Essential WordPress Plugins

1. **Yoast SEO** or **All in One SEO Pack**: Helps optimize your site for search engines with features like meta tags, sitemaps, and content analysis.

2. **Wordfence Security** or **iThemes Security**: Provides security features to protect your site from hacks and malware.

3. **Akismet Anti-Spam**: Automatically filters out spam comments on your blog.

4. **WooCommerce**: If you're setting up an e-commerce site, this is the most popular plugin for adding online store functionality.

5. **Elementor** or **Beaver Builder**: For those who want to create custom layouts and designs without coding.

6. **UpdraftPlus**: A reliable backup solution that allows you to schedule backups and restore your site easily.

7. **WP Super Cache** or **W3 Total Cache**: Improves your site’s performance by caching pages, which speeds up loading times.

8. **Contact Form 7** or **WPForms**: Helps you create contact forms for your site.

9. **MonsterInsights**: Connects your site with Google Analytics to track visitor behavior and site performance.

10. **Smush**: Optimizes images to improve site performance and loading speed.

11. **Redirection**: Manages 301 redirects and tracks 404 errors, helping maintain SEO integrity.

12. **Custom Post Type UI**: Useful for creating custom post types and taxonomies.

These plugins cover a broad range of functionalities, but you should always assess your specific needs and avoid installing unnecessary plugins, as they can affect your site's performance.

1. **Install the Yoast SEO Plugin**:
You can install Yoast SEO using Composer since Bedrock uses it for dependency management. Run the following command in your project root:

composer require yoast/wpseo

2. **Activate the Plugin**:
After installing, you need to activate the plugin. You can do this either through the WordPress admin dashboard or by adding the following line to your `wp-config.php` file:

define('WP_ENV', 'production'); // Change this to your environment if necessary

Then, go to the WordPress admin dashboard, navigate to **Plugins**, and find Yoast SEO to activate it.

3. **Configure Yoast SEO**:
Once activated, you can find Yoast SEO in your WordPress admin menu. Click on it to access the configuration wizard. Follow the prompts to set up your SEO preferences.

4. **Set Up Basic Settings**:
In the Yoast SEO dashboard, you can adjust various settings, such as:

– **General Settings**: Control the SEO title and meta descriptions.
– **Search Appearance**: Set how your content appears in search results.
– **Social Settings**: Link your social media accounts.
– **Advanced Settings**: Adjust schema settings and breadcrumbs.

5. **Optimize Your Content**:
When editing posts or pages, you’ll see Yoast SEO's meta box below the content editor. Use the provided insights to optimize your content for better SEO performance.

6. **Regular Updates**:
Ensure that you keep the Yoast SEO plugin updated for the latest features and security improvements. You can set it to update automatically through your WordPress dashboard or manually via Composer.

By following these steps, you’ll have Yoast SEO installed and configured in your Bedrock-based WordPress site, allowing you to enhance your SEO efforts effectively.