1: Akismet: Akismet is an anti spam plugin that checks comments against the Akismet web service to determine whether or not they are spam. Any blog or comment section needs some kind ofanti spam system and this is the best.
2: Backup WordPress: This is a database and file backup plugin. It backs up your entire website as well as your database and all the files on your schedule. Just in case disaster happens this plugin is a must.
3: WordPress SEO by Yoast: A search engine optimisation plugin is always helpful for any website even if it is already on the SEO platform of WordPress. Yoast is an all in one SEO solution for your WordPress site including: SEO titles, meta descriptions, XML sitemaps, breadcrumbs & much more making it another essential plugin.
4: All In One WP Security & Firewall: This is a security plugin that shields your site from malware and hackers. Security is at the forefront of any web designer’s mind and this plugin takes care of everything.
5: Google Analytics For WordPress: This plugin makes it easy for the user to track how their site is being used, who is using it and many other interesting analytical data that aids in pinpointing your target demographic.
6: WP Super Cache: WP Super Cache is a static caching plugin for WordPress. It generates html files that are served directly by Apache without processing comparatively heavy PHP scripts. Using this plugin makes your websites page load up faster for the end user, as caches minimise the need for loading once a page has already been seen.
7: Feedburner Feedsmith: This is a handy RSS subscription related plugin. It finds all the ways to access your original WordPress feeds and redirects them to your Feedburner feed which allows you to track all of your subscriptions. This coupled with the “Add to Any: Subscription Button”, which helps people to subscribe to your blog using any feed reader, make RSS subscription management a breeze.
8: Contact Form 7: This plugin does exactly what it says it does, it helps you to make contact forms. The reason why I think it is the best plugin for the job is due to how easily customizable it is using simple markup. Also it allows for Ajax-powered submitting, CAPTCHA as well as Akismet filtering which all make it a powerful tool.
9: Share This: This is a social networking plugin which allows users to share your content across multiple social media platforms including email and social bookmarking sites. It’s a staple plugin for any WordPress site.
These nine plugins will all help you to create stronger WordPress websites, however these are in no way the only useful plugins that are available to a WordPress user. Overtime you can test out different plugins and find out what works best for your particular site.