Author: Edith Bailey

New comment by Gualdrapo in "Ask HN: Freelancer? Seeking freelancer? (December 2023)"

SEEKING WORK | Remote | Graphic designer

    Location: Bogotá, Colombia
    Remote: Yes
    Willing to relocate: No
    Technologies: HTML, CSS, JavaScript, SVG, TeX/ConTeXt, WordPress' PHP, Jekyll
    Portfolio: https://miler.codeberg.page/
    Résumé-CV: https://codeberg.org/miler/curriculum-vitae/raw/branch/main/curriculum-en.pdf
    Email: Please see Portfolio or CV/Résumé
    GitHub: https://github.com/acidrums4/

Professional graphic designer with more than 5 years of experience in both frontend and backend (PHP; WordPress, some Joomla and some Typo3), iconography, editorial design/typesetting with ConTeXt (some specific examples at https://imgur.com/a/HEzh1x5) and basic graphic design. Please feel free to check my portfolio for some examples of my work.

New comment by robbs in "Ask HN: Who wants to be hired? (November 2023)"

Location: Orlando, FL

Remote: Yes, Hybrid OK

Willing to relocate: Would consider relocating after Q3 2024

Technologies: Python, React/Redux/Sagas, Elixir, PHP/Laravel, Linux, AWS, MySQL/PostgreSQL

Résumé/CV: Upon request. Let’s chat!

Email: robby.ronk@gmail.com

I’m a Full Stack Software Engineer with 13+ years of experience.

I love to learn and share what I know! As a full stack Python developer at a cinema VFX company, I brought React to my team and set them up with a toolkit that enable them to build apps 4x faster. I ran workshops, mentored 1:1 and developed best practices to clarify to my team how to build with Python and React. At a national Internet company, I solved browser breaking artifacts on the national Broadband Map using Python and PostGIS. At a Solar SaaS, I used Python to abstract bespoke Solar Lender APIs so that the Sales Platform could onboard new lenders with minimal changes, ultimately leading to gigawatts of panels on roofs and billions of dollars of deals done. Recently, I’ve maintained a legacy Django platform while executing a migration into a new platform.

I’m proud that my Python and React has helped create movies with box offices in the billions, helped an entire country find broadband and installed gigawatts of clean energy. I’m excited to leverage my Python and React skills to contribute to your team’s success.

New comment by abiliu1 in "Ask HN: Who wants to be hired? (August 2023)"

Location: Berkeley, California

Remote: Yes

Willing to relocate: Potentially for the right opportunity.

Technologies: HTML, CSS, JavaScript, TypeScript, React, Node.js/Express.js, MongoDB, Jest, Supertest, Git, MaterialUI, MantineUI, Tailwind, Bootstrap

Résumé/CV: https://abiliu.netlify.app/resources/Resume.pdf

Email: abiliu018@gmail.com

Steps to Building Business Credit in 2022

Welcome to Your Guide to Steps to Building Business Credit in 2022

Do you want to know how to build business credit with EIN to get the financing you need to run your business? Your business setup is key. And records consistency matters. The steps to building business credit  in 2022 are in this particular order for a good reason.

You Probably Need to Learn the Steps to Building Business Credit in 2022 if…

You’ve ever tried to get credit for your business but were turned down. Or you’ve heard of building business credit with EIN, but you don’t quite know where or how to start. Or you’re tired of bootstrapping your business and want it to start funding itself. And you’re ready to take your business to the next level.

Steps to Building Business Credit in 2022, Fundability™, and Your Business

Business credit is credit in the name of a business. It relates to the company’s ability to pay its bills, and not the owner’s personal credit history. It is also a great way to start to get your business to pull its own weight and fund itself.

Your business’s bill-paying behavior is crucial to getting business financing at good terms, and if you can get business funding at all.

Steps to Building Business Credit in 2022 and Fundability™

Fundability is the ability of a business to get funding. A lot of this power is in your hands. You can make life easier for your business and yourself, or not. Fundability is all about paying attention to details.

