In 2013, 18.9% of websites on the Internet ran on WordPress and monthly page views for WordPress sites had totaled 4 billion. WordPress is a powerful platform, which is why tens of thousands of sites are created with it every day.
These numbers has increased, as millions of people have chosen WordPress to manage their content. They join the ranks of big brands like TechCrunch, CNN, Major League Baseball, Time, and the National Football League.
While it is an incredibly powerful platform that allows for nearly endless possibilities, WordPress is also a very user-friendly content platform.
Two of the best ways to customize WordPress as well as boost productivity are through plugins and widgets. Both can be used to customize any WordPress site, but widgets are mainly used to give the user better control over the design and structure of their site’s theme. Plugins can help users do everything from moderating comments to backing up the website to performing SEO and everything in between. Widgets and plugins can save users time and accomplish double the work in the same amount of time.
What are some of the best plugins for small businesses?
Opening Hours
Any business with standard/fixed opening hours, whether a physical retail space or an eCommerce business, can benefit from this plugin. A user just needs to define the days and hours they are open and it will display on the website. The user can also display the days that the business is closed if they wish.
STATUS: OUTDATED OR NO LONGER AVAILABLE!
Testimonials by Aihrus
Looking to raise the profile of a business or offer social proof through recommendations? This plugin allows the user to display testimonials related to the business, its products, or its services. It can display testimonials using text slides, image slides, and video slides. Shortcodes and widgets are also available to be used to display testimonials, and there are numerous customization options.
STATUS: OUTDATED OR NO LONGER AVAILABLE!
Business Contact Widget
Need to display the contact details for a business? This plugin lets the user display relevant contact info, including physical address, telephone number, and email. The user can also choose to display opening hours and a map. There are two different icon sets and six different styles to choose from, and visitors are able to send a message through the widget itself.
STATUS: OUTDATED OR NO LONGER AVAILABLE!
Rating-Widget: Star Rating System
This widget lets the user integrate a star rating system into posts, comments, and pages on the website. They can then display a list of the top-rated content in the widget area. A pro version of the plugin costs $3.99 and $8.99 per month per domain. Depending on the plan, the user receives ratings analytics, BuddyPress integration, bbPress, and Google Rich Snippets integration.
Image Widget
For users not comfortable adding images through HTML to widget areas can use this plugin to add logos, banners, and photographs to a website’s design. It also allows the user to define alt text for the image, choose whether the link opens in a new window, align the image, and link to an external website.
There are thousands of plugins available for WordPress, so businesses and website owners need to consider what plugins and widgets will best help them to accomplish their business goals.