure team members can communicate at anytime
• Easily track the amount of time a project or task takes to complete
• Helps handle customer invoices and digitizes your receipts
• Gain access to amazing reporting functionality that can be shared internally or with clients
• Integrates with popular business tools like Slack, Jira, Google Drive, and more

FAQs About Project Management Solutions

Take Command of Projects in WordPress Today

As you can see, WordPress has an incredible selection of project management plugins that you can choose from. They come in a variety of sizes and price points, so it really comes down to what your website needs.

Using one of these plugins can dramatically improve your website’s workflow. This can lead to both higher-quality content and faster releases. Of course, it can take time to perfect, thus like everything in web design, it may take some time to see the results.

Has using a project management plugin improved the quality of your content? Which plugin does your website use?

The post 13 Best WordPress Project Management Plugins Available Today appeared first on GreenGeeks Blog.

These plugins come with a variety of customization options and are typically easier to configure than the standard table block WordPress offers. Many even offer compatibility with tools like Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets.

This allows you to create tables outside of WordPress and import them into your pages or posts in just a few clicks. Due to their popularity, there are a lot of table plugins to choose from in WordPress, so let’s get right into it.

1. TablePress

When it comes to building tables in WordPress, TablePress is one of the most popular options with over 800,000 active installs. It excels at building any kind of table with a visual builder that you can edit in real-time.

That’s right, if you need to add a row or column, don’t fret, you can do so at any time with just a single click.

Building the tables is not done within Gutenberg but within the plugin itself. You’ll select the number of rows and columns you want to build and then you can begin adding data. You’ll also have a variety of table editing options.

For example, you can duplicate a row or column, or even merge them if need be. When it comes to actually displaying the tables, you’ll just need to place the shortcode the plugin generates. This means you can place them in posts, pages, and widget areas.

Benefits of Using TablePress:

• Import and export your tables to Excel and other CSV files
• Include pagination for your bigger tables
• Style your tables with custom CSS to match the rest of your site
• Add images into your table (great for comparison tables with checkmarks and X’s)
• Create math formulas like Excel in your tables

2. WP Table Builder

Many people think of tables as being an arrangement of numbers in rows and columns, but that’s really just one example of them. What if I told you that you could also create tables for your eCommerce products as well as anything else you’ll need?

Well, you can, and the WP Table Builder plugin can help you do this with its drag-and-drop table builder.

You’ll start by selecting how big you want your table to be and then you can start dragging elements into the desired sections.

For example, let’s say you are building a product table for the best cameras your store offers. You would want to include the position, name, image, rating, and a link to buy it. Thus, you would want to select the appropriate elements like text, image, rating, and button.

Once the element is added, you just need to fill it out.

Benefits of Using WP Table Builder:

• Import and export tables to CSV files
• Choose to make your tables responsive with the flip of a switch
• Create gradient tables (tables where the row switch colors to help readability)
• Place tables anywhere by placing a shortcode in the desired location
• Add a table background to spice up your design

3. wpDataTables

When it comes to building tables, most people turn to Microsoft Excel because it’s where they learned to build them in the first place. What if I told you that you can get a similar experience in WordPress with the right plugin?

Well, you can and the plugin you need to get it is wpDataTables. It’s a fantastic, free table creator that is very similar to Excel.

It features a toolbar that is strikingly similar to Excel in both the tool it provides and the aesthetic it uses. You can use it to build any kind of table with elements like text, images, star ratings, and more. You can also change the colors of any column or row.

Now I did say it was a free table creator, but it’s worth noting that there is a premium version that lifts the restrictions of the free version. For example, you will be able to build an unlimited number of tables that can be any size.

Both of these aspects are limited in the free version.

Benefits of Using wpDataTables:

• Integrates with popular plugins like Formidable Forms through add-ons
• Includes Undo and Redo buttons
• Update a table from the source file itself
• Goes beyond just creating tables, you can also create charts like Pie charts, line graphs, and more
• Add your own custom CSS to style your tables to match the rest of your site

4. Ninja Tables

Ninja Tables is another one of the most popular table plugins in WordPress because it is free, easy to use, and feature-rich, which is a pretty powerful combo, to say the least. And naturally, it integrates with other Ninja tools for WordPress.