Continue the Steps to Building Business Credit in 2022 by Building For Fundability

A business starts with no credit profile. As a result, what’s on an application is all that’s reviewed for approvals. So your application must be strong. For businesses where the owners have poor personal credit, what’s on the application is also key. These businesses don’t seem Fundable to lenders, so build Fundability from the start. Laying a strong and proper foundation helps your business make it.

Business Name

We start with your steps to building business credit in 2022 with your business name. This is because it leads to so many other details. Check with your Secretary of State—a business name may have to be unique. Make sure your SOS has all necessary information for your company, and that it’s up to date and correct. You want to be in good standing with them, and your entity must be active. You must file annual reports and pay a fee each year to stay active.

Keep the name of a high-risk or restricted industry out of your business name. Your business can be Juan’s rather than Juan’s Consulting. There is nothing underhanded about this—it is open and honest. It can help prevent a denial from a lender.

Records Uniformity

A common reason for loan and credit card denials is the lender can’t find a business offline or online. So make it simple for lenders and credit issuers to find your business.

This means the business name on your application must match what’s online and in your Secretary of State listing. Yes, you’re going for a perfect match. Make sure it matches corporation papers, licenses, utility statements, and bank statements. Also make sure the business name and all other information is the same on every online listing you find.

This even includes using the word ‘and’ or an ampersand (&). Pick one and stick with it! Why? Lenders and credit issuers interpret differences as fraud. Keep records of where your business name is, to be sure you catch everything. And if you ever change your business name, make sure to change it everywhere.

Business Address

Your business address must be a real brick and mortar building. That is, it has got to be deliverable physical address. This can never be a UPS box or a PO Box. Some lenders don’t approve and fund unless this criterion is met.

If you want to look like a larger business than you are, use a virtual address. This can also be a good idea to hold meetings or interviews. It’s a lot more professional than doing this on your front stoop. We like Regus, Davinci, and Alliance Virtual Offices. But at least one credit issuer doesn’t accept virtual addresses.

EIN

Get a free EIN for your business at IRS.gov. Much like you have a Social Security Number, your business has an EIN. Use your EIN to open a bank account and to build a business credit profile. Take the time to verify all agencies, banks, and trade credit vendors list your business with the same Tax ID number.

Business Entity

To get financing or credit for your business you must have a business entity. Often, a corporation or LLC business entity gives you more credibility. And corporate entities by default reduce your personal liability. Other entities (like partnerships) don’t. This is because incorporating creates a separate legal entity. You must file this with the Secretary of State for your state. Make sure your entity is set up in the same state as your business address.

Industry and Risk

An early step to Fundability is setting the industry your business is in. Some industries are riskier than others. With traditional funding sources, added risk can mean stricter underwriting guidelines or even no funding at all. Risky industries tend to be where chances of personal injury or property damage are high. Or there are a lot of cash transactions, or the revenue stream is unstable. Or there’s a low barrier to entry (so owners may not be skilled or experienced). Weapons manufacturing, gas stations, and consulting all fill the bill.

Why Risk Matters

The biggest reason why risk matters has to do with funding. Lenders may hesitate to do business with high risk businesses. So, those businesses must find other solutions for financing. These can include crowdfunding, angel investors, venture capital, building credit for business and more. Still, a lot of businesses would rather work with lenders.

NAICS Codes

Choose NAICS codes for your business at the IRS website. Federal statistical agencies use these codes to classify business establishments. This is to collect, analyze, and publish data, on the American business economy. NAICS codes also identify businesses which are high risk. The IRS, lenders, banks, insurance companies, and business CRAs use them. Note: the NAICS list of high risk industries is old and there are no plans to update it.

Of course you want to be honest when choosing your NAICS code. But if more than one can apply, you need not choose the one that’s higher risk. So it pays to check and be careful when choosing. If only high risk codes work, you can change your business, to match a related but lower risk code. There is nothing underhanded or dishonest about doing this.

Business Phone and 411 Listing

Toll-free phone numbers are best. Lenders see them as a sign of business credibility. For a single owner with a home-based business, this makes the company seem bigger. It’s easy and inexpensive to set up a virtual local phone number or a toll free 800 number. Use VoIP (voice over internet protocol) to have the number ring on any cell phone or landline.

