Updated October 2026: refreshed with my current plugin list.
Using Showit with a WordPress blog? Great choice. A blog is one of the best ways to rank for more keywords, show up in AI search and bring more traffic to your website.
Your Showit blog isn’t the same as a full WordPress website, though, so it needs a different (and much shorter) list of plugins. After 9+ years doing SEO for creatives, my rule is simple: the fewer plugins, the better. These are the only plugins I use and recommend for a Showit blog, and why.
1. Rank Math SEO
Every blog needs one SEO plugin to control your SEO titles, meta descriptions, focus keywords and schema. My favourite is Rank Math, because you get so much more in the free version. That includes schema for blog posts, recipes and how-to guides, redirects, and a built-in focus keyword checker.
Important: use Rank Math or Yoast, never both. Two SEO plugins will fight over your titles, meta descriptions and schema.
2. Smush (image compression)
Showit’s new Publish Engine automatically converts the images in your Showit design to WebP, which is a huge win for speed. That doesn’t apply to your WordPress blog, so the images you upload into blog posts still need compressing.
That’s where Smush comes in. It compresses your blog images automatically, so your posts load faster without losing quality. Faster pages mean happier readers and better SEO.
Tip: for an extra boost, compress your images with a tool like TinyPNG before you upload them.
3. Wordfence (security)
If you have WordPress, you need security. Wordfence gives you a firewall that blocks malicious traffic and a malware scanner that checks your plugins and files for anything suspicious. It will also warn you if a plugin you’re using has a known vulnerability.
Turn on auto-updates: in WordPress, go to Plugins and click Enable auto-updates next to Wordfence, so you’re always running the latest protection.
4. WP Armour – Honeypot Anti Spam
Comment spam is never-ending, even if you don’t use your comment section! Hundreds of spam comments are annoying, and they can slow your site down. WP Armour quietly stops spam bots without annoying captchas for your real readers.
5. LiteSpeed Cache (speed)
LiteSpeed Cache helps your blog pages load faster. Speed matters for your readers, for Google, and for keeping people on your site long enough to book you.
6. SimpleTOC (table of contents)
A table of contents at the top of your blog posts helps both people and bots find what they need. Readers can jump straight to the section they care about. Search engines and AI tools like ChatGPT can understand how your post is structured, making it easier for them to pull out answers. SimpleTOC is lightweight and builds the table of contents from your headings automatically.
7. Showit Core
Showit Core comes with every Showit blog. It’s what connects your WordPress blog to your Showit design, so leave it switched on!
8. Fasta Blogging
This one is my own. Fasta Blogging fills in your Rank Math or Yoast SEO titles, meta descriptions and focus keywords for you. It also protects your posts from duplicates and accidental overwrites.
Fasta Blogging is available now. Try Fasta Blogging at fastablogging.io.
Keep your Showit blog secure
There’s been a lot of talk about WordPress plugin security this year. In April 2026, a buyer who had purchased more than 30 plugins activated a hidden backdoor in them, and WordPress.org permanently closed all 31 (WordPress.com, Anchor Hosting). None of the plugins above were affected, but it’s a good reminder to tidy up:
- Use fewer plugins. If you don’t need it, don’t install it.
- Update regularly. Log in to /wp-admin at least once a month and update everything. Most security fixes arrive as updates.
- Delete what you don’t use. A deactivated plugin is still code on your site, so delete it completely.
- Stick to reputable plugins. Look for lots of active installs, recent updates and good reviews.
- Back up. Download your own backup before making big changes.
What Showit handles for you: Showit’s managed hosting automatically updates WordPress core, PHP and MySQL. It also includes firewall protection and 30 days of daily backups, and Showit will help clean up a hacked blog at no charge. On the Basic Starter Blog, Showit maintains your plugin updates too. On the Advanced Blog, plugin updates are up to you (Showit Help Center).
How to install plugins on your Showit blog
You can only install your own plugins with the Showit Advanced Blog plan. Basic Starter Blogs can only activate Showit’s pre-installed plugins (Showit Help Center).
- Log in to WordPress by typing your website followed by /wp-admin (for example, www.yourwebsite.com/wp-admin).
- Go to Plugins > Add New Plugin.
- Search for the plugin by name, then click Install Now and Activate.
- Click Enable auto-updates next to it on your Plugins page.
Want a second pair of eyes on your Showit SEO? Get in touch and let’s chat.
