New Additions to my Plugin list for WordPress in 2026

As we move deeper into 2026, the WordPress ecosystem continues to evolve with increasingly sophisticated tools that make theme development more efficient and powerful. While stalwarts like Advanced Custom Fields Pro (ACF) remain essential (down with Secure Custom Fields) , the landscape has expanded with complementary plugins that extend core functionality and streamline workflows. This year, I’ve added a few plugins to my essential list that I feel merit putting on the record.

Admin Site Enhancements (ASE)

ASE is a great one stop shop for some behind the scenes cleanups and configs. Normally I don’t like these all in one solutions, like Yoast and Jetpack. They’re bloated, slow, and they have huge annoying banners. But ASE seems to be aimed at the developers first, and cuts straight to the chase, no hand holding. I find myself using it most often for infinite-scrolling the Media Library, duplicating posts, disabling author archives and REST API points (for security). While yes, i could install 5 plugins or simply code a few into a theme, it’s nice to have a 1 plugin that does this without creating large overhead.

ACF Extended

This powerhouse plugin takes ACF to another level entirely. ACFE adds dynamic forms, enhanced field settings, advanced hooks, and developer-friendly features like JSON auto-sync improvements. These days I’m usually building a site with Log1x/ACF-Composer, but If I’m not building a Block theme, and leveraging the Flexible Content field a lot, this plugin makes the UI a lot more manageable.

Instant Images

A simple plugin for adding decent stock photography right from the media library. I mainly use it for importing some placeholders to style the theme around. No long explanation needed, its simple and user friendly.