Must-Have Magento 2 Extensions to Build Your New eCommerce Store

The Magento platform offers merchants many tools for eCommerce development. As of 2024, hundreds of thousands of active websites use Magento. Many of those websites also use different modules that add new features. A basic toolkit can be enough for small-scale shops, but extensions are a must if you want to elevate your store. So, let's dive in and discuss all the necessary extensions for any new Magento shop.

Table of Contents

• Why do you need Magento 2 extensions?
• What are the top must-have Magento 2 extensions?
• Extensions for GDPR compliance
• Blogging extensions
• Speed Optimizer extensions
• Extensions for feed creation
• SEO improving extensions
• Summary

Why do you need Magento 2 extensions?

First, let's explore why extensions are so important. Basic Magento 2 provides a catalog, checkout, and a search. What else does the shop need? Well, many things. Some are purely optional, like related products. Any store will benefit from them, but an average one will not sink without them. However, others can be a hard requirement. For example, without a GDPR module, you can't legally collect user data in the EU.

Simply speaking, Magento 2 modules can give any store hree following benefits:

• Adding new features. Basic Magento 2 websites lack many useful features out of the box. For example, standard functionality doesn't include blogs, product kits, or a reward system. You need either a developer or a Magento module if you want them.
• Enhancing existing tools. Some standard tools could be improved. The search bar can't correct spelling errors, sorting lacks context, etc. Extensions improve these tools, making them more useful and reliable.
• Improving efficiency. SEO and page loading speed are still responsible for a hefty chunk of the shop's success. Some modules are created to speed up loadings and searches, correct SEO, and improve the store's performance in other important ways.

What are the top must-have Magento 2 extensions?

As stated before, certain extensions can benefit any store but are not necessary for all businesses. However, there are a few must-have extensions for any merchant. Most are important because they boost commerce as no ad or sale can. Others, though, are required to conduct business properly.

Five modules are must-haves for any store. Magento GDPR allows you to manage customers' privacy. The blog is necessary for content advertisement. Speed Optimizer helps with page loading. Product feeds allow you to expand your e-commerce to other sales channels. And without SEO, you won't get high in Google search results. Let's discuss all of these Magento 2 extensions in detail.

🔸 Extensions for GDPR compliance

The modern Internet protects customers' privacy through GDPR and CCPA law. These laws state that you must ask customers' permission to process personal data. You can't legally process customers' data without compliance with these laws. And without data processing, your business cannot operate in the EU and California.

Losing the entirety of the EU and California markets severely limits a business's ability to grow. GDPR modules help with that. They provide all the instruments to manage personal data lawfully. Moreover, by protecting personal information, you increase the trust and loyalty of your audience, showing them care and reliability.

GDPR Extension from Mirasvit

Mirasvit's Magento GDPR extension makes your shop GDPR- and CCPA-compliant. It allows you to create a cookie policy and consent popups. Customers can update, copy, or delete their data with it. Our module also supports Google Consent Mode v2, which is necessary to use certain GA4 and Google Ads features. The module encompasses all you need for GDPR compliance to sell in the EU sector.

Notable alternatives

• Amasty's GDPR Pro for Magento 2.
• GDPR from Mageplaza.
• GDPR for Magento 2 by Aheadworks.

🔸 Blogging extensions

More than 90% of businesses have blogs nowadays. The reason is simple – according to a HubSpot study, stores with blogs gain a 126% monthly lead rise compared to businesses without them. Posts act as advertisements, attracting new traffic not with goods but with content. Some people will stumble across your posts, read them, and then go through your shop, which they might not have considered before. So, blogs are a great way to attract more natural traffic to your store.

Blog MX by Mirasvit

Our Blog MX extension offers a blog page you can fill with appealing posts crafted in a simple yet powerful builder. Your customers can comment on posts via Facebook or built-in comments. It allows you to add author pages, advertise products through the widgets in text, and supports multi-store and multi-language blogs.

