If you’re running the Genesis Framework from StudioPress on your WordPress website, and you really should be, there are some awesome plugins you can install to enhance the functionality of your site. We’ve tested almost all the popular Genesis plugins out there and based on our experience we’ve put together a short list of what we consider to be the best Genesis plugins.
Genesis Simple Sidebars
The Genesis Simple Sidebars plugin is essential for anyone who wants to control the content of their website or blog. It allows you to conditionally place different content in the sidebar areas of your site without writing any code. Need to display different widgets on a particular post or page? Just create a new simple sidebar and choose it from a drop-down menu. Simple!
Genesis Featured Widget Amplified
The Genesis Featured Widget Amplified is a really killer plugin by Nick the Geek. It replaces the default Featured Widget included in the Genesis framework and adds the ability to display custom post types and custom taxonomies. It also lets you exclude items by Term ID and supports pagination, plus a number of other useful options. To truly appreciate how much ass this plugin kicks, you’ll need to install and use it yourself.
Genesis Title Toggle
Crafting an awesome headline for your posts and pages is extremely important. Unfortunately, sometimes using the Page title input for your awesome title can make managing your content difficult. Using the Genesis Title Toggle plugin lets you stop the title from being displayed so you can name your page whatever you want and still have a custom, high-impact title.
Genesis Simple Hooks
One of the best things about Genesis is the ability to use hooks and filters to quickly and easily modify content throughout your website. Genesis Simple Hooks makes this process even easier by letting you add html and php code directly in the WordPress admin panel. We typically don’t use this plugin and opt for adding things manually, but if you’re less familiar with code or just prefer to work directly in the Admin panel, this will definitely help you you.
Genesis Visual Hook Guide
The Genesis Visual Hook Guide is a great companion for the Simple Hooks plugin. It adds a drop-down menu to visually display the various hooks available in Genesis. Being able to inspect the hook areas visually can make the process of adding and removing content from your site significantly easier.
Genesis Simple Menus
The Genesis Simple Menus plugin allows you to select different secondary menus for specific pages and posts on your website. Sometimes you may need to add additional menu items in a particular area of your site that aren’t relevant to any other areas. With this plugin you can easily do this without coding anything!
Column Shortcodes for Genesis Themes
Column Classes are another great feature of Genesis. They allow you to quickly split up your content into responsive column blocks and keep everything very organized. The Column Shortcodes for Genesis Themes plugin adds some easy-to-remember column shortcodes for you to use when writing your posts and pages. Now you don’t have to remember any HTML or CSS!
Genesis Grid
The Genesis Grid plugin by Bill Erickson allows you to easily display all of your posts using the built-in Genesis Grid function. It also allows you to control featured image sizes and a number of other options. There are also some advanced options for developers to hook into for displaying things more granularly.
Genesis Printstyle Plus
Want to make sure your content is readable when printed? Just install the Genesis Printstyle Plus plugin and call it a day. You can even add custom print styles by adding a CSS file to your child theme’s root directory. Make sure you read the plugin documentation for more info.
Genesis Connect for WooCommerce
WooCommerce is a powerful e-commerce plugin for WordPress created by WooThemes. If you’re selling products on your WordPress website you should consider using WooCommerce. The Genesis Connect for WooCommerce plugin adds some essential functions to Genesis so that there are no issues when displaying WooCommerce store, product, and account pages.
Well, that’s our list of the best Genesis plugins! What do you think? Did we miss a super-awesome plugin that you use on every site you’ve ever created? Do you hate one of the Genesis plugins we listed? Let us know in the comments!