With over 55,076 plugins (and counting) to choose from, the possibilities for expanding on your WordPress website experience are endless. Not all businesses require the same tools, however, so we have put together a list of some of the best WordPress plugins for travel websites in particular.
Best WordPress Plugins for Travel Websites
Plugins for Site Optimization
1. Yoast SEO
Yoast is one of the most widely downloaded WordPress plugins for travel websites, or indeed any online business or blog. It provides a solid toolset which can be used to optimize content and website SEO to ensure that both visitors and search engines love your site.
The free version provides ample insights into keyword optimization, meta descriptions, page previews, XML sitemaps, etc. On the premium version, which is $89, you get access to extra features such an automatic URL redirect manager and internal linking suggestions among others.
2. Google Analytics by MonsterInsights
MonsterInsights will track site users online journey, highlight pages which see the most and least traffic, as well as provide reports which make sense of the analytics. These can be used to refine your marketing efforts and take actions to improve website usability and design where needed.
The plugin connects your site to Google Analytics so that you can make data-driven decisions for your travel business. There is a free version which offers basic insights, and three paid package options ranging from $99.50 to $399.50 suited to different business types.
3. WordPress Editorial Calendar
The free Editorial Calendar plugin is a handy tool to help you plan and schedule your blog posts. Very simply, it gives you a better overview of your blog in general.
Using a block calendar view, you can see day by day, which posts have been published, which are scheduled to publish and when, as well as dates with nothing scheduled. You can drag and drop posts across dates, manage drafts, as well as perform quick edits.
Plugins That Add Functionality To Your Site
4. Social Sharing and Follow Icon Widget
Your social media plays a key role in marketing your travel products. Downloading the AddToAny plugin will allow you to easily embed both your sharing and follow icons of choice onto your WordPress website.
This plugin is easy to use and install, you can customize the placement and appearance of your social buttons, and it is free.
5. Booking and Payment Widget
Being able to take bookings, create beautiful (and customized) booking pages, accept payments, prepare itineraries, manage information, etc is vital for any travel website.
Although not a plugin, the WeTravel widget can be easily embedded onto your WordPress website to give your tours a Book Now Button, show real-time availability, and even provide an overview of the trips you are hosting. Fees are just 1% of the value of your booked trip.
6. WP Forms
Every travel website requires forms – examples of those used by travel organizers are quote request forms, contact forms, registration forms, feedback forms, etc. WP Forms Lite provides a free and simple, drag and drop solution for companies wanting to put together custom forms for their site.
7. Tidio Live Chat
To provide live chat support to clients currently on your travel website, try out Tidio’s free plugin.
You can integrate the tool with both email and messenger, allowing your clients to contact you using their, and your, preferred method of communication. Furthermore, chatbots can answer simple questions, or ask your clients to fill out a support form if you are offline and not able to attend to their inquiry right away.
8. GTranslate
If you are booking international clients, you might want to add multilingual functionality to your site so that people can access it in the language they choose. GTranslate is one of the WordPress plugins for travel websites that does this.
On both the free and paid versions you get access to 103 languages. Paid packages ranging from $5.99 to $34.99 a month, give you added translation and google indexing capabilities.
Plugins Which Improve Website Design
9. Page Builder/Editor
If your site has WordPress version 5.0 or up, it will have access to the Gutenberg page editor. This comes built into the platform, and functions as a basic drop and drag page editor and builder.
As WordPress’s choice tool, its functionality and features are expected to improve quickly. If you don’t require complex template designs for your webpages, this is a free, and soon to be powerful, option.
If you need a more advanced page builder for the time being though, Beaver Builder is a great choice for travel websites. A free, lite version will give you access to limited features, and if you want better support and choice, packages range from $99 up to $399.
10. Modula Image Gallery
Modula Image Gallery Lite is a free image organizer that can easily turn your website image gallery into an eye-catching display designed to wow your clients. Instead of sticking to the standard static line format, you can add things like hover effects, lightbox styles, image filtering, and captions to your photos with this plugin.
Plugins For Security
11. Wordfence Security
To protect your website from online threats, one of the best WordPress plugins for travel websites to use is Wordfence Security. The free plugin provides a firewall and malware scanner, as well as two-factor authentification functionality, along with various other security and monitoring tools.
A paid version ($99) adds on features such as country blocking, real-time IP blacklisting, and malware signature updates.
12. Akismet Anti-Spam
This plugin prevents malicious content from being published on your website, as well as checks form submissions to prevent you from being inundated by spam.
Akismet offers a free version for personal blog sites, and businesses can get it for $5 or $50 per month, depending on the number of sites they want to protect.
Final Thoughts
Be sure to check the compatibility of the various WordPress plugins for travel websites with the theme you have before downloading anything. General tools should fare well with most, however, some of the more specific travel plugins will have more limited compatibility.
If you don't run a WordPress website, or if you are looking for online tools rather than plugins, our post on the best online business management tools for tour operators could provide some helpful insights.
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