Do you want to take up podcasting or maybe start your own blog? If so, then great, podcasts and blogs are both awesome ways to grow an audience. If you have a website, then a weekly podcast can be very helpful for spreading your message and building more recognition for your brand. Let us break down how WordPress plugins can boost your chances for success.
WordPress is a very popular content management system (CMS) that is perfect for budding website owners thanks to its ease of use and flexibility. It is a free, open source software that allows anyone to create their own website.
If you are looking for a way to spread awareness about your WordPress website, then a podcast is a great choice.
However, in order to integrate a podcast into your website, so it is easily accessible from your page, you may need the help of a few choice plugins.
The WordPress plugins ecosystem is huge and growing bigger every day. There are already thousands of WordPress plugins available in the official repository alone. As such, it can be a bit of a challenge to find the ones that match your particular needs.
That’s why we have compiled this list of awesome plugins that will help you with linking a podcast or blog to your WordPress website.
What Is a Plugin?
A plugin is basically an extension to a piece of software that makes it easier to carry out a specific task. These extensions allow you to customize WordPress by adding new features and making existing functions work better.
WordPress plugins are usually written by third-party developers, who then upload them to online repositories where people can download them. Many are free, or at least will have a free version, although some may require a monthly fee to reap the full benefits they have to offer.
How Do WordPress Plugins Work With My Podcast Or Other Website?
A plugin is a piece of code that works alongside the core of another program, in this case WordPress. It does not replace any of the functions provided by the main software, but rather adds extra features to make things easier.
This means that if you install a plugin on your site, you can still access all the same functionality as before.
The only difference is that some additional options will appear in the backend of your site which will allow you to change settings, add new pages, create popups and much, much more.
Disadvantages of WordPress Plugins
Sadly, when it comes to using plugins there are some drawbacks to consider.
Firstly, there are a whole plethora of these add-ons available, and some are much better than others. This can make it quite overwhelming when deciding which ones to pick.
Furthermore, some WordPress plugins are buggy and may slow down your site’s performance, or even cause security issues. As such, you should avoid installing multiple plugins at once, and stick to the ones that are absolutely necessary.
It is also a good idea to research any add-ons before installing them, so you can find out about potential issues before they have a negative impact on your site.
Advantages of WordPress Plugins
The main advantage of using plugins is that you get exactly what you want without having to worry about compatibility issues. They give you a great amount of versatility when it comes to customizing your software so that it can work better for you.
There are also plenty of plugins that are completely free to download and use. This means you can test them out and see what benefits they can bring before fully committing to integrating them into your WordPress website.
How To Install WordPress Plugins
Installing plugins is pretty straightforward. That said, it will only work on a self-hosted WordPress.org website. If you own a free WordPress.com blog instead, then you will not be able to make use of plugins.
Provided you have the right kind of website, installing WordPress plugins takes practically no time at all.
First, just log into your WordPress dashboard and click on the “Plugins” tab located on the sidebar. Then search for the plugin you wish to install and click on ‘Install Now’. Once installed, you can activate the plugin by clicking on the ‘Activate’ button next to its name.
Once your plugin is activated, you should be able to go to your WordPress website and check if it is working. Most of the time, these programs will have their own GUI for accessing the new features they unlock.
How this GUI appears, and how it is used, will depend on the specific type of plugin you have installed.
Link Whisper
Link Whisper is an excellent plugin for bloggers who want to create internal links within their websites. Internal links lead viewers from one piece of content on your site, to another one on the same domain.
With this WordPress plugin, you will be able to drive more traffic towards your podcast or blog, which will help to greatly boost your conversions.
What Does It Do?
Link Whisper creates internal links by using an AI to scan your website. This AI looks through the page you are currently on and suggests segments of text which would make suitable anchors for internal links.
This is especially useful for bloggers, as Link Whisper will generate links for guiding visitors through their posts which will greatly increase traffic.
You can set Link Whisper to automatically add links based on a keyword of your choice.
It also offers in depth analysis of how your links are performing, and how many pages on your website still need internal links leading to them.
There is also a function to pull traffic data from Google, so you can see how many people have visited your website, as well as which keywords brought them there.
Pricing
Right now, Link Whisper costs $77 per year to use on one website.
Compared to other WordPress plugins, this is a reasonable price, especially when you consider the extra traffic it could help you draw. You can buy this plugin for multiple sites at a discounted price.
Using Link Whisper for two websites costs $107 per year, while accessing it for three will cost $157.
Ease Of Use
This plugin is easy to navigate and has a user-friendly interface that shouldn’t make it too complex to learn.
However, it can be difficult to make the most off, since it generates far more internal links than you could possibly need. As such, you will need to be judicious about which links you select and which ones you refuse.
Support Options
There are plenty of tutorials available to help teach you about all the different features Link Whisper offers.
