Jonathan Huffman

Essential WordPress Plugins, and Eleventy

Posted: March 01, 2026

I've created and updated websites over the years in a few different ways: from using a WYSIWYG editor like Dreamweaver to build pages out of HTML tables, to using open-source Content Management Systems like Joomla, Drupal and WordPress, as well a couple commercial CMSs. They all come with a wide array of pros and cons.

Last year I spent a lot of time learning more about WordPress, and also a lot of time learning about a static site generator named Eleventy - two very different ways of managing web content. While Eleventy has become a favorite way to manage a simple website (my site is made with it), WordPress just offers a lot of features that a client would love. So learning more about each has been an interesting journey!

WordPress is still the king of CMSs because it comes with a massive library of plugins you can add to extend the default functionality of site. (Of course that comes with a lot of reason to be careful about which ones you might add.) But there are some I found I just couldn't do without, below is a list of a handful WordPress plugins that I find helpful!

Invaluable free plugins for WordPress:

  • Disable Comments - comments are something I don't want or need, and they can represent a security threat, so I like to use this to completely remove them.
  • Duplicator - Such a helpful plugin to help migrate a site from local to production, or between domains.
  • Limit Login Attempts - let a user prevent unauthorized logins and provides useful metrics for when unscrupulous individuals are trying to break in.
  • WPS Hide Login - lets me change the default log in URL to make it harder for people to gain access (make the login something super random)
  • Public Post Preview - This lets me send a preview link to a client that will expire at a time I designate.
  • Edit Author Slug - I like to give editors unique user names. This makes it harder for their user names to be compromised, and the Edit Author Slug plugin lets me use their real name as their author slug.

A couple paid plugins that are worth it (IMHO):

  • Spectra Pro - the free Spectra plugin has a massive amount of good block-based components, that make adding nice looking content a breeze. The pro version has a couple key features that I need when building galleries.
  • Smart Slider 3 Pro - I'm not typically a fan of banner carousels ... but there can be a time and place where they are beneficial. Example, when the site you are making really is something a user might really want to invest their time into (the inverse of what the majority of web sites are trying to accomplish which is a get-in-and-get-out-quick approach, or what I once heard Jeffrey Zeldman describe as measurable with a content performance quotient). On WordPress, the best carousel slider component I have come across is Smart Slider 3. It has kind of an unusual UI to operate on the backend, but once you make sense of it you come away impressed with the depth of customization available.

All that said, WordPress is fine, but Eleventy is my jam! I just love how simple it is to manage once you've got the template stuff all sorted out (and OK that was a little complex for me to figure out), but just using Markdown to make content really rocks! And it is So flexible! Maybe I'll write more about my experience with Eleventy later! I don't know if the name of Eleventy is a reference to Bilbo Baggins's infamous birthday, but I hope it is :)