This includes Ninja Charts, which gives you a lot of other options to use the same data and display it in new exciting ways.

Building tables is quite easy with this tool. As is standard, you’ll choose how big the table is and then begin adding elements to it. You can add text, images, star ratings, math formulas, and more to your tables, which makes the possibilities endless.

Speaking of endless possibilities, let’s talk table design. Ninja Tables really brings design options with over 100 free options to choose from, and even more, if you purchase the premium version.

It’s a robust tool that can help you make stylish tables in minutes.

Benefits of Using Nija Tables:

• Integrates with Fluent Forms to ensure your tables are usable in forms
• Gain access to WooCommerce integration with the Pro version to construct product tables
• Export and Import tables from Excel and Google Sheets
• All of the tables are naturally responsive
• Split or merge tables as needed

5. League Table

League Table is our first premium-only option on this list, but don’t let that keep you from using this tool. It offers a robust list of features that makes it one of the best table plugins for WordPress for building any kind of table.

This includes standard tables, product tables, and its real bread and butter, sports tables.

Have you ever gone to a website to see the results of last night’s baseball games? Probably, and this is the plugin that allows you to build them for any sport. It even has templates that allow you to add the team icons to your rows or columns.

To help users find what they are looking for, the tables are actually interactable in terms of searchability. It is possible to sort the tables based on certain criteria if they are created with it in mind.

For instance, sort a table by price from highest to lowest.

Benefits of Using League Table:

• Supports mathematical formulas in your tables, which makes it great for sports betting
• Copy rows and columns from Excel or Google Sheets into your table
• All tables are responsive by design
• Supports translation plugins to make your tables accessible in more languages
• Gain access to a support team that can help you troubleshoot problems with the plugin

6. Posts Table Pro

Posts Tables Pros is easily one of the best table plugins for WordPress thanks to its long list of features. One of the standouts is the ability to import data and instantly create tables for it.

As you can imagine, it saves a lot of time.

Perhaps even more important would be that it is compatible with all forms of media like text, images, video, and even audio files.

Now you may be hesitant about adding this much media content to a table for fear of it slowing down your pages. But fear not; this plugin has a solution. It implements Lazy loading to ensure that media-rich tables don’t use too many resources when loading.

When building larger tables, you can add search functionality for users to help them find what they are looking for. For example, you could allow users to sort for entries that contain certain media types like PDFs or audio files.

Benefits of Using Posts Table Pro:

• Turn tables into media libraries for users to find certain types of content
• Tables are easy to build and naturally responsive
• Tables can automatically update if changes are made to the source files
• Restrict access to tables based on user roles
• Includes a great setup guide that contains a step-by-step guide

7. WooCommerce Product Table

One of the most popular uses for tables in WordPress is to create product tables. These are tables that list the products you are selling and can come in a variety of forms such as product comparisons or lists for certain categories.

The WooCommerce Product Table plugin is a plugin made specifically for this purpose.

As you might expect from the name, it was built for WooCommerce specifically and allows you to add an “Add to Cart” button to any table. This helps customers add the product immediately instead of having to go to the product page to do it.

One of the best aspects of this plugin is the search and filter options provided to users. If you create a large list of products like shoes, customers may want to filter them by brand, size, price, and other factors. That’s exactly what they can do with this plugin.

Benefits of Using WooCommerce Product Table:

• Add tables to WordPress with a shortcode or by using a Gutenberg block
• Supports creating lists of hundreds or thousands of products
• Add products by using their SKU
• Intuitive design ensures users of any skill level can build tables in minutes
• Display images using a lightbox instead of loading an additional page

8. Visualizer

Visualizer is another one of the best table-building plugins for WordPress and even has advanced chart options to display that information in other visually appealing ways such as pie charts, line charts, and much more.