If you do have any queries or issues, then you can contact the support team via email, or visit the frequently asked questions section on their website for a quick answer.
Pros
- Great customer service.
- Helpful tutorials for learning how to use this plugin.
- Generates helpful internal links to drive traffic through your website.
- Very versatile way to create custom links.
Cons
- Some features may be difficult for beginners to learn.
WP Rocket
The WP Rocket plugin is one of the best WordPress performance plugins around. Naturally, if you want anyone to stick around for your podcast website you will want it to load quickly.
As WP Rocket say on their website, most people will click elsewhere if a page takes more than 3 seconds to load. With this plugin, you can kiss your performance issues goodbye.
What Does It Do?
This plugin is designed to improve the overall performance of your website by reducing loading times.
The reason we’ve included it in this list is because any website hosting large video or audio files, such as podcast episodes, will need speedy loading times to prevent browsers clicking away.
WP Rocket works by compressing image, video or audio files, so they are easier to load. It also helps with creating caches for storing the basic details about each page on your website.
These caches are stored in a visitors’ browser so the next time they come to your site they won’t have to wait as long for it to load. As such, it is a great tool for making your WordPress blog or podcast run more smoothly.
Pricing
This program is a bit pricer than many of its competition, but it makes up for it by being one of the best performance plugins available for WordPress.
It costs $49 per year for one website and $99 per year for 3 websites. If you have a lot of pages that you want to speed up then you can pay for the unlimited pass which comes in at $249 per year.
Ease Of Use
WP rocket is mostly automatic and requires very little input from you to do its job.
In the settings, you can browse several methods for improving the performance of your website, and it won’t take long to learn what everything does.
Support Options
In order to contact customer support for this plugin, you will need to email them and create a ticket. Once they do get in touch with you, the customer support team are very friendly and great for fixing any issues you might encounter with this plugin.
If you need immediate assistance though, there is sadly no phone number or live chat service you can use to reach the support team directly.
Pros
- Greatly improves the performance of your website.
- Simple and easy to use.
- Great for compressing video or image files to boost loading times.
Cons
- Customer support can take a while to get in touch.
Short Pixel
One way to add flavor to your blog is with some appropriate images to break up the walls of text. However, large images often contain a lot of data, which will slow down your website considerably.
This is where Short Pixel comes to the rescue by helping you to compress images and speed up loading times across your site.
What Does It Do?
ShortPixel is a simple plugin that allows you to compress and resize images without sacrificing their original quality.
Smaller image files will help your blog to load much faster, which is great for boosting traffic and conversions from your website.
It works by sending any images you want to the Short Pixel cloud server. Here, the image is compressed and crunched according to the settings you selected. Your new image can then be downloaded back off the cloud with a smaller file size, but no missing details.
If you want to liven up your blog with relevant and exciting images, then this plugin is an absolute must-have.
Pricing
Short Pixel offers a free version of their plugin, however it is limited to only being able to process 100 images per month. You’d be surprised by how little this really is, and unless you only seldom update your blog, it probably won’t be enough for more than a test run.
After this, you will need to buy credits for processing more images. These are available in monthly bundles which start at $4.99 and go up to $49.99 for 100,000 images a month.
You can also make on off payments for larger amounts of credits, the cheapest of which is $19.99 for a bundle of 30,000 images.
Ease Of Use
This plugin won’t take you long to learn since it is incredibly user-friendly.
It offers you complete control over the compression rate for your images, and supports several popular image formats including, PDF, PNG, JPG, GIF, WebP, and many more.
Once you have picked your preferred settings, the cloud will do most of the hard work for you, which makes ShortPixel a very streamlined and effective plugin.
Support Options
On their homepage, Short Pixel has an FAQ, as well as multiple email addresses for getting in touch with various members of the team. There is also a live chat function if you need immediate assistance, all of which are useful for anyone struggling with this plugin.
Pros
- Fast, cheap and effective image optimization.
- Reduced file size of images without sacrificing quality.
- Great customer support team.
Cons
- Can be difficult to set up initially.
Word Fence
If you’re going to be using any of the plugins on this list to boost traffic through your website, then you will need a good security system.
Word Fence is one such tool that can help protect your WordPress blog or podcast from hackers and other malicious attacks.
This means you can focus on growing your site, while knowing that your website is protected from all external security threats.
How Does It Work?
Word Fence is an endpoint firewall, which means it runs off the server you use for your WordPress website.
This means that it can filter data passing through your site for hazards without breaking the end-to-end encryption of your browsers.
As such, it is far more secure than many other firewalls available for use with WordPress.
Word Fence can block malware, or people trying to brute force their way onto your website but it is also good at protecting your users from data breaches.
When the program detects a data breach, it will make a note of any passwords that have been compromised. If any of your subscribers or employees use this password, WordFence will make them aware of the breach and prompt them to change it.
