The vast majority of web designers and web developers can recognize a premium plugin when they see it. We choose these plugins depending on the task at hand. If the website we set out to create is based on WordPress, it’s paramount for our plugins not only to provide us with the functionality we desire, but also integrate well with the platform that we’re using.
In an attempt to set apart the finest offerings on the market and serve them to you on a silver platter, I decided to create a list with over a dozen premium plugins, new and old.
LayerSlider Premium Multi-Purpose Slider Plugin
LayerSlider for content sliders, image galleries, and slideshows, champions my preferences. This plugin comes in first because it fits in just right with all the most popular content management systems out there. As such, you can enjoy the full potential of this tool, whatever website you’re making. It has 13 skins, is coupled with testified SEO calibration, and has a responsive behaviour on all present-day mobile devices and gadgets.
For the most part, it feels like a breath of fresh air to work with a drag-and-drop interface. Well, jolly good then, since LayerSlider has a drag-and-drop builder that includes timeline view, and real time preview.
Knock yourself out setting up animated transitions, and take your pick from 200 preset slide transitions with 3D and 2D effect. As for the content you can insert, LayerSlider lets you add self-hosted HTML5 videos or from Youtube/Vimeo, along with Google Fonts, text, and images.
Horizontal Product Slider for Magento
If you have many vendor clients, odds are that some of your projects will be based on Magento, at some point. When that happens, I want you to remember the extension I’m mentioning here. The key to ensnaring customers for any web store lies with presenting products in an appealing way.
Therefore, if your product images are properly displayed, the guest-to-client conversion rate is bound to be a large one. Showcasing images with the help of a horizontal slider really does the trick. Pick single or multi-select categories to pull the products. Additionally, you can use this tool to tweak a slider in terms of height, width, and animation speed.
jCountdown Mega Package for WordPress
You must be used to creating blogs and websites using the renowned platform named WordPress. But what happens when their owners want to let website readers know about events that are to come? It’s up to you to take care of that. The good news is that I discovered the best plugin for this occasion.
It goes by the name of jCountdown Mega Package, and it’s incredibly easy to operate. With it, you can insert countdowns either in the sidebar, page, or post – in 4 different styles: Crystal, Side, Metal, or Flip. You may also toggle settings such as reflection, reflection blur, and reflection opacity. This plugin is compatible with all web browsers.
WP Raffle
Do you know what never fails to get people’s attention every time? Free treats and giveaways! If you want to accelerate the user interaction of your website, then you have your answer with WP Raffle, a savvy plugin that lets you command you giveaway over the WordPress dashboard.
It sports perfect integration with some leading e-mail marketing services, allows you to accept entries vie e-mail subscription, Facebook, or Twitter, and select winners at random.
CC Avenue Payment Module for OpenCart
Did you ever encounter any obstacles when it came to reaping the financial benefits of your work? Have any of your clients had any problems as they were trying to send you your payments? Some things seem like they’re out of your hand, but they’re well within your power to control.
Payment misfits are one of those things. Online shops based on OpenCart are not optimized for international and Indian customers, so CC Avenue Payment Module enables debit cards and Vista cards to be processed at checkout, too.
File Manager Plugin for WordPress
How would you like to work with a file manager whose user interface is just like the one from Windows? This premium plugin was designated the most proficient file manager for WordPress, because it’s versatile enough to complement the needs of both seasoned and amateur professionals.
Through it, you can easily view, edit, and create files in the WordPress folder and subfolders. Plus, it allows you to set permissions and ban users. The File Manager is complete with context menu shortcuts, and some options for image editing.
Monarch
Elegant Themes has only just launched the king of all social sharing plugins. It makes sense to use Monarch if you wish to establish an optimum social sharing experience for your website users – and monitor stats/follows. You are free to choose from a list of 40+ social networks, and show the most poplar ones on your page.
Organize and design your buttons in any way you please, and Monarch proposes many variants to display them in: floating sidebar, fly-in, pop-up.