If this sounds like a lot, it is. And the best part is that this plugin is free to use with more advanced features available in the paid plan.

In total, the plugin offers 15 different chart types that are powered by Google’s Visualization API. The end result means that anything created with this plugin is naturally responsive and works in any web browser.

When it comes to strictly creating tables, this plugin allows you to choose from multiple styles, add pagination, utilize search and filter options, and much more.

When it comes to placing the tables, just use the Gutenberg block and put it in the desired location.

Benefits of Using Visualizer:

• Input your data and see it come alive in any of the chart options
• Import data from Excel and other spreadsheet applications
• Display multiple tables or charts in a single block
• Create keys for your tables and charts
• Clone any table or chart so you can tweak it

9. Data Table Generator

When it comes to building tables in WordPress or any platform, most developers look for options similar to Microsoft Excel. This is because most are familiar with the toolset, and there are many plugins that try to emulate it.

One such is the Data Table Generator. This plugin creates beautiful tables in the same fashion as Excel in WordPress.

The tables are quite detailed with a variety of familiar features such as cell merging or splitting. Most importantly, you can create math formulas within your tables to quickly make calculations in the same way as Excel.

Of course, pure tables are just half of what this plugin brings to WordPress. You can also use the same data you input to create other types of charts and graphs. And yes, you can import your data from Excel or Google Sheets.

Benefits of Using Data Table Generator:

• Create WooCommerce product tables with the Pro version
• Offers multiple translations to ensure wider accessibility
• Tables are naturally responsive to ensure they are readable on any screen size
• Allow users to add multiple items to their cart from a table
• Display multiple charts in a single block

10. JetEngine Table Builder

When it comes to the best table plugins for WordPress, few can match the JetEngine Table Builder plugin. It is a user-friendly tool that helps users build tables of any size in just a few clicks at any skill level.

This tool actually has a unique approach in that it creates custom post types for the data and displays them on the front end as tables.

What does this actually mean? Well, most of the plugins on this list would have you manually decide how big the table is by selecting the number of rows and columns. Instead, this one does that for you based on the number of entries in that custom post type.

This also has another unique advantage. The data can be reused in other tables without having to input the information again.

For example, you might be creating a comparison table for your service and others. Instead of inputting your own info over and over again, it’s already there.

Benefits of Using JetEngine Table Builder:

• Create tables that include media files like a podcast table with the audio files included
• Enable horizontal scrolling on larger tables
• Customize the design of the tables including the height and width of cells
• Add tables to your sidebar with a dynamic table widget
• This plugin can also be used to create popular charts and graphs

11. Table Maker

The Table Maker plugin is another powerful addition to this list. It is available through the Divi marketplace and has some pretty unique features that make it one of the best table plugins for WordPress.

And that’s because it can put anything into a table like text, images, buttons, and much more.

Perhaps the most unique part of this plugin is the ability to create collapsible tables. While tables are great for displaying a lot of information in a small area, sometimes you may need multiple tables too, which can eat up free space.

This plugin solves that by allowing users to collapse the tables to fit multiple, which makes it ideal in areas with limited space such as a one-page website or a sidebar area.

The tables can be fully customized to match your website’s style even when they are collapsed.

Benefits of Using Table Maker:

• Choose from multiple header layouts to allow users to collapse the tables
• Easily create an edit tables by adding or removing rows and columns
• Choose to hide or display the top left and right corners of your table
• Supports horizontal scrolling for larger tables that don’t fit the width of a page
• Includes a great selection of icons like green checkmarks and red X’s

12. Pricing Table by Supsystic

Closing out this list of the best table plugins for WordPress is Pricing Table by Supsystic. As the name implies, it specializes in creating tables for your business’s services and products.

It is very common for businesses to offer multiple plans with small differences between each one, which can be easily displayed in a table.

This plugin utilizes a drag-and-drop builder to allow users to build pricing tables with creative freedom. As such, you can easily customize the colors, layout, and size of every table. And don’t worry, they are naturally responsive.

