I use self-hosted WordPress for all my websites, and I love the added functionality that comes from Plugins! Since today is “Thank a Plugin Developer Day” I thought I would highlight a few of my favorite Plugins:
Ninja Forms
Simple Custom Forms

I use Ninja Forms from The WP Ninjas for all my forms across all my sites. It’s easy to use, does everything I need, and has a nice clean look. I use the free version, but if I needed the additional functions I would pay for it in a heartbeat.
Ultimate Addons for Gutenberg
Cool extra blocks for the WP5 editor

I love the Gutenberg Editor in WordPress 5, and Ultimate Addons for Gutenberg is a free plugin from Brainstorm Force (who also makes my favorite theme, Astra) adds some really cool and useful options. I use them for the advanced headers in this post, for columns with more functions than the native WP ones, and for Info Blocks
Elementor
Page Builder

When I really want to amp things up, I use Elementor. It has it’s own set of advanced blocks, but where Elementor really shines is in their templates that are easy to customize and look great! So far I am using the free version, but I have budgeted to upgrade to Pro later this year.
Child Theme Generator
Helps maintain customization with theme upgrades

If you do a lot of tweaking and customizing to your theme, you might have suffered the pull-your-hair-out frustration of losing all those customization in a theme update. Child themes are the solution you need! Child Theme Generator is a free plugin from Serafino Corriero is a quick and simple way to create and save a Child theme so that never happens to you.
To all the hard working developers who have made my life easier and my web site better, THANK YOU!