15 free plugins to clean, secure and optimize your WordPress

WordPress is the most-used platform in the world and ships several kilos of unnecessary baggage: emojis, XML-RPC, oEmbed, jQuery Migrate, RSS, exposed REST API. There are dozens of plugins that promise to clean, secure and optimize it. Most are freemium with aggressive upsells. aGo built 15 pure GPL plugins, free with no catch, translated into English, Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese. This is the catalog.

What each one does

Utility

aGo Setup: post-install wizard. Removes sample content, sets SEO permalinks, disables comments and self-deactivates when done. Zero footprint.

Performance

aGo Cleanup: 13 toggles to strip bloat (emojis, XML-RPC, oEmbed, jQuery Migrate, RSS, REST links from head). Reduces 60-80 KB per page.
aGo Disable: 12 toggles to disable WP features you do not use. Heartbeat control included.

Security

aGo Harden: 11 hardening modules with visual 0-100 score. Custom login URL, limit login attempts, security headers, block PHP in uploads.

Email

aGo SMTP: reliable SMTP with 8 presets (Gmail, Outlook, SendGrid, Mailgun, SES, Acumbamail, etc.). AES-256 password. Log of last 50 emails. DNS health check.

Forms

aGo Contact: simple form with honeypot + math captcha + Cloudflare Turnstile. Submissions panel, CSV export. It is not a form builder, it is a form that works.

Media

aGo Media: automatic WebP on upload, resize to max dimension, EXIF stripping, bulk optimizer. No external cloud, no sending your images to an API.
aGo Files: virtual folders in Media Library via taxonomy. Drag and drop, context menu. Files are not physically moved.

Maintenance

aGo Maintenance: maintenance mode with SEO-friendly HTTP 503. Custom message editor, IP whitelist, countdown.

Branding

aGo Admin: full wp-admin white-label. Custom login, dashboard widget, footer, hide WP branding, role-based post-login redirect.

Monitoring

aGo Monitor: site health on a dashboard. SSL expiration, disk, DB size, cron health, autoload audit, 404 logger with URLs.

Migration

aGo Migrator: serialization-safe search and replace to move WP across local, staging and production without breaking serialized data.

Accessibility

aGo Access: 11 WCAG 2.2 accessibility tools + 7 automatic HTML fixes. Contrast modes, dyslexia, text-to-speech via Web Speech API. No invasive overlay, no paid SaaS.

AI (free)

aGo AI Lite: AI chat widget with Gemini and RAG over 1 file. No signup, no tracking.

Compliance (free)

aGo Legal Lite: cookie banner + auto-generated basic privacy policy + SHA-256 consent log. GDPR mode.

Why pure GPL and not freemium

Most “free” plugins on WordPress.org show prompts every two clicks pushing you to the Pro version. Aggressive model. aGo charges only when there is additional real value (aGo AI Pro USD 29.9 lifetime, aGo Legal Pro from USD 9.9). The 13 utilities stay in their complete free version forever.

How to install all at once

Quick way:

Download the .zip files from wordpress.ago.cl or WP.org.
WordPress → Plugins → Add new → Upload plugin → one by one.
Activate.

WP-CLI way (for devs):

wp plugin install ago-setup ago-cleanup ago-harden ago-smtp ago-contact \
  ago-media ago-files ago-maintenance ago-admin ago-monitor ago-migrator \
  ago-access ago-ai ago-legal ago-disable --activate

Compatibility

WordPress 6.0+
PHP 8.1+
Multilingual: EN, ES, PT-BR (.l10n.php WP 6.5+ or .po/.mo)
WooCommerce friendly
Multisite friendly

Frequently asked questions

Is there a catch?

No. They are pure GPL. aGo’s revenue comes from the 2 Pro plugins and custom services, not from friction on the free ones.

How is development sustained?

By the Pro products (aGo AI Pro, aGo Legal Pro) and services. The free plugins amplify brand reach.

Is there automatic multilingual?

Yes, the 15 plugins are translated to EN + ES + PT-BR out of the box. WordPress loads the language according to WPLANG.

Multisite compatible?

Yes. Each plugin manages its settings at site level where applicable.

Conclusion

15 GPL plugins covering 90% of the operational needs of a real WordPress, free and without telemetry. Full catalog at wordpress.ago.cl/en/. If you need something specific that is not there, let’s talk and we evaluate it.