It supports all types of media like text, images, and videos. You can even add “Buy Now” buttons to your tables to help increase sales.

There is also a great selection of icons you can include in your tables like red X’s when a feature is absent in a lower-tiered plan.

Benefits of Using Pricing Table by Supsytic:

• Includes both horizontal and vertical table options
• Create comparison tables to see how your product stacks up against the competition
• Choose from a huge selection of fonts to better suit your brand
• Place prices at the top and bottom of tables if they get too long to ensure the price is always visible
• Intuitive design makes it perfect for beginners

Avoid Overusing Tables in WordPress

One of the biggest mistakes beginners often make is relying too heavily on tables. It is true that tables are a great way of displaying information to users, which can cause some users to think that they are the best way to do it.

Let me make it clear; tables are the best way of displaying a lot of data in a small space but shouldn’t be used for small amounts of data.

Creating multiple tables that just consist of a single row or column is generally seen as a bad design choice. This is especially true when your post content is full of small tables. It not only interrupts the flow of the post but diminishes the impact of the table.

So, how many tables are too many tables?

Well, that largely depends on the size of the post. A large blog post can handle having multiple tables, but a shorter post should only have one table at most. These are not absolute rules but do avoid overusage.

Is the Tables Block Really That Bad?

I mentioned that WordPress does provide a tool to make tables in the form of the Table Block. This raises the question of if you really need a table plugin, to begin with.

Truthfully, the Table block is pretty solid. When you select it, you’ll be prompted to select the number of rows and columns you want to add. You can add rows or columns to it at any time in a similar fashion to using Excel.

You also have the option of adding a caption at the bottom. The tool isn’t anything fancy, but it does get the job done.

For simple tables, the block is more than enough. However, for more sophisticated tables like price or feature comparisons, a plugin is the better choice. Or, if you want to import an Excel file.

Build Content With WordPress Tables Today

As you can see, WordPress has an impressive selection of plugins that specialize in tables. Tables are extremely effective and display data and information in a small space while keeping it easy to understand.

Pricing and comparison tables are proven sales tactics that can help sway a potential customer into making a purchase. Even if you are not selling products, being able to create tables of upcoming release dates, events, or just basic information can be a huge hit with fans.

Any of the plugins on this list will be a great addition to your website.

Why are you looking for from table plugins in WordPress? Do you think the Table block is a good option?

The post 12 Best WordPress Table Plugins to Use for Your Content appeared first on GreenGeeks Blog.

In some cases, you might run a business with multiple locations. If this is the case, building a dedicated directory for just your business is also a great option. This helps customers find the nearest location of your business.

Of course, not all directories are for visitors. Some businesses have internal directories for their employees. For example, showing off job openings at other store locations, or tracking which locations have certain equipment.

Today I will share the best directory plugins to use in WordPress.

1. Business Directory Plugin

If you are looking to create the next Yelp directory, then look no further than the Business Directory Plugin. This tool allows you to create a full directory for businesses in which you can add images, reviews, price ranges, and more details.

To get some of the more exciting features like reviews, you will need to purchase the appropriate add-on.

You can list businesses in a variety of ways. For example, you can list them by categories like plumbers, electricians, grocery, restaurants, and so on. You can also create subcategories like BBQ, Steakhouse, Mexican, and others for restaurants.

This helps make the directory more accessible to average users just looking for a specific niche. If you’re looking to make a profit, this plugin has you covered by providing the ability to offer advertisements to businesses so they can pay to be higher in the search results.

Benefits of Using Business Directory Plugin:

• Allow businesses to post more images if they subscribe to higher tiers
• Utilizes reCAPTCHA to block spam entries
• Create multilingual directories with WPML support
• Integration options for Google Maps to help visitors find the location
• Compatible with major SEO plugins like Yoast SEO, Rank Math, and more

2. GeoDirectory

The world is a big place and that can make traveling very fun. But it also can be very stressful because you always want to go to the best spots and try all of the local cuisine and activities you can. As a travel agency, you can help your customers find those spots.