If you don’t want customers calling your home all day, don’t use a personal cell or residential phone as a business phone number. It also helps with Fundability to have a dedicated business phone number. Your phone number must have a listing with 411 for most credit issuers and lenders to approve you. Check if your record has a listing and make sure your info is accurate. No record? Then use ListYourself.net to get a listing.

Business Licenses

Contact state, county, and city government offices. See if there are any necessary licenses and permits to operate your type of business. Licensing requirements differ, depending on state, town, and industry. Being licensed builds credibility in your business. This can help you get more customers.

Web Domain and Professional Website

Lenders and credit issuers research your corporation on the internet. It is best if they learn everything straight from your corporate website. Not having a company website can hurt your chances of getting corporate credit. It should be professional, with helpful info for anyone finding your business online.

Buy web hosting from a hosting company. Your domain should be your business name, if possible. You need a company email address for your business. This email must be on the same domain as your website. Use a professional email address like yourname@yoursite.com. This is professional and helps your chances for approval from a credit issuer. Do not use Yahoo, AOL, Gmail, Hotmail, or similar kinds of email.

Business Bank Account in the Business’s Name

This is one of the more crucial steps to building business credit in 2022. You must have a bank account devoted to nothing but your business. The IRS does not want you commingling funds. Make accounting easier and reduce the risk of audit at tax time. Keep personal and business funds separate. A separate bank account makes it easy.

Being able to offer more bank account records helps you get larger business loans. It helps to increase your borrowing potential.

Business Merchant Account

Opening a business merchant account is a smart way to help your business. Now your business can accept credit and debit cards. Studies show that customers spend more if they can pay by card. This also increases your finance options. It tends to be more secure, too.

Get Set Up with Business Credit Reporting Agencies

To start really establishing business credit, go to D&B’s website and look for your business. If you can’t find it, get a free D-U-N-S number on the D&B site. A D-U-N-S number + 3 payment experiences leads to a PAYDEX score. You need a D-U-N-S number to start building business credit. Once in D&B’s system, search Experian and Equifax’s sites for your business. Now that your business is all set up, it’s time to start building business credit.

Steps to Building Business Credit in 2022 from the Ground Up

The steps to building business credit in 2022 lead directly here. Start with vendor accounts. This is a proven way to start building business credit. Each of these steps to establish business credit, and every credit issuer can help your business. It’s meant to help you qualify for business credit cards with EIN only that you’ll want to use. This isn’t building for the sake of building or to increase a number. These credit issuers have what your business needs to succeed. Keep building–your time in business helps.

Starter Vendor Credit

Starter vendors are open to working with most businesses, even startups. Make sure vendors report to the CRAs—many do not. Vendors that report do so within 60 days. They help you build your business credit profile and score.

Terms vary depending on the vendor, but they tend to be Net 30. This means you have 30 days to pay in full. At least one doesn’t accept virtual offices. And you often need a D-U-N-S and an EIN at least. But you don’t need collateral, good personal credit, or cash flow.

Business Credit Building with Vendor Accounts

One of the best things about vendor credit is that it’s often not from a bank. As a result, 31 CFR § 1010.230 (a 2018 federal regulation) does not apply. It requires that anyone in a business with at least a 25% stake or control must provide their Social Security number on a loan application. No Social Security Number means issuers must decide on your credit application with EIN instead of SSN. For any SSN field if you’re not including your SSN, don’t put ANY other number in there. That violates two federal laws!

Add payment experiences from three vendors. Once they report to business CRAs like Dun & Bradstreet, you start qualifying for more credit. But keep in mind, any cards issued by banks fall under federal regulations.

For starter vendors, check out our starter vendor research. And for the most up to date info, confirm on the vendors’ sites.

Business Credit Cards with No Personal Guarantee

As you build exceptional business credit and pay your bills on time, credit issuers trust you more. You get higher limits and better terms, and start to get business credit cards with no PG.

Retail Credit

Retail credit comes from major retailers like Staples. Buy everything from office supplies to power tools. Retailers check if business info is uniform everywhere and if your business has proper licensing.

There can be a time in business requirement. You may need to have at least a certain number of employees. You may have to meet a minimal annual sales amount. Terms can be revolving. You need at least 3 accounts reporting to business CRAs.