Pricing
The commercial version of Word Fence is completely free, and will help to offer great protection for your website. A premium single site license costs $99 which is nothing compared to what you could lose in a security breach.
Users who use the paid version will get real time updates of any issues that arise, as well as access to a premium support service.
Ease Of Use
Word Fence is very easy to use and manage. When it does detect malware or security breaches, it will suggest the measures required for addressing them.
The dashboard is also very easy to understand and incredibly informative, giving you all the details on how many breaches you have experienced and what types of security threat they posed.
Support Options
The customer support service for Word Fence is great, although they may not be the fastest when it comes to getting back to you.
This is because premium members are given priority over those still using the free version. As such, if you want to have instant access to their support service in case of security issues, it may be worth paying for premium.
Pros
- Creates an endpoint firewall, which is more secure than other varieties.
- Specifically designed to deal with security threats that target WordPress websites.
- Dashboard is easy to understand and very informative.
Cons
- Customer support prioritizes premium members.
Updraft
Word Fence is great at preventing malicious attacks against your website. However, no protection system is completely fail-proof, and if your website does become compromised then Updraft has your back.
This plugin is for creating a backup of your WordPress website, so you can restore it to just the way it was after a security breach.
What Does It Do?
Updraft is a plugin for backing up your webpage, so you can get it back up and running quickly should anything happen to compromise it. The premium version can also be used to encrypt sensitive databases, such as those where you store your subscribers passwords.
You can set the exact date and time for creating backups of your site, as well as setting how long they are retained for and when they are deleted.
You can set a password for this plugin, so that only authorized users can access your backups and restore your site to a previous version. While it doesn’t do much to stop hackers, it is invaluable for anyone who has been targeted by them.
Pricing
The free version of Updraft is more than enough for backing up your site and restoring it when necessary.
With a premium membership you will receive all the add-ons the company has to offer, including encryption of sensitive databases, restoring backups from other plugins and much more.
Premium memberships start at $70 for two licenses that can be applied to two different sites, and go as high as $399 per year for unlimited licenses.
Ease Of Use
Updraft has a very user-friendly interface, so even if you aren’t very tech-savvy you should have no problem backing up and restoring your website.
Support Options
Just like Word Fence, Updraft prioritizes premium users when it comes to their customer support.
However, if you are a free member and need immediate assistance then you can purchase a support package which will get you the help you need.
If it turns out your issue was caused by a bug, then the company will refund you the full cost of the support package.
Pros
- Has a free version that will be perfectly usable for most customers.
- Offers an easy way to back up and restore your website.
- Can encrypt sensitive databases to keep your information secure.
Cons
- Free users need to buy a support package for timely customer support.
AmaLinks Pro
One way that people make money off their podcasts and blogs is by becoming an Amazon associate.
This allows you to include links in your content to Amazon products and make money each time a customer buys one of these products after clicking on your link.
AmaLinks Pro is a great tool for Amazon associates to quickly and organically include links to Amazon products throughout their content.
What Does It Do?
This plugin creates and integrates your website with Amazon and helps you with creating interesting and appealing links to products. The three main types of link you can create with this plugin include, text links, image links and call-to-action links.
This is great for both blogs and podcasts, as it will allow you to naturally integrate links into your content without them being too invasive and turning viewers away.
The plugin will help you choose fully compliant images for advertising products, as well as giving you access to a badge for labeling products that are eligible for Prime delivery.
It will also automatically update prices, so your visitors have up-to-date information about any special deals.
Pricing
AmaLinks doesn’t have a free version, so if you want to install it you will need to purchase one of the four different packages they have available.
The blogger tier is the cheapest, costing $67 per year, and offers a single site license that comes with all the basic features you need. If you buy premium, you can get a bonus of 2,796 niche ideas and premium customer support.
If you have more than 25 websites that you want to use this plugin with, then you will need to purchase a platinum membership for $597 per year.
Ease Of Use
This plugin is very simple to use and navigate. It removes the need for Amazon API access and makes it far easier to provide great links to products that are relevant to your customer base.
verall, if you are an Amazon associate then this plugin is very worth the investment.
Support Options
AmaLinks Pro has a great support team who are easy to contact and very helpful with sorting out any issues you may encounter.
However, they do still prioritize premium and platinum customers over those paying for the lower tiers. As such, you may have to wait a bit longer for support unless you are willing to pay for one of the more expensive packages.
Pros
- Can create text and images links to Amazon products.
- Offers prime badges.
- Automatic price updates.
Cons
- Customer support prioritizes premium members.
AAWP
This is another plugin for Amazon associates, and is a great choice for those who can’t afford AmaLinks.
Much like the last plugin we looked at, this one is designed to make attractive and relevant links to Amazon products that can be placed throughout your content.
What Does It Do?