The GeoDirectory plugin allows you to set up directories for locations around the globe which makes it a perfect choice for travelers.

For example, let’s say you help set up trips to Hawaii. Well, you could provide a detailed tourist directory with the best restaurants, the best beaches, landmarks, and so on to visit on the trip. And you can base that information on reviews from other tourists.

You can also offer advertising plans for businesses that help promote their businesses on your directory. They will simply have to fill out the submission form that you create. Overall, it’s a powerful tool for setting up directories for international locations.

Benefits of Using GeoLocations:

• Compatible with major page builders like Elementor and Beaver Builder
• Create a submission form using a drag-and-drop editor to move field entries
• Create widgetized maps that help travelers find their destination
• The search functionality includes autocomplete to help users save time
• Allow users to book a reservation at a restaurant or hotel directly through the directory

3. Classified Listings Pro

Directories come in all kinds of sizes and niches. There are directories for businesses, restaurants, landmarks, job listings, and much more. The Classified Listings Pro plugin allows you to create any kind of directory with a powerful toolset.

Most importantly, it helps you make your directory profitable by offering a variety of monetization options.

For example, you can create a featured business slot that promotes that business in certain search conditions like plumber, restaurant, and more. Users can also pay to bump up their position in the search results to appear more organically.

When it comes to building the directory, it is rather easy. Simply create the signup form and businesses can enter their information into the directory including the images they want to display. Overall, it’s a great choice for anyone looking to monetize the directory.

Benefits of Using Classified Listings Pro

• Robust search filters allow users to search by category, radius, and other filters
• Accept payments from a variety of payment gateways like PayPal, Stripe, and more
• Create subscription plans that businesses can sign up for to receive high placements regularly
• Includes dedicated widgets for Elementor Page Builder
• Allows users to leave likes and reviews on businesses in your directory

4. Sabai Directory

Regardless of if you are trying to build a local directory or one on a global scale, the Sabai Directory can help you do it. It has a powerful toolkit that allows you to build a great directory that users and businesses will enjoy using.

It has all of the staples you would expect from a directory plugin like user ratings and reviews, Google Maps, and much more.

Users will even have the ability to bookmark businesses they are interested in. This helps the user connect with that business at a later time or remember where they ordered that awesome food from last time.

When it comes to monetizing, Sabai Directory has you covered. You can accept one-time payments for bump-ups or offer subscriptions to businesses to maintain a specific position as long as they subscribe.

Benefits of Using Sabai Directory:

• Accepts popular payment gateways like PayPal and Stripe
• Includes access to 11 unique widgets for WordPress
• Flag businesses, reviews, and comments that violate your directory rules
• Integrate with BuddyPress to allow users to share their favorite businesses with friends
• Allow users to rate different criteria like the quality of the food, service they received, cleanliness, etc.

5. AWP Classified

Classifieds are a pretty broad topic, and while they generally refer to job listings, they can pretty much be for anything. For example, looking for a new pet? There are often pet listings in the classifieds.

No matter what your goal for the classifieds is on your site, the AWP Classifieds plugin can help you build it.

This plugin comes from the same makers of the Formidable Forms plugin and puts a big focus on ease of use. It definitely succeeds because it is quite easy to build your directories with the tools it provides. And that doesn’t just mean for developers.

Even users can benefit from how easy this plugin makes the system. For instance, if someone wants to post a classified on your site, all they would need to do is provide an email address and verify it. This prevents spam posts but also ensures that it is easy to post on.

Benefits of Using AWP Classified:

• This plugin is translation ready with native support for 5 languages
• Include images in your classified ads to help convey what is being advertised (great for pets)
• Fill out the directory quickly by importing CSV files with all of the data
• Gain access to a dedicated support team that can help you solve problems with the plugin
• Fully responsive design ensures users can view the content on any screen size

6. Directories Pro

Directories Pro is actually an upgraded version of Sabai Directories that we previously covered. It is a highly polished directory plugin that can make any kind of directory with a huge selection of features at your disposal.

