Alternatives To 3 Popular Plugins

Jan 30, 2013

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There’s some very popular plugins that get mentioned a lot on blogs about WordPress.

Are they really as good as many people say they are?

Let me know what you really think about any of these plugins in the comments.

Lets check out some of the most popular plugins and:

why they’re over promoted
why you don’t really need them
other alternatives that are just as good if not better.

We’ll also look at 3 alternative solutions that help solve real problems i see posted everyday on the most popular forums for WordPress users.

WordPress SEO by Yoast

Why do you need to setup this plugin if you’re using a theme framework which already includes built in SEO features?

If you think you’re going to suddenly get an increase in traffic after installing this plugin, you maybe disappointed. My traffic actually went up after i deleted the plugin and transferred the WordPress SEO by Yoast settings to the Genesis themes SEO settings.

Sitemaps are an important part of SEO, but not if they cause you more problems than they are worth which has been well documented in respect of this plugin.

W3 Total Cache

Another popular plugin promoted on many blogs about WordPress. But why?

Might have something to do with the fact the plugin integrates with CDN providers who offer affiliate programs. Two of the biggest affiliates are also 2 of the biggest promoters! uhmmmm.

Why use W3 Total Cache and pay for a CDN service when you can ‘forget about it’ and choose the fastest WordPress only hosting provider? Includes fully managed caching, host your site on servers in the U.S, Europe and Asia as well as a managed CDN.

Backupbuddy

Migrating WordPress to a new server, host or domain, generally isn’t a pleasant experience for beginners. Backupbuddy is supposed to make the move smoother, take away most of the technical challenges and save you time.

There’s a better way to migrate WordPress in my opinion which is not only faster, it always works and is totally free.

All the extra fluff they’ve added to Backupbuddy, in many cases, has actually made life harder for the users of this plugin and slowed down the migration process.

Agree or Disagree?

Use any of these popular plugins?

Tried the alternatives?

Comments

11 responses to “Alternatives To 3 Popular Plugins”

Eamon Moriarty

June 12, 2013

But in another section of your site you describe WordPress SEO

“The most complete and comprehensive Seo plugin for WordPress.”
and list it as one of the plugins you install regularly.

I have been using it on lots of sites (probably because of the good reviews it gets) but I haven’t testes whether it is more or less effective than other plugins.

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1. Brad Dalton
  
  June 12, 2013
  
  Yes on default themes like Twenty 10, 11, 12 and thirteen which don’t offer the built in SEO features which Genesis does, you need a SEO plugin.
  
  However, i doubt any SEO plugin makes much difference anymore.
  
  Its more about the usefulness and relevance of the content, the domain authority of the site publishing the content as well as the diversity and authority of the sites linking to the content.
  
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Mel

April 16, 2013

I should have taken a better look at the SEO settings in Genesis before I added the Yoast plugin. First time using Genesis so normally that is my go to plugin. Thanks for the advice.

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1. Brad Dalton
  
  April 16, 2013
  
  Hi Mel. Yep, you don’t need any SEO plugins with Genesis unless its a sitemap plugin which you shouldn’t need if you have linked internally properly
  
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Emily

January 31, 2013

Wow! You’ve got cajones to take on these plugins. 😉
Honestly, I haven’t looked closely at your alternatives yet. I guess it’s possible I’ve fallen into complacency by just automatically going with these well known and top-rated options. Thanks for providing me with some alternatives to investigate.
Stick it to the man!

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1. Brad Dalton
  
  January 31, 2013
  
  I tell No lies Emily. My posts are based on my real life experiences using WordPress 15-16 hours a day 7 days a week. I work on several of the biggest forums every day helping people so i know what the REAL problems are and i know these plugins like the back of my hand as well because i have used them on my own sites and on client sites.
  
  There’s a lot of internet marketers beating up these brands for a reason. $$$$$$$
  
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Jen

January 31, 2013

I use straight Genesis SEO for myself and clients, I use Super Cache as advised by HG since I was taken down due to “unusually high server volume” and I don’t know enough about caching then to do what I’m told 🙂
WP-DB, as a default, but when I do major WP roll out for myself or clients I run a full cpanel back up since anytime anything has gone wrong HG want that to do a full restore – so I tend to find back up plugins more of a security blanket rather then useful.

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1. Brad Dalton
  
  January 31, 2013
  
  WP Super Cache is a good caching plugin in my opinion. Anyone using shared hosting will probably need caching as well because of the slow loading times.
  
  Personally, i take backup using different methods. Sometimes i use FTP and other times i use the Export tool or phpMyAdmin.
  
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abo-bs

January 31, 2013

Agree 100%

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Arlen

January 30, 2013

What are the alternatives? You don’t even mention them in the article????

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1. Brad Dalton
  
  January 30, 2013
  
  Hi Arlen. Firstly, Some friendly advice. You’re using the official WordPress logo as your own Gravatar which is a breach of copyright. Read what the WordPress foundation has to say about this:http://wordpressfoundation.org/trademark-policy/
  
  I mentioned the default theme SEO settings like what Genesis offers is a better alternative to WordPress SEO by Yoast plugin in my opinion.
  
  Secondly, i mentioned managed hosting like which WPEngine offers includes a CDN service and managed caching that you’ll struggle to beat with W3 Total Cache.
  
  Finally, i linked to the WP Migrate DB plugin which i believe is a better option than Backupbuddy for migrations even though BB isn’t a bad plugin.
  
  What is your opinion on these 3 plugins and do you have any experience with the alternatives i mentioned?
  
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