AAWP will help you to create text links and product boxes on your website to lead visitors to the relevant products on Amazon. Although it can only provide text links, it has several other useful features that allow it to keep up with AmaLinks.
For one, it offers geolocation data, which will direct international browsers to the correct Amazon Marketplace for your country.
You can also create bestsellers lists to keep your viewers up to date on the best products available for them. There are also data fields that you can add to your content to display basic product information, price and even a buy now button.
Pricing
Overall AAWP is much more reasonably priced than its main competitor AmaLinks, although it doesn’t have quite as many features.
A simple single site license costs just over $55 and gives you access to all the core features. The more expensive licenses only allow you to use the plugin on more sites, with the most expensive being $449 for using this software on 25 different websites.
Ease Of Use
AAWP is even more user-friendly than AmaLinks, with clear tutorials that take you through all the basic features.
You will need to access Amazon API if you want to display adverts through this plugin, but the process won’t cost you much time or stress.
Support Options
The support page for this plugin provides all the necessary documentation for learning how to use AAWP.
They also have a frequently asked questions section and the option to create a support ticket. There is no option to contact the support team directly, so don’t expect assistance to be immediate if you do need it.
Pros
- Access all the features with the cheapest license.
- Geolocation directs customers to the Amazon Marketplace for their country.
- Options to create widgets, data fields and comparison charts.
Cons
- You can’t contact the support team directly.
Google Analytics
If you’re looking for a plugin that allows you to track your traffic and conversions, then Google Analytics is just what you need.
This plugin will give you detailed reports about what’s happening on your website, including where people are coming from, how long they stay on your pages and what actions they take once they get there.
What Does It Do?
This plugin is a must for anyone who wants to know exactly how their website is doing. It applies a Google tracking code to each page on your website. This code then allows you to access in depth data on how your website is performing.
You can find out how many people visited certain pages, what led them there, as well as how much of your content they read. It is fully compatible with other similar plugins such as Display Advertising, Google Optimize and more.
The pro version of this plugin unlocks even more features, such as customizable tracking codes and even more info on how visitors interact with your website.
Pricing
This plugin is free to download and install. However, you’ll need to pay for a premium version if you want to use any of the extra features mentioned above.
The cheapest option for Google Analytics pro is $15 which you make as a standalone payment for a single site license.
Ease Of Use
Google Analytics isn’t complicated, and as such, it really doesn’t take long to learn how to use it.
You will find a window at the top of your website for accessing info about your site, and there are plenty of tutorials to help you learn about customizing your tracking codes.
Support Options
There is a support forum for the free version of this plugin, but to access the actual support service you will need to buy a license. Thankfully, this option is unlocked with even the cheapest license and not restricted to premium users.
Pros
- Ultra-fast performance.
- Helpful support forum for troubleshooting issues.
- Offers an in-depth breakdown of how your website is performing.
Cons
The amount of information provided by this plugin may be overwhelming to some users.
Cloudflare
Our final plugin is another one designed to optimize your website’s performance and stop customers from clicking away. Cloudflare is an online CDN (content delivery network) that helps speed up your website’s load times.
It does this by acting like a proxy server between a web browser and your website so that all requests are sent through it instead of going straight to your host.
What Does It Do?
It caches static files such as images and CSS files on its servers so that when someone visits your website again the file will be immediately available.
The free version also offers a basic firewall for blocking attacks from malicious hackers or bots. This plugin can give your site SSL certification, which encrypts your website’s data to protect it from theft.
It also monitors your website for changes and automatically updates your cached files. So if you change something on your website, cloud flare will update your cache without having to manually do it yourself.
Overall, this plugin is a great way to speed up your website and generate more conversions in the process.
Pricing
The free version of Cloudflare offers all the basic features, but limits your number of file uploads to 100 MB. Many users may not need more than this, however for those that do, this plugin is very reasonably priced.
You can unlock the automatic platform optimization feature for just $5 a month, and the full premium experience only costs $20 a month.
Ease Of Use
Cloudflare is very user-friendly thanks to the help function that can be used to explain any obscure or complicated features. The modern design isn’t confusing, and you should have no problem navigating and learning how to use this plugin.
Support Options
The website for this plugin has an extensive library of documentation to teach you all the basic functions and features. If you require help from a human, then you can email the support team, and they will get back to you very quickly.
Pros
- Great customer support.
- Versatile plugin that speeds up your website while also making it more secure.
- No monthly subscription required.
Cons
- 100mb upload limit on the free version.
Conclusion
There are many plugins out there that claim to make your website faster and easier to navigate. Most don’t offer much value and are simply a waste of time.
However, all the plugins on this list are guaranteed to work well and deliver on their promises.
They are all easy to install and configure, with many of them having free versions, so you can test them out before you make a purchase. We would strongly recommend these WordPress plugins to anyone looking to improve their site’s performance and increase conversion rates.