10 Joomla Plugins to Help You Make the Most of Your Website

 

A content management system (CMS) like Joomla is what most web developers rely on when they want to develop a feature-packed website that doesn’t overload servers or hamper user experience. Like other content management systems, Joomla’s real power lies in its extensions.

There are countless extensions available today that you can use within Joomla. They cover a host of integrations, including modules, components and plugins too. While modules and components are surely an integral elements of the overall web development process, plugins have their own share of importance in terms of features and functionality.

 Choosing the Right Joomla Plugins

If you have already spent a descent amount of time exploring Joomla extension directory, you must be knowing that there exist plugins for almost everything, ranging from communications and marketing to security and content management. With so many available options, it is quite easy for you to overlook the possible upgrades and functionality offered by these plugins – which is quite a mistake.

Plugins are a set of very important tools for web developers and they should be selected mindfully because of the following reasons:

·       A new plugin will consume more server space, and more server space means more loading time

·       When you are unsure if a plugin is fully compatible and gets regularly updated by developers, using it means you are putting your website at risk

·    Many plugins aren’t compatible with each other. To avoid this risk, you should choose plugins thoughtfully.

All in all, if a Joomla plugin doesn’t meet the above requirements, it is best to ignore it. Keep reading to learn about top Joomla plugins for better efficiency and performance of your website:

1.     Admin Tools Core: Just like brick-and-mortar stores, websites are prone to theft. When threats are detected, Joomla is great at issuing patches while maintaining its core. However, Joomla can’t ensure the safety and security of websites on its own, so it’s the developer’s responsibility to maintain the same. Akeeba Admin Tools plugin is a great way to add an extra layer of shield against cyberattacks. It helps in the following ways:

·       Monitors core updates for Joomla

·       Secures access to the dashboard and files

·       Puts a password barrier between the Admin Panel and users

·       Renames the default database prefix

2.  Akeeba Backup: Creating regular backups of a Joomla website is necessary, because of security reasons and to get rid of potential changes that can cause irrecoverable damage to a website. There should be an easy way to get back to normal if something severely impacts your website.

Akeeba Backup allows developers to create a complete website backup as well as a partial backup of chosen database and files. You can also choose how frequently you want to create these backups. This plugin helps by:

·       Tracking website changes with time

·       Fixing sites if a security breach, human error or takedown occurs

·       Launching new websites and updating site designs

3.    Shack Forms Pro: Your website should offer an easy way for your visitors to reach you. A contact form can be used for various reasons: service enquiries, general questions, signing up for newsletters, subscribing to blogs, quotations, etc. You need a dependable tool to develop a customised form that work, look and integrates with other tools as per your unique requirements. Shack Forms Pro plugin helps you do so with utter ease.

4.  Community Builder: Digital products are as valuable as physical goods when it comes to generating ROI from ecommerce platforms. If your business website sells software, utility tools, or digital content like white papers, ebooks, etc., there should be an easy way to offer memberships to your visitors. Community Builder plugin lets developers create membership websites as well as handle registration forms and member profiles in an easy manner.

5.  EasyBlog: Blog is one excellent way to showcase the thought leadership and value of a business. Moreover, it gives visitors another great reason to further explore a website. This plugin helps set up and manage the blog section of a website. EasyBlog comes with social media integration feature that allows time-poor businessmen to automate sharing of content on multiple social platforms.

6.   EShop: Considering the increasing popularity of ecommerce platforms with online users, developers should choose an easy way to develop and manage online retail stores. EShop is a highly rated ecommerce Joomla plugin that makes establishing an online shop a cakewalk. It features myriad plugins and modules to add products and payment gateways, personalise shipping options, and more.

7.     FaLang: You may need a great translation plugin like FaLang if the native language of your website’s target audience is different from your very own language. Even if you don’t need a fully translated version of your website, and you simply want to translate one or two web (landing) pages, you can make use of this plugin to provide your visitors with the necessary information.

8.    JCE: Developer may not feel the need of having this plugin as the majority of their work involves coding. However, for those who are responsible for website administration or content creation, the default text editor may not be quite intuitive. This “What You See Is What You Get” (WYSIWYG) editor plugin make it simple for non-technical users to create, upload and manage content.

9.    JCH Optimize: Multiple Joomla plugins, JavaScript, CSS files, etc. can cause your Joomla website to run slowly. This is where JCH Optimize plugin comes in. With this plugin, you don’t need to compromise with the quality of the content on your website in order to reduce the burden on your website’s server. You can zip and minimize large scripts and files using JCH Optimize. 

10  K2: This plugin offers an innovative integrated solution, showcasing rich content forms with extra sections for attachments, image galleries, videos, nested categories, comments, tags; a system to expand item base form with additional sections; and a feature-packed API plugin to expand items, categories, user forms, sub-templates, ACL, and many more.

With K2, you can turn a basic Joomla website into an online news website or magazine, featuring blogs, product catalogues, workfolios, document/download manager, event listing, knowledge base, directories, etc. – all clubbed in a single bundle.    

 

To Conclude

Once you have integrated these essential plugins into your site, you can search for more plugins to further customise your website’s functionality, depending on your specific requirements.

At AlchemyInteractive, our Joomla development expertise is simply matchless. As an award-winning web design and digital marketing agency in London, we have experience creating and managing high-performing CMS-based web solutions for businesses across different industries, including healthcare, food, finance, advertising and sports, to name a few.

If you are recently looking to develop a highly customised and functional CMS solution for your business, we encourage you reach out to us for the right guidance, service and support.