Fleet Credit

Use fleet credit to buy fuel, maintain vehicles of all sorts, and repair vehicles. Even businesses which don’t have big fleets can still benefit. These are often gas credit cards.

There may be a time in business requirement. But if your business doesn’t meet it, you may be able to instead offer a PG or give a deposit to secure the credit.

Business Credit Cards

Business credit cards are more universal-type credit cards, like MasterCard. Use them almost anywhere. These cards may even have rewards programs or offer other valuable perks.

Terms can be revolving. Often you need at least 14 accounts reporting to business CRAs. There can be longer time in business requirements. You may need to have at least a certain number of employees. Qualifying for bank credit cards means you can meet most if not all the requirements for other kinds of financing.

Beyond the Steps to Building Business Credit in 2022: A Quick Look at Business Financing

Incurring debt and then paying it back on time helps you build business credit. Startups tend to not qualify for bank loans or most SBA loans. But they may qualify for loans from alternative lenders. For startup owners with good personal credit, our Credit Line Hybrid is an excellent choice. You can build business credit and finance a business at the same time.

Our Credit Line Hybrid

A credit line hybrid is a form of unsecured funding. Our credit line hybrid has an even better interest rate than a secured loan. Get some of the highest loan amounts and credit lines for businesses. Get 0% business credit cards with stated income. Many report to business CRAs—build business credit at the same time.

You need a good credit score or a guarantor with good credit for approval (FICO score of at least 680). No financials necessary. Loans go up to $150,000. Note: some cards may report on your personal credit.

Monitor Your Business Credit at D&B, Experian, and Equifax

Yet another aspect of the steps to building business credit in 2022 is monitoring your business credit reports. Know what is going on to spot trends and put on the brakes if you must. If there are errors, you can dispute them. And you’ll stay focused on the process because business credit building never ends. But monitoring can get pricey fast.

Monitor Business Credit at D&B, Experian, and Equifax for Less

But there’s a solution! Did you know you can get business credit monitoring for all 3 of the big business CRAs, and all in one place—for less? Credit Suite offers monitoring through its Business Finance Suite (through Nav). See what credit issuers and lenders do. So you can improve your scores and get the business credit and funding you need.

Improving Your Reports

Paying off accounts on time always pays dividends, as does avoiding bankruptcies. Avoid lawsuits if possible. It’s always wise and helpful to be correcting errors as you spot them.

Use Your Business Credit History to Get Higher Credit Limits

Not every cardholder gets a credit limit increase if they ask for one. Credit issuers want to know you’ll pay them back. A good payment history assures a credit issuer that you’ll pay your debts. You’re less risky to them, so they feel they can extend more credit to you.

As you qualify for credit limit increases, you’ll get new offers for more credit. And as you continue to show how responsible you are in paying business debts, approvals will come easier. Credit issuers trust an ever-increasing business credit score.

Get the most favorable funding by paying all bills on time. This gets your business a PAYDEX score of 80. You’ll also get an Equifax Credit Risk Score of 90 or better. And you’ll get a good FICO SBSS score, driven (in part) by on-time payments and business credit history. For Experian, historical behavior (payment history) is 5—10% of the total score.

Steps to Building Business Credit in 2022: Takeaways

Business credit building is a process. Performing the steps in order saves time, money, and aggravation. Get the best scores by paying your bills on time, every time. And monitor your reports to spot errors and fix them ASAP.

The post Steps to Building Business Credit in 2022 appeared first on Credit Suite.

New comment by whummer in "Ask HN: Who is hiring? (February 2022)"

LocalStack | Multiple Roles | REMOTE/Contract or Onsite (Vienna/Austria) | Full-Time or Part-Time

LocalStack (38k+ stars on Github) is on a mission to build the world’s leading platform that enables efficient dev&test loops for developing cloud apps locally. We are looking for top-notch developers, open source contributors, and cloud/DevOps enthusiasts to get on board and join us in this exciting journey!

Tech stack is (mainly): Python, Docker, React.js, Unix/system engineering, Cloud APIs (AWS/Azure). Occasionally some Java/Node.js/Go. Security expertise is a plus.