Chimpy – MailChimp WordPress Plugin
And now for a premium solution to issues caused by poor e-mail marketing. As you well know, no website can flourish unless it takes active steps to reach its retinue. MailChimp is an example of advanced e-mail marketing services.
And, if your website is based on the most commonly employed CMS of nowadays, you need to get yourself a good MailChimp WordPress integration. For that purpose, you can always turn to Chimpy, and create wonderful registration forms, display them in pop-ups, show comment forms, and even keep your most precious website content under lock for subscribers to see.
Lizatom Shortcodes Plugin
The next time you go out of your way to find shortcodes for your website building projects, take a moment to relax. Breathe deeply, and look for Lizatom Shortcodes. All the more reasons, if you have a web store that is rooted in WordPress. This premium library of shortcodes stretches to encase as many as 5000 items.
Some of the functions that become available to you are CSS3 buttons, infoboxes, pricing tables, customized order lists, text being revealed in accordion style, images bearing a 3D shadow effect, etc.
UserPro
Moving further down the list of sophisticated plugins for passionate creatives, I need to draw on the subject of member communities and what are the best ways to support them. If your website is based on WordPress, then you can rely on UserPro to manage user profiles and create a more interactive environment.
Create site member directories with ease, and also give your readers a fast connection to their favourite social networks. Have fun choosing from loads of display options, and set up beautiful registration forms with UserPro.
Content Timeline
What are timelines, if not apt tools for keeping website users engaged in the content of your web page? Many websites use this technique in order to display their content in a manner that doesn’t tire out your readers’ eyes, or test their patience.
Content Timeline for WordPress is a great plugin that proposes 11 customization options, so you can establish a timeline according to your taste. Points on the timeline convey information to the left and to the right, plus you can add countless groups and numbers.
FrontEnd Page Builder
Each and every web designer and web developer understands what it means to work against the clock. We all have our projects that have to be delivered on time. When those deadlines are ridiculously short, code-free solutions can really save the day.
If you happen to be feverishly engaged in creating a WordPress website, then why not turn to a premium plugin that lets you complete your job via your browser? FrontEnd Page Builder gets full marks for its utility and reliable customer support.
iMapper
Retailers know the power of presentation, and harness it to sell their products or services. In the context of an online marketplace, that power rests with the product image. And, the responsibility to make it appealing rests on your shoulders.
If I were you, I’d try to establish some pins and map them across the product images. Their content could be advisory, informative, or flat out praise. iMapper is perfect to achieve this goal; it offers pre-styled pins, and also lets you create your own models.
Subscriptio
Does one of your websites sell WooCommerce subscriptions? Then, what kind of solution do you use to keep the whole process in check? Have you ever heard of Subscriptio? I happen to think it’s the best choice you could possibly make.
This accomplished extension comes with a fitting interface that has all the bells and whistles a developer can hope for. In other words, the interface is packed with handy filters and hooks. Use Subscriptio to decide on subscription length, as well as on reminders and how often they should be sent.
OpenCart Canonical URLs SEO Extension
OpenCart websites could use some tweaking in the SEO department. A default web store based on this platform would have an low page ranking, because it would flood the Google index with many duplicate product/category/information pages. Check out the premium plugin that adds canonical links to your category, information, and main pages.
Ninja Kick: WordPress Contact Form
For my final suggestion, I would like to introduce you to Ninja Kick: WordPress Contact Form. It’s a glorious plugin that abounds with background options (30 in all), and offers a series of customization options in terms of label style, colour schemes, and the direction of your animations.
There’s no telling whether the premium plugins listed above prove as useful for you, as they have proved for me. I did my utmost to include auxiliary solutions that helped me deliver top-notch projects time and time again, and even freshly-issued plugins that most of us haven’t heard of yet.
The bottom line is that you need to find and secure the best creative assets that there are, and those presented in my article are certainly among them.
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