Developers are able to build an unlimited number of directories and users get the benefit of using search filters to find anything.

When it comes to monetization, you can rest easy as this plugin integrates with WooCommerce. You can accept payments through WooCommerce and choose from a variety of payment models to better suit your site.

Being able to find what you are searching for is extremely important, which is why a big focus is put on properly identifying each directory with a tag, category, or custom taxonomy. You even have the ability to exclude certain directories from taxonomies.

Benefits of Using Directory Pro:

• This plugin is translation ready with multiple integration options like WPML and PolyLang
• Choose from multiple templates for user reviews with star rating systems
• Prevent spam submissions with reCAPTCHAv2
• Integrates with BuddyPress to make it easier to share directories with friends and family
• Supports map support like Google Maps, OpenStreetMaps, and more

7. Advanced Classifieds & Directory Pro

So far, a lot of the directory plugins on this list have been premium tools and as most people know, one of the best parts of WordPress is that there are always free options to choose from. In this case, the Advanced Classifieds & Directory Pro plugin is one of those free options.

However, don’t let that trick you into thinking that it isn’t a great choice, because it definitely is.

When it comes to building directories, you have access to an unlimited number of fields. This gives businesses the freedom to create their own fields for job applicants, services their store offers, business hours, and anything else you can think of.

Perhaps one of its strongest features is the ability to support multimedia (images and videos) in directories. With this, a business can add more unique content like showcasing images of their most popular dish, or a video showing off an escape room.

Benefits of Using Advanced Classifieds & Directory Pro:

• Includes a search widget to help users find what they are looking for
• Create featured listings that businesses can pay for to be front and center in your directory
• Accept payments from PayPal and Stripe (Pro feature)
• Send out email notifications when a post goes live
• Allow users to renew listings without having to make any edits

8. Directorist

There are directories for just about everything, which is why the best directory plugins in WordPress are designed to be robust. Directorist is a great example of this and allows you to build any kind of directory.

It works great for businesses, restaurants, hotels, events, classifieds, and anything else you can think of.

Most importantly, it is very easy to build with. This is accomplished with a drag-and-drop directory builder, which is perfect for beginners looking to build their first directory. Yet it is also robust enough to please seasoned web developers alike.

In terms of monetizing your creation, this plugin has you covered. Some of the main ways you can do this are through paid listings, featured listings, subscription models, and more. Overall, Directorist has everything you’ll need to succeed.

Benefits of Using Directorist:

• Users can search for listings that appear in a specific radius (great for restaurants)
• Allow users to book reservations or appointments directly from the listing
• Integrates with major page builders like Elementor
• Includes a long list of extensions you can use to add more features and tools
• Protect your directory against spam bots with Google reCAPTCHA

9. Connections Business Directory

Connections Business Directory might just be the best listing plugin for WordPress. It’s easy to use, full of features, and completely free, which is a pretty powerful combination. That said, you can purchase premium extensions to add more features.

When it comes to the base design, there is not much to say. It creates a list of businesses with their details. It’s basic, to say the least.

That said, it can integrate with popular page builders like Elementor to help you add more flair to your listings. You can also take advantage of Gutenberg blocks like the Carousel block for businesses to add images like restaurant dishes.

One way you can speed up creating a listing is by putting the information into a CSV file and importing it into the directory. This is much faster when you are planning on adding businesses in bulk like when you are starting out.

Benefits of Using Connections Business Directory:

• Create repeatable fields that you can use for specific business types
• Show nearby businesses based on the user’s current location
• Control which listings are viewable for users depending if they are logged in or not
• Also includes templates for you to build a staff directory
• Open development on GitHub

10. Name Directory

We’ve covered a lot of directory plugins that focus on showcasing businesses, but what about ones for businesses to show off their staff both internally and externally? The Name Directory sets out to do just that by focusing on creating a directory of people.

This is very useful for businesses to create a list of their employees that includes information like their position, contact info, and more.