We’re currently hiring for these roles:

– Backend/Python Engineer: extending, polishing, and optimizing the LocalStack core emulation layer and building advanced product & analytics features

– Frontend Engineer & Designer: polishing the Web user interface, providing a sleek user experience, building out the LocalStack IDE with advanced UI features

– DevRel / Developer Advocate: help growing and building the strongest community out there!

– Technical Key Account Manager: establishing a strong relationship with our global customer base

The project is partially open-source, so you’ll receive high visibility and maintainer status.

Ideally, we’re aiming for a long-term engagement – becoming a core part of a growing team in an early-stage startup (VC backed).

Details here: https://localstack.cloud/jobs

We look forward to receiving your CV/portfolio/Github at jobs@localstack.cloud !

New comment by mmarkowskiangel in "Ask HN: Who wants to be hired? (December 2021)"

  Location:            Poland, Europe
  Remote:              Yes (EST/PST timezones OK)
  Willing to relocate: No

  Technologies:
    * java, kotlin, groovy, spring, spring boot, activemq,ajax,angular,apache,aws,boot,cloud,ddd,docker,dojo,ejb,ejb3,git,gradle,hibernate,jboss,jdbc,jms,jpa,jsf,junit,kafka,kubernates,maven,microservices,mssql,oracle,react,scrum,selenium,servlet,sql,sqlite,svn,tapestry,tdd,webdriver,ws

  Email:               mmarkowski-angel@protonmail.com

I am a Backend Java Engineer with 12 years of commercial experience (esp. FinTech, Healthcare) in prototyping, MVP, backend development as well as maintenance and DevOps. Great communication skills, Startup experience, team leadership, passionate about programming, self starter, OK with freelance/consulting as well as full time work.

Best WordPress Plugins

Disclosure: This content is reader-supported, which means if you click on some of our links that we may earn a commission.

The best WordPress plugins make your site faster, increase traffic, and tighten website security for your visitors.

But you don’t want to overdo it. Installing too many WordPress plugins can actually slow down your site. Using certain plugins together can cause conflicts that you definitely want to avoid.

I’ve got a good number of plugins on my blog, which gets millions visitors each year. You can fill out forms, sign up for membership content, and more–everything runs smooth. It’s all about picking the right plugins that work together for your needs.

I’ve put together a list of the seven best WordPress plugins you can install right now to improve your site. After the reviews, I’ll show you how to evaluate your options and avoid issues.

#1 – WP Rocket Review – The Best for Speed Optimization

A WordPress site can put a lot of strain on your server, which increases the possibility of crashing your web server. To avoid such unfortunate situations and ensure all your site loads super fast, you need a caching plugin like WP Rocket.

WP Rocket is a simple and effective plugin designed to boost your website speed and performance. It doesn’t wait for someone to request a page to save it to cache. Instead, it automatically builds your website cache, resulting in an immediate performance boost.

The plugin turns on recommended WordPress caching settings, such as page cache, gzip compression, and cache pre-loading automatically.

You can also activate other features like CDN support, lazy loading images, DNS prefetching, and minification to improve your page loading time and reduce bounce rate.

Starting at $49 for an annual license per site, WP Rocket is less than $5 a month. There are solid WordPress cache plugins available, but WP Rocket is still my number one pick in the category. It’s easier to use than some of the less expensive ones, which is probably why it is so popular.

There is no free trial, but WP Rocket does have a 14-day refund policy. So you can try it risk free to see how it impacts your site’s performance. Learn more.

#2 – Yoast SEO Review – The Best for Increasing Organic Website Traffic

Users serious about search optimization trust Yoast SEO to reach their goals. All you need to do is select a keyword, and the tool will then optimize your page around it.

Not only does it help you improve SEO, but it also analyzes your content readability. It gives you real-time page analysis to optimize your content, images, meta descriptions, titles, and keywords.

No wonder it might be the most popular SEO tool in the WordPress plugin repository.

Further, Yoast checks the length of your sentences and paragraphs, whether you’re using enough transition words or subheadings, how often you use passive voice, and so on. It tells Google whether or not to index a page or a set of pages too.

Although there’s a free version available, you can upgrade to the premium version for $89 per year that comes with extra functions, allowing you to optimize your content up to five keywords, among other benefits.