The extension also helps you optimize your posts for SEO. It will show you potential errors and automatically build SEO-friendly URLs. Sitemaps are also automatically built to inform Google about your new posts. With these tools, you can effectively advertise your store through content.

Notable alternatives

• Amasty's Magento 2 Blog Extension.
• Magento 2 Blog Extension by Magefan.
• Blog extension for Magento 2 from Aheadworks.

🔸 Speed Optimizer extensions

Research by KissMetrics shows that 40% of customers exit if a page doesn't fully load in three seconds. This poses a problem because your theme, installed modules, inventory size, picture format, and other factors can severely impact loading speed. The situation is worse for mobile devices. Most mobile versions of websites load slower than PC ones.

Doing all optimization by hand is tedious and requires some coding knowledge. Speed Optimizer modules can do all this work for you. They will make your store load faster, thus decreasing the chances of visitors abandoning it in mere seconds.

Mirasvit's Google Page Speed Optimizer

Our Speed Optimizer extension uses many techniques to reduce loading time. It bundles JavaScript files, minifies HTML and CSS, converts images to WebP format, and more. It also provides a built-in Speed Tester tool that helps you understand your optimization progress. The average website scores around 50-60 points. After speed optimization in Magento, the score rises to 90-100 points. Practically, your pages will load twice as fast.

If you want to know more about the impact of loading speed on business, you can check out our post on the topic.

Notable alternatives

• Google Page Speed Optimizer Pro from Amasty.
• Magento 2 Page Speed Optimization by Weltpixel.
• Convert Images to WebP and Defer JavaScript from BSS Commerce.

🔸 Extensions for feed creation

The HubSpot study shows that Google Shopping has a conversion rate of 30% higher than that of a basic textual ad. And this is just one shopping channel. Most big stores connect at least several feeds, like Instagram, Amazon, and Facebook, to increase revenue.

Once you list your items on popular marketplaces and engines, you will receive traffic from those channels. Some of these potential customers might never visit your website but will gladly buy your products through Amazon. Moreover, this way, you will increase your brand recognition.

Advanced Product Feeds from Mirasvit

Our Magento Product Feed extension lets you use over 50 feed templates for an easy start. It can automatically generate feeds, deliver them, and show you performance statistics. A simple-to-use builder allows in-depth template customization. Our module lets you easily spread your commerce on other platforms and gain new customers.

Notable alternatives

• Product Feed for Magento by Mageplaza.
• Amasty's Magento 2 Product Feed.
• Product Feed Generator from MageBees.

🔸 SEO improving extensions

Search engine optimization still heavily influences website search rankings. When only 0.44% of internet users search past the first Google page, it's vital to appear as high on the list as possible. Unfortunately, quality products and content don't necessarily mean a high search position. To reach the fabled first page, you need SEO.

Keywords, spam levels, metadata, readable URLs – the requirements for good ranking complicate each year. To keep up, you either need trained professionals or SEO optimization extensions. They will help you to stay on top and always be in front of the buyers' eyes.

Advanced SEO Suite

Our Advanced SEO extension improves SEO in various ways. Starting with generating readable and optimized metadata and ending with human-friendly URLs and rich snippets, it does it all. The module also has a built-in SEO Health Checker to evaluate your store. The average store often lacks some part of optimization. For example, many stores have unreadable URLs. With the help of the Health Checker, you can locate and fix those problems.

Notable alternatives

• Magento 2 SEO Extension by BSS Commerce.
• Magefan's Magento 2 SEO Suite Ultimate.
• SEO Toolkit Pro from Amasty.

Summary

Basic Magento 2 functionality is enough to start a business. However, you can only elevate your commerce to a new level with modules and additional features. Most modules are beneficial but optional, but extensions like GDPR, Advanced SEO Suites, Product Feeds, Blog MX, and Speed Optimizers are must-haves.