Install order matters. Install all plugins before activating the Kadence theme so Kadence detects them during its setup wizard. Install in the order listed here.
Kadence Full Bundle
Paid — annual
Theme + Blocks Pro + Shop Kit + Kadence Cloud. The entire design and build environment. Annual renewal due September 8 — never let this lapse.
Note: Renew before expiry. A lapsed Kadence license disables Blocks Pro features site-wide across all active builds.
Fluent Forms
Free tier
Pro — unlimited sites
Contact and lead capture forms. Replaces WPForms. Free tier includes conditional logic, multi-step forms, file uploads, and Mailchimp integration — sufficient for all standard contact forms. Pro (~$79/year, unlimited sites) needed for advanced integrations.
Why Fluent Forms over WPForms: WPForms Lite lacks conditional logic on the free tier. Fluent Forms free covers everything needed for charleshardt.com and client contact forms without upgrading. Pro scales to unlimited client sites at lower cost than WPForms Pro.
Perfmatters
Paid
Kinsta
Pressable
Script manager and performance hardening. Disables unused scripts on a per-page basis, enables lazy loading, removes query strings from static assets, and disables WordPress features that generate unnecessary HTTP requests (embeds, emojis, dashicons on the front end).
Required on all sites. Particularly important for suppressing Fluent Forms scripts on pages that don't contain a form.
WP Rocket
Paid
Pressable only
Full-page caching, CSS/JS minification, and critical CSS generation. Used on Pressable-hosted sites only.
Do not install on Kinsta. Kinsta runs its own full-page cache at the server level. WP Rocket's caching layer conflicts with it and will cause stale-content issues. On Kinsta sites, caching is handled by the host — no plugin needed.
Jetpack Boost
Free
Pressable only
Critical CSS generation and image lazy loading on Pressable. Pressable includes this on all plans; use it when available as a complement to WP Rocket.
Do not install the full Jetpack plugin. Jetpack Boost only. Full Jetpack is bloated and conflicts with Kinsta's environment.
Wordfence Security
Free tier
Kinsta
Pressable
WordPress firewall, malware scanner, login security, and brute-force protection. The standard security plugin across all HWD client sites. Free tier is sufficient for all retainer clients. Monthly maintenance SOP dashboard checks are written around Wordfence's UI.
Why Wordfence over Solid Security: Wordfence's dedicated threat intelligence network pushes firewall rule updates faster than any alternative. Stronger security posture to communicate to medical clients ("real-time firewall rules from a dedicated WordPress security research team"). Monthly maintenance SOP is already built around Wordfence — standardising here keeps the retainer workflow consistent. Solid Security remains a documented alternative if a specific client site has a conflict.
Premium upsell for high-value medical clients: Layer Cloudflare (free tier) in front of Wordfence for DNS-level bot protection before attacks reach WordPress.
UpdraftPlus Premium
Paid
Optional on Kinsta
Automated off-site backups to Google Drive or Amazon S3. Redundant backup layer on top of hosting-native backups.
On Kinsta: Kinsta provides automatic daily backups natively. UpdraftPlus is optional but recommended for Premium retainer clients who want an independent off-site copy outside the hosting environment. Always test a restore to staging before launch regardless of which backup method is in use.
On Pressable: Pressable includes automated backups. UpdraftPlus still recommended for Premium tier clients as a redundant off-site copy.
RankMath SEO
Free tier
SEO plugin covering on-page optimisation, LocalBusiness schema, MedicalOrganization schema, breadcrumbs, redirects, 404 monitor, sitemap, and GA4 tag insertion. Free tier is sufficient for all standard client builds. RankMath's built-in GA4 Measurement ID field is the preferred tag insertion method on all sites — no additional plugin needed.
Why RankMath over AIOSEO: Richer schema types (MedicalOrganization, Physician) at free tier — directly relevant to the medical niche. LocalBusiness schema also free. AIOSEO requires a paid plan for both. RankMath Pro scales better for a multi-client operation.
Do not install Yoast. Conflicts with RankMath. Both cannot be active simultaneously.
GA4 tag insertion via RankMath
Built-in — no additional plugin
Enter the GA4 Measurement ID (G-XXXXXXXXXX) directly in RankMath → General Settings → Analytics. No additional plugin required. Zero auth dependencies — survives hosting migrations without reconnection.
Why not Google Site Kit: Site Kit requires Google account authentication inside wp-admin. If the client changes their Google password or you migrate hosting, the tag can break silently. RankMath tag insertion has no auth dependencies and is the leanest possible implementation — one fewer plugin, same result.
