I recommend these tools because I tried them and use them for the projects I develop. It is a selection based on personal experience, so I do not pretend to make an exhaustive list. Any suggestions and recommendations to complete the list are welcome.

I always try to use free versions. However due to the limitations they usually carry, in many cases we will have to use the paid versions. There is no rule of thumb, it all depends on our needs and, of course, on our budget.

Layout and Content Editors

OceanWP

A general use theme for free, which allows adjusting any setting: colours, fonts, headers, titles, design, etc.

Easy to use and it will prevent making matters complicated by editing code.

Elementor

A free and powerful layout toolm easy to use and perfect for everyone. It will save hundreds of hours with the web design.

Compatible with most themes and plugins. Give it an opportunity and design your web site.

Thrive Architect

In my opinion, the most powerful and easiest to use layout tool. It is not free, but if you own any other Thrive plugin, it is yours already.

Compatible with most themes and plugins. Edit your website in real time.

Caldera Forms

You can create any type of forms, without worrying about their complexity, and adapt them to any screen width.

It is a free plugin containing all essential functionalities. You can complement it with addons.

CSS Plus

It allows you to write CSS code for each page or entry without affecting the rest of the content or having to modifiy the theme’s files.

It is a free and light plugin, it does not need to be configured and as of yet there has been no compatibility issues.

Duplicate Post

A free plugin to do daily tasks, not included in WordPress’ core. It can double the content in your web.

Compatible with most themes and plugins. It works with custom entries and taxonomies.

Optimization

EWWW Image Optimizer

A true free gem which will help improve the speeds of your web by optimizing images directly while you load them.

Its default configuration works wonders and all of its settings are perfectly docummented.

Cache Enabler

A free cache plugin which will improve your web’s speeds. Its results are comparable to other more sophisticated plugins.

Without a doubt it is a fully recommendable option, simple and easy to use.

Autoptimize

The perfect complement to your cache plugin. With simple settings and immediately visible results.

Without a doubt it is a fully recommendable option to improve speeds.

This compilation is not definitive, I will be adding new elements and, if necessary, switch out components for others which prove to be more adequate. I simply present tools tested by me, with recommendations and tips of use. I hope they become useful for your business.