#3 – Akismet Review – The Best for Spam Protection

Nobody appreciates the opinions of bots. Unfortunately, spam comments are an unavoidable price of website success.

With Akismet, though, you’ll be able to eliminate spam comments–no matter how genuine they look–effectively and effortlessly. After all, it’s the official anti-spam plugin developed by Automattic, the parent company of WordPress. 

There’s a possibility of the plugin missing out on a few spam comments or not identifying false positives. You only need to tell it about them, and the plugin learns and gets better over time.

The plugin also checks your contact form submissions against its global spam database to weed out unnecessary and fake information.

Although free to download, you will need an Akismet.com API key to use the plug-in. These keys are free for personal blogs, but businesses and commercial sites will have to opt for paid subscriptions.

#4 – Wordfence Security Review – The Best to Handle Security Concerns

Wordfence Security is a WordPress firewall and security scanner plugin. It offers your site full protection from malicious hackers, malware, spam, and other online threats.

It searches for malware and compares code, theme, and plugin files with the records in the WordPress.org repository, allowing it to verify their integrity and report any changes to you.

The plugin comes fitted with a web application firewall (WAF) called Threat Defense Feed that helps Wordfence identify and block malicious traffic. Plus, it prevents brute force attacks by ensuring you set stronger passwords and limiting login attempts.

Wordfence firewall and security scanner will give you security risk alerts before your website is hacked, keeping it safe and secure. It also comes with login security features that enable you to activate reCAPTCHA and two-factor authentication on your website.

A free version of Wordfence is available. But you can also buy the premium plan at $99 per year to get extra security features like the real-time IP blacklist and country blocking option, along with support from professional support engineers.

#5 – UpdraftPlus Review – The Best for Site Backup

Many people fail to consider the importance of having a backup plugin. Don’t make that mistake.

Thousands of sites get hacked daily. WordPress sites are a really common target for hackers because it is so popular and a lot of non-technical folks use it. Simply hoping you won’t be next on the list is just wishful thinking. You have to be prepared, which is where backup plugins come in handy.

There are plenty of WordPress backup plugins online, but only a few are as powerful and user-friendly as UpdraftPlus. It allows you to set up automatic backups and store your files on a remote location like Google Drive, FTP, email, and Dropbox.

Restoring your website from a backup is also super easy and can be done straight from the dashboard. Other features include advanced reporting, database encryption, additional storage destinations like OneDrive, Azure, SFTP, and backup scheduling. 

You have the option to either use the base version of UpdraftPlus or purchase its premium version that costs between $195-$399 a year, depending on the plan you choose.

#6 – MonsterInsights Review – The Best for Data Tracking

Data tracking is crucial for scaling and improving your website. Without facts, all you’ll have are assumptions. MonsterInsights allows you to add, customize, and manage your Google Analytics-related web tracking services–all within your WordPress dashboard. 

Google Analytics helps you improve your website, content, and better user experience by giving you key insights about how every webpage performs and which online campaigns bring in the most traffic and conversions. 

Some of you may have heard of Google Analytics for WordPress. It was the former name for MonsterInsights. The name might’ve changed, but the purpose remains the same.

You can use it to view active sessions, conversion and bounce rate statistics, and keep track of outbound and internal links and downloads. Other details like your total revenue, top products, and top referral sources will also be included.

With all the information readily available, you can work on creating a data-driven strategy to grow your business.

MonsterInsights has a free version that allows you to install Google Analytics, track data, see metrics on the dashboard, and run reports.

There is also a premium version that is more of an investment but includes post and page tracking, custom tracking and reports, AdSense tracking, and more. The premium version starts at $99.50 per year with the Plus plan.

#7 – WPForms Review – The Best for Designing Contact Forms

You can use WPForms to create appealing and highly-effective contact forms rather quickly, thanks to its drag-and-drop builder. 

It comes with several cool features like smart conditional logic to ensure your visitors have an excellent customer experience, which, in turn, increases the chances of them submitting their contact information. 

Moreover, WPForms can integrate with all popular marketing and payment platforms.

The free plan lets you create a secure contact form with ease.

