You don’t need 30 plugins. You need about 10. The rest is bloat that slows your site and creates security holes. After setting up hundreds of stores, I’ve narrowed it down to the essentials that actually move the needle.
First, the core: WooCommerce. It’s the default for a reason. It’s free, well-supported, and integrates with everything. But don’t just install it and hope for the best. You need to configure your store’s address, currency, and payment gateways before you touch anything else. The setting you’ll forget: enabling guest checkout. It’s under WooCommerce > Settings > Accounts & Privacy. Turn it on. Requiring an account kills conversions.
Next, a page builder. Elementor or Beaver Builder. I prefer Elementor because it’s more intuitive for non-developers. But here’s the catch: don’t use it for your product pages. WooCommerce already has templates. Use your builder for the homepage, about page, and landing pages. Keep product pages clean and fast.
For security, Wordfence. The free version is enough for most small stores. It blocks brute force attacks and sends you alerts. The setting you’ll forget: enabling two-factor authentication for your admin account. Do it. It takes two minutes and prevents 99% of hacks.
For backups, UpdraftPlus. Schedule daily backups to Google Drive or Dropbox. The setting you’ll forget: excluding your cache folder from backups. It bloats your backup files and slows down the process. Exclude it.
For speed, WP Rocket. It’s not free, but it’s worth every penny. It handles caching, minification, and lazy loading. The setting you’ll forget: enabling preload. It crawls your site and builds the cache so visitors get a fast experience immediately.
For email marketing, Mailchimp for WooCommerce. It syncs your customers and lets you send abandoned cart emails. The setting you’ll forget: enabling the opt-in checkbox at checkout. Without it, you can’t email your customers. Add it.
For analytics, MonsterInsights. It connects Google Analytics to WooCommerce and shows you conversion rates right in your dashboard. The setting you’ll forget: enabling ecommerce tracking. Without it, you’re flying blind.
That’s it. Ten plugins. Anything else is a distraction. Install them, configure them, and move on. Your goal is to launch, not to build a plugin museum.
One last thing: delete any plugin you’re not using. Inactive plugins are a security risk. If you haven’t used it in a month, remove it. Your site will thank you.