In order to make a list of the best WordPress themes and plugins, we first need to understand what WordPress themes and plugins are. It might seem a little silly to some, but there are many beginners who don’t know the difference between both. Yes! WordPress themes and plugins are not the same. While a theme determines the display and presentation of a WordPress website, a plugin adds functions to it
A really good example to explain this is given in a website called TORQUE. There the writer explains how a theme is like the outer display of a car, while a plugin is like the add-ons with it, such as heated seats and a bigger engine.
Now, that you have a basic idea of the difference between WordPress themes and plugins, let us consider the top 5 WordPress themes and plugins one by one!
We are going to start with the best WordPress themes first!
- Uncode
Uncode is undoubtedly one of the most used WordPress themes in current times. It was first released in the year 2015 and is now on the version 1.8. It provides the users with a number of attractive concepts for websites. Uncode is also very easy to implement on to the website dashboard. It is compatible with the extremely popular WPBakery Page Builder Plugin. It also includes the Slider Revolution and LayerSlider slideshow builder plugins and is compatible with the majority of the third party plugins. With Uncode, any type of WordPress website can be easily created.
- Kalium
Kalium gives the users a number of unique features to choose from, which would enhance the display of the websites. It was estimated to have been downloaded more than 600 times within the first month of its release. Over time, its popularity has remained stable. Kalium always strives to make its features even better and in future, it is expected to give you the facility to design an online store as well.
- X
X is one of the most popular themes out there, which can be used to create any type of websites. It has four central categories of pre-built demos which are perfect for various kinds of projects. Whether you want to build a website for an online store or for a general blog, you can always count on this theme. It also has Cornerstone, which is one of the most used WordPress page builders. With Cornerstone, you can include a number of elements on your layouts which would make your website unique from the rest.
- Jevelin
Jevelin is one of the most user-friendly and flexible WordPress themes, which can be used by both a beginner and an experienced website builder. The tools and plugins that come with Jevelin can be put to use with just a few clicks. It has a huge collection of WordPress templates that allows you to build your website just the way you like, within a short period of time. You can also customize them as you would need. It comes with a number of modern features such as smooth Parallax Scrolling, Parallax Background, dynamic Parallax footer sections etc.
- TheGem
TheGem is a multi-purpose theme which can be used to make any kind of WordPress websites. It has a collection of website demos, which are individually very strong as well. There are numerous WordPress templates to choose from and customization is always easy. It will make your website fast, responsive and mobile-friendly. Most of the third party plugins are highly compatible with TheGem.
Now, let us know more about the best WordPress plugins!
- Contact Form 7
Contact Form 7 is the best contact form plugin that you can find. It allows you to create and manage multiple contact forms at the same time. You do not need to know all that extra coding to create these forms. It also uses reCaptcha verification and spammy material is always thrown out.
- Jetpack
The Jetpack plugin has been made by the same team which has made the WordPress software. It has a number of features which can prove extremely beneficial for your website. It also takes care of a lot of things such as the security and performance of your website. Jetpack makes your website reach out to more people and creates sitemaps as well.
- Yoast SEO
As far as on-page SEO is concerned, no plugin does it better than Yoast SEO. After you have done your regular research on keywords, it helps you in the maximum optimization of your content for the search engines. It gives you all the instructions as to how to make your content more readable, how long the Meta description should be and how many times the focus keyword should appear in your content. Yoast SEO makes search engine optimization easy and convenient for you.
- Akismet
Akismet has also been designed by the WordPress Software team. Every time the WordPress Software is installed, it comes with it as a default plugin. An anti-spam plugin, what it does is to filter out the spammy comments. You can also check the comments considered spammy by Akismet. For commercial sites, one has to pay a certain amount for Akismet every month, while for personal blogs, it is absolutely free.
- WooCommerce
WooCommerce is the best e-commerce plugin out there. It has a number of useful features which makes selling extremely easy on your WordPress website. It is customizable as per your requirements. There are endless themes and conversion tools that come with it, which makes it the preferred plugin of many. Also, it is budget friendly, which only adds on to all its benefits.