Custom event tracking (phone click, booking click, form submission) still requires WPCode snippets per the GA4 SOP — this is unaffected by the insertion method choice.
WPCode (formerly Insert Headers and Footers)
Free
Code snippet manager. Used for GA4 custom event tracking (phone click, booking click, form submission) and any other custom JavaScript or CSS injection. Replaces Site Kit as the tag insertion method when RankMath's built-in field is insufficient for a specific need.
Use for: Custom gtag event triggers, phone call tracking snippets, booking click tracking, any `<head>` or footer code injection. Refer to GA4 Setup SOP for exact snippet code.
Embed method, not plugin. Most booking tools are embedded via iframe or JavaScript snippet — they live outside WordPress and require no plugin installation. Simply Schedule Appointments is the only native WP plugin option. Always track booking button clicks as GA4 conversion events per the GA4 Setup SOP.
| Tool |
Best fit |
Embed method |
| Jane App |
Medical clinics, multi-practitioner practices |
iframe embed |
| Vagaro |
Med spas, aesthetics, massage therapy |
JavaScript embed |
| Acuity Scheduling |
Alternative health, solo practitioners |
iframe or official WP plugin |
| SimplePractice |
Mental health, psychiatry, counselling |
External link / button only (no embed) |
| Headway |
Mental health practices with insurance billing |
Embeddable widget |
| Simply Schedule Appointments |
Budget solo practitioners — no existing tool |
Native WP plugin (free core) |
GiveWP
Free core
Nonprofits & churches
Donation processing for nonprofits and churches. Free core plugin with Stripe payment gateway add-on. Mark the give_donation_complete event as a GA4 conversion via the GiveWP Google Analytics integration.
Note: Payment plugins are high-value attack targets. Always keep GiveWP and its Stripe gateway on the latest version. Never leave payment plugins outdated on a retainer client site.
WooCommerce + Stripe
Free core
Alt health — product sales
E-commerce for alternative health practitioners selling supplements, digital products, or physical wellness products. WooCommerce core is free; Stripe gateway plugin is free.
The Events Calendar + Stripe
Free core
Nonprofits & churches
Event listing and registration for churches and nonprofits running ticketed or RSVP events. Free core covers event display; Stripe handles paid ticket processing.
TranslatePress
Paid
Project-specific
Front-end bilingual translation layer. Currently in use on the olsmiami.org portfolio project (English/Spanish). Primary scope risk on multilingual builds — factor additional time into discovery estimates for any site requiring TranslatePress.
Solid Security
Free tier
Alternative to Wordfence
Security hardening alternative to Wordfence. Owned by StellarWP (same parent company as Kadence). Not the default — use only if a specific client site has a conflict with Wordfence, or if a client arrives with Solid Security already installed and active.
Do not install alongside Wordfence. Choose one. If inheriting a site with Solid Security, maintain it rather than migrating unless there is a specific reason to switch.
| Plugin |
Reason |
| Yoast SEO (free or premium) |
Conflicts with RankMath. Both cannot be active simultaneously. RankMath covers everything Yoast does and more at free tier for our niches. |
| WP Rocket (on Kinsta) |
Kinsta runs full-page caching at the server level. WP Rocket's cache layer conflicts and causes stale-content issues. WP Rocket is for Pressable only. |
| Jetpack (full plugin) |
Bloated. Conflicts with Kinsta's environment. On Pressable, use Jetpack Boost only — not the full Jetpack plugin. |
| Google Site Kit |
Requires Google account authentication inside wp-admin. Can break silently on hosting migrations or Google password changes. GA4 tag is handled via RankMath's built-in Measurement ID field. Custom events handled via WPCode. |
| WPForms (Lite or Pro) |
Replaced by Fluent Forms. WPForms Lite lacks conditional logic on the free tier. Fluent Forms Pro scales to unlimited client sites at lower annual cost. |
| Any additional caching plugin |
Only one caching layer is permitted per site. On Kinsta: none (server-level cache). On Pressable: WP Rocket only. Installing a second caching plugin on either host will cause conflicts. |
| Contact Form 7 |
Replaced by Fluent Forms on all greenfield builds. If inherited on an existing site, maintain it rather than migrating unnecessarily, but do not install fresh. |
Pricing calculator note: The Local SEO line item description in pricing-calculator.html references "Yoast Premium." This is incorrect. Update to "RankMath SEO configuration" on the next revision pass.