Useful WordPress plugins for testing and maintenance

WordPress has a plugin for almost everything. That is useful, but it also makes it tempting to install a long list before deciding what the site actually needs.

This is a selection of plugins that covered common maintenance and testing jobs in 2018, when WordPress powered about 30% of websites according to W3Techs. Plugin features, prices, and availability change, so check each listing before installing it today.

I would not install every plugin below on one site. Pick the ones that solve a real problem, and remember that every active plugin adds code you need to update and trust.

Backups before clever features

UpdraftPlus backs up a WordPress site and can restore it from cloud storage. Its free destinations included Dropbox, Google Drive, Amazon S3, UpdraftVault, Rackspace Cloud, FTP, DreamObjects, OpenStack Swift, and email. Premium destinations included OneDrive, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Storage, Backblaze B2, SFTP, SCP, and WebDAV.

A backup only counts if you can restore it. Set a schedule, keep copies away from the web server, and test the restore process before an emergency gives you the opportunity.

SEO and comment spam

Yoast SEO provides controls for canonical URLs, SEO metadata, content analysis, and bulk editing. Its premium plan adds more features.

The plugin can make technical SEO settings easier to manage, but it cannot make weak content useful. Treat its writing checks as suggestions, not traffic lights that must all turn green.

Akismet Anti-Spam checks comments for likely spam and can discard the worst entries automatically. It requires an Akismet API key, which was free for personal blogs but required payment for commercial use.

Caching and database cleanup

LiteSpeed Cache combines general optimisation features with server-level caching. The general features work on different web servers, while the exclusive cache features require OpenLiteSpeed, LiteSpeed hosting, or another LiteSpeed product.

That distinction matters. Installing a cache plugin does not guarantee that every advertised feature works with your host.

WP-Optimize cleans stale and unnecessary data from the WordPress database. It can remove items such as spam, trash, and old revisions, and it integrates with UpdraftPlus so a backup can run before optimisation.

Database cleanup can save space, but take the backup seriously. Deleting data is one of those jobs that feels routine until it is not.

Test changes away from production

WP Staging creates a clone of a site’s files and database for testing. The staging copy is restricted to administrators, and an admin-bar indicator helps distinguish it from production.

This is one of the more useful habits on the list. Test plugin updates, theme changes, and migrations on the clone before applying them to the public site.

WordPress Beta Tester moves a site onto a WordPress beta or release-candidate channel. Use it on a test site, not on the production site, and make a backup first. A beta tester on production is less a testing strategy and more a way to make the afternoon interesting.

Cross-browser screenshots

LambdaTest Screenshots generated screenshots across more than 2,000 combinations of mobile and desktop browsers and versions. A single test could include 25 browsers, covering options such as Chrome, Firefox, Opera, Internet Explorer, and Safari.

The free plan offered ten screenshot sessions per month, while the paid plans allowed unlimited screenshots. Their article on cross-browser testing explains the wider process.

Screenshots are useful for spotting layout differences. They do not replace interaction testing, especially for forms, menus, keyboard use, and JavaScript-heavy features.

A/B testing

A/B testing compares two versions of a page using visitor behaviour. The difficult part is not creating variant B; it is deciding what to measure and collecting enough data to trust the result.

Nelio A/B Testing manages experiments and tracking inside WordPress, including WooCommerce sites. It offered a trial followed by a paid subscription.

Simple Page Tester was the lighter option for a straightforward comparison between two page variants. Its premium version added detailed statistics and conversion tracking.

Accessibility checks

Access Monitor used the Tenon.io service to run automated accessibility tests on a weekly or monthly schedule. It reported problems and grouped repeated issues.

WP Accessibility addressed several common WordPress accessibility problems, including missing form labels and unhelpful title attributes in archive menus and page lists.

Automated tools are useful for finding certain errors, but they cannot tell you whether the entire site is usable. Keyboard testing and checks with assistive technology still matter. This article on cross-browser accessibility provides more background.

Social Media Share Buttons & Social Sharing Icons added sharing links for more than 200 services, including Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Google+, Instagram, and YouTube. Its premium version offered more services, designs, themes, and support.

Super Socializer combined social login, sharing, and comments. It supported BuddyPress, WooCommerce, and bbPress, with customisable icons and AMP-compatible output.

Be selective here. Social plugins often add third-party requests and JavaScript to every page, so compare the convenience with the performance and privacy cost.

Security checks

Vulnerability Alerts performed daily scans against the WPScan Vulnerability Database and sent an email when it found a known issue.

Stop User Enumeration tried to prevent attackers from discovering WordPress usernames before attempting password attacks.

Neither replaces the basics: update WordPress and its plugins, remove software you no longer use, choose strong credentials, limit access, and keep restorable backups.

The shortest useful plugin list is the one your site actually needs. Start with backups and safe updates, then add caching, testing, SEO, or social features only when they solve a specific problem. Fewer plugins also means fewer things to maintain, which is not the most exciting benefit—but it is probably the one you will notice later.