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Commonly Used and Maintained Plugins

These plugins are actively updated with the WP Boilerplate repository (not to be confused with the WordPress Starter)

Free Plugins​

  1. Akismet Anti-Spam - requires a WordPress.com account owned and paid for by client. Kept alive in the repository as this is part of the main WordPress download. Rarely used in projects, but is extremely effective against comment spam.
  2. All In One WP Security - lightweight and free alternative to Wordfence.
  3. Breadcrumb NavXT - add breadcrumbs to the theme files; requires configuration and coding
  4. Classic Editor - disables Gutenberg editor
  5. CMS Tree Page View - handy for sites with many pages and with complex nesting
  6. External Media Upload - grabs media from any external URL and saves the file to the server and creates a media content type entry
  7. Groups - classify users into groups and manage access to content based on membership. (Docs)
  8. reSmush.it Image Optimizer
  9. Timber - essential for templating
  10. Wordfence Security - required by JHU. Comprehensive security options with Web Application Firewall
  11. WP Updates Notifier - emails notifications to a target address when updates are available; used to create automations for Trello
  12. WP Upload Restriction - provides granular control of file types to be allowed or disallowed during upload; can be modified based on user role; allows for uploading of custom extensions
  1. FacetWP - AJAX-based filtering plugin; great alternative to writing Vue apps from scratch.
  2. Gravity Forms - form builder with many features. We have a legacy developer license which allows for many installations, but must be renewed annually.
  3. Oasis Workflow Pro - allows for Workflow functionality including revisions. Requires a license (deactivates without one).
  4. WP All Import Pro - great for content migration from on WP schema to another; or even Drupal
  5. WP Migrate DB Pro - used for server-to-server migrations, or server-to-file downloads; excellent for migrating with URL find-replace as this handles serialized arrays. We do not have an active license for this plugin but it remains available for use.