You may also sometimes want to show off your staff to users. For example, perhaps you run a restaurant and want to show off your head chef and where they trained. This can be an effective marketing strategy if done correctly.

In other cases, it’s simply for showing users the managers of a business. This can be very handy information to know in some cases. Overall, the plugin is a bit simpler than others on the list, but it is very good at what it was designed for.

Benefits of Using Name Directory:

• Use the default WordPress search functionality to search the directory
• Easily embed your directory on any post or page in WordPress
• Not many settings to configure, which makes creating a directory quick and easy
• Include a Read More button to prevent descriptions from taking up too much space
• Choose how many columns the directory should display

11. Toolset

Closing out this list of the best directory plugins in WordPress is Toolset. This premium plugin is actually not specifically designed for directories, instead, it concentrates on allowing users to build advanced websites without having to write code.

With this said, it is still one of the best directory plugins for WordPress and with it, you can build anything.

So how does it actually work? Toolset provides a simple interface where users can choose from a library of templates that can be used to construct the framework or layout of their site. Users then just need to tweak these by using the built-in settings.

Overall, it is quite easy to use, which makes it a strong choice for beginners. Of course, you don’t have to use the templates. You can build your own with this plugin’s tools and utilize the feature within to add certain types of content.

Benefits of Using Toolset:

• Choose from a variety of custom grid layouts
• Include Google and Azure maps to help visitors find a location
• This plugin supports translations with WPML integration
• Supports popular page builders like Divi
• Create membership levels with exclusive content for each one

Allow Visitors to Leave Reviews for Businesses

One of the main reasons platforms like Yelp are so popular is that users can leave reviews. Reviews give your platform two key advantages that keep users coming back for more, which is why most directory plugins in WordPress include them

The first is that reviews are extremely helpful in determining if going to a certain restaurant is worth your time. Let’s face it, most cities have hundreds of restaurants to choose from, thus it can be hard to find a good one.

Of course, a single review isn’t enough. Sometimes a restaurant has an off night, but when you have several hundred reviews that all say the same thing, it paints a very clear picture of the experience you will have.

The second main advantage is that some users feel important when leaving a review and come back to leave more.

This might sound a bit cringe, but it really is the truth. When you have the power to influence other decisions, most people jump at the opportunity to do so. Regardless of if it is just a restaurant recommendation, which movie to see, or where to get the best deal.

With all of this said, there are some disadvantages to user reviews. For example, it can negatively impact your monetization when a featured restaurant gets review bombed. But overall, the good far outweighs the bad.

Don’t Over-Monetize Your Directory

As you can see, many entries on this list provide tools that help you make money with your directory. While this is the ultimate goal of most websites, it’s important to not go overboard because a directory also relies on its users.

You see, directories go hand in hand with reviews. Anyone can find a list of businesses and that gives them some information, but what really makes a directory popular is the user content. Or, in other words, the rating from other users.

Allowing bad businesses to post at the top of the list can end up going against the users.

For example, let’s say a business paid to be featured on your directory. That’s great you get money, and they get the advertisement they paid for. However, what if that business was full of horrible reviews and only had a 1-star rating?

This wouldn’t be a good look for your directory. And users would be able to figure out that you are just promoting a business because they threw money at you. This could drive users away from using your directory altogether.

It’s a complicated issue, and directories address it in different ways.

Be mindful when bumping up ranking and advertising bad businesses. It can hurt your brand and undermine the integrity of the directory.

Build Your WordPress Directory Today With These Plugins

As you can see, WordPress has an impressive selection of directory plugins. Some of them focus on specific niches or local areas, while others are much broader and work for any location and any niche.

This versatility is why WordPress is the best platform to build your website on. You always have tons of options to choose from no matter what kind of niche website you are building. If you want to do something in WordPress, there is a plugin that can help.

Directories are just another example of this platform’s dominance.

Do you avoid advertising bad businesses on your directory? Do you allow users to review businesses?

The post 11 Best WordPress Directory Plugins to Use in 2023 appeared first on GreenGeeks Blog.