But if you want access to more templates and advanced features to boost your lead generation efforts, the paid version would be more appropriate. The paid version starts at $39.50 per year for one site.

What I Looked at to Find the Best WordPress Plugin

I’ve compiled a list of a few factors you should consider to narrow down your search to determine the right fit for your website. 

Every plugin’s page on the WordPress Plugin Repository contains detailed information about the plugin, its purpose, how to use it, and more. Refer to this information to decide whether a specific plugin is a good fit for you.

Search the plugin directory and pick a few options you think will suit your needs best. When it comes to making the final selection, use my tips below:

Free vs. Premium

We all like free things, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re better. WordPress plugins are no exception.

Free plugins can be great if you don’t want to spend money right away, and most of them are enough to get the basic job done. 

However, if you’re looking for more features or higher customization, most plugins will need to be upgraded to the premium version to unlock more features. 

Contrarily, premium plugins are designed to ensure compatibility with new WordPress versions and provide better security. On top of this, you get a more comprehensive selection of features to customize and enhance your site.

If monetary commitment is something you’re worried about, you’ll be pleased to know that most premium plugins are quite affordable. So you won’t be breaking the bank anytime soon.

In the end, it’s your call. Just make sure you make the right choice for the functionality of your site.

Overall Plugin Ratings

The overall rating of a WordPress plugin can tell you a lot.

Previous users can rate a plugin up to five stars based on their experience. Skip options that don’t have an average of at least (or almost) four stars. 

Plugins with a one-star, two-star, or three-star rating are mostly glitchy and create a lot of problems. Whereas higher-rated plugins are well maintained, work well, and offer adequate support. 

Otherwise, why would any user give them good ratings and reviews?

Go Through As Many User Reviews You Can

There’s no better way to determine the quality of a plugin than directly from users. This way, you know precisely whether a plugin is successful.

I would also recommend looking at the total number of ratings. For instance, if a plugin has only been rated by five or seven people, it means it’s relatively new. If they give a decent review, the average rating will automatically be higher.

It’s always better to download plugins with more users and reviewers.

So, not only should you read the user reviews, but also check the total number of reviews.

See How Active the Support Section Is

Every plugin on the WordPress plugin repository has a support forum.

Go through the support tab to check out the level of activity within these forums. Regular activity is necessary as it indicates the developer is responsive and wants to deliver an excellent experience to its users by solving user-reported issues.

If you’re evaluating a premium plugin, their official website should be your go-to instead of the support tab. 

Find out how easy it is to get support and whether it has the features you need. Send a test email to see how fast the developers respond to check out their efficiency.

If a plugin has several unresolved threads or you don’t get an answer to your test email, it probably means the plugin is abandoned or that developers are not responding to user issues. 

It could still work, yes. But you won’t get adequate support if you face problems.

Find Out the Frequency of Updates

The best plugins are updated regularly. If not, or if it has been a long time since their last update, they may not be well-maintained. 

Of course, there can be some exceptions, but regular updates are still an important consideration.

Ideally, plugin updates should be in line with WordPress’ core updates. This ensures optimal compatibility and a good level of active implication from the plugin developer.

You can check exactly when a plugin was last updated by visiting the WordPress plugin repository. 

Also, check out the Active Installations section. This will give you an idea of the plugin’s popularity and whether it’s still relevant to the ever-changing market trends.

Conclusion

WordPress plugins can do it all, from designing and maintaining a website to optimizing it for search engines to enhance user experience.

Get started today with my top recommendations. These are trusted products that can help you take your site to the next level. Here’s the full list to recap:

  1. WP Rocket – The best for speed optimization
  2. Yoast SEO – The best for increasing organic website traffic
  3. Akismet – The best for spam protection
  4. Wordfence Security – The best to handle security concerns
  5. UpdraftPlus – The best for site backup
  6. MonsterInsights – The best for data tracking
  7. WPForms – The best for designing contact forms

Use Yoast to keep your SEO on point, and block spam and bots with Akismet. Next, make sure your WordPress security remains uncompromised with Wordfence.

WP Rocket keeps loading times short, while UpdraftPlus can come to your rescue when you face compatibility issues or want to migrate your site.

Got a favorite plugin that I didn’t mention? Comment below to let me know!