Wordfence
Security is important for your site. Wordfence is a free option that provides a layer of security against hackers.
Akismet Anti-Spam; WP Forms; Titan Anti-Spam
Akismet is free for personal sites, but there is a cost for business/commercial sites.
WP Forms is good for anti-spam protection of forms like your contact page.
Titan Anti-Spam is another free alternate to Akismet.
AIOSEO
User-friendly and easy to see the SEO scores for each blog post on the main posts screen.
UpdraftPlus
Regular back-ups are so important. It’s especially important to have anytime you’re making changes like updating the software or adding/updating plugins. If you’ve ever had something break on your website, you know the importance of having a backup to revert to if needed.
WP Optimize
Caching and image compression are combined in this plugin to save additional space and increase speed of your site.
Cookie Notice & Compliance for GDPR / CCPA
A great basic, free cookie plugin option.
Weblizar pin it button on image hover
It can be used to easily add a “Save” Pinterest button to all images (you can exclude your logo images) which complies with the Pinterest rules. (Side note— if you’re using something that has the word “Pin” for the button, that’s actually against the Pinterest T&C.)
Smash Balloon
Smash Balloon has a free option to add a basic Instagram feed to your site. There is also an option to upgrade to pro for additional controls