Title: Essentials by Digital Creatings Author: Puneet Tiwari Published: February 3, 2025 Last modified: May 27, 2026 --- Search plugins ![](https://ps.w.org/essentials-by-digital-creatings/assets/banner-772x250.png?rev =3234187) ![](https://ps.w.org/essentials-by-digital-creatings/assets/icon-128x128.png?rev =3234040) # Essentials by Digital Creatings By [Puneet Tiwari](https://profiles.wordpress.org/puneetbca/) [Download](https://downloads.wordpress.org/plugin/essentials-by-digital-creatings.2.0.0.zip) * [Details](https://wordpress.org/plugins/essentials-by-digital-creatings/#description) * [Reviews](https://wordpress.org/plugins/essentials-by-digital-creatings/#reviews) * [Installation](https://wordpress.org/plugins/essentials-by-digital-creatings/#installation) * [Development](https://wordpress.org/plugins/essentials-by-digital-creatings/#developers) [Support](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/essentials-by-digital-creatings/) ## Description Essentials by Digital Creatings is a **lightweight and powerful** WordPress plugin designed to **improve security, optimize performance, and enhance email functionality**. It hides WordPress version exposure, hardens common attack surfaces, removes unnecessary bloat, and lets you **configure SMTP** and **inject custom scripts** from a single admin hub. **New in Version 2.0:** * **Modern admin UI** — Redesigned dashboard aligned with WordPress 6.x / 7.0 admin patterns * **Self-hosted assets** — No external Bootstrap CDN; faster and more privacy-friendly * **Unified navigation** — Quick access across Security, SMTP, and Custom Scripts * **Backward compatible** — All existing option keys, database tables, and front-end behavior preserved on upgrade 🔒 **Security + Optimization + Email + Custom Code** in one plugin from Digital Creatings. **Features:** 🔹 **Security Enhancements:** – Disable XML-RPC to help prevent brute force attacks– Hide WordPress version details (meta, query strings, HTTP headers) – Remove REST API links to reduce exposure – Disable RSS feeds and feed links – Block self-pingbacks and comment spam – Remove RSD (Really Simple Discovery) link – Remove shortlinks for better privacy 🚀 **Performance Optimizations:** – Disable Emojis to reduce unnecessary script loads – Remove jQuery Migrate to improve front-end speed – Disable Google Maps API if unused – Remove WordPress embeds to prevent external content embedding 📧 **SMTP Email Configuration:** – Configure SMTP settings (Host, Port, Username, Password, Encryption) – Choose SMTP or default PHP mail – Set custom “From Name” and “From Email” for outgoing emails – Send test emails directly from the admin panel 💻 **Custom Scripts:** – Add header, body, or footer snippets – Target all pages or specific post/page IDs – Stored in a dedicated database table (unchanged in 2.0) ### About Digital Creatings **Essentials by Digital Creatings** is developed and maintained by [Digital Creatings](https://www.digitalcreatings.com), a company focused on reliable WordPress solutions for businesses and agencies. Website: https://www.digitalcreatings.com Support: https://www.digitalcreatings. com/contact/ ### Support For support, please visit [Digital Creatings](https://www.digitalcreatings.com) or [contact us](https://www.digitalcreatings.com/contact/). ## Installation 1. Upload the plugin folder to your `/wp-content/plugins/` directory. 2. Activate the plugin through the **Plugins** menu in WordPress. 3. Go to **Essentials by DC** in the WordPress admin panel. 4. Configure security, SMTP email, and custom scripts as needed. ## FAQ ### Who makes this plugin? Essentials by Digital Creatings is a product of **Digital Creatings**. Visit https:// www.digitalcreatings.com for more information and support. ### Will upgrading to 2.0 reset my settings? No. Version 2.0 keeps the same WordPress options and custom scripts table. Your security toggles, SMTP credentials, and snippets remain intact after updating. ### How do I configure SMTP? Navigate to **Essentials by DC SMTP Email**, enter your SMTP details, save, then use **Send Test Email** to verify delivery. ### Will this plugin affect my site’s speed? The plugin can improve performance when optimization features are enabled (emojis, embeds, jQuery Migrate, etc.). Disabled features have no effect. ## Reviews There are no reviews for this plugin. ## Contributors & Developers “Essentials by Digital Creatings” is open source software. The following people have contributed to this plugin. Contributors * [ Puneet Tiwari ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/puneetbca/) [Translate “Essentials by Digital Creatings” into your language.](https://translate.wordpress.org/projects/wp-plugins/essentials-by-digital-creatings) ### Interested in development? [Browse the code](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/essentials-by-digital-creatings/), check out the [SVN repository](https://plugins.svn.wordpress.org/essentials-by-digital-creatings/), or subscribe to the [development log](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/log/essentials-by-digital-creatings/) by [RSS](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/log/essentials-by-digital-creatings/?limit=100&mode=stop_on_copy&format=rss). ## Changelog #### 2.0.0 * **New:** Modern admin UI compatible with WordPress 7.0 * **New:** Self-hosted admin CSS/JS (removed external Bootstrap CDN dependency) * **New:** Unified navigation and card-based settings layout * **Improved:** Dashboard welcome screen with feature overview * **Improved:** SMTP and Custom Scripts admin experience * **Maintained:** All existing option names, hooks, and front-end behavior for sites already using the plugin #### 1.4.3 * Tested compatibility with WordPress 7.0 * Updated minimum PHP requirement to 7.4 (aligned with WordPress 7.0) * Improved admin asset loading on all plugin settings screens #### 1.3 * **Added:** SMTP Email Configuration (SMTP settings for outgoing emails) * **Added:** Test Email Functionality (Send test emails from the admin panel) * **Added:** Login Security (Customize login URL) * **Added:** Disable RSS feeds, REST API links, and self-pingbacks * **Added:** Remove jQuery Migrate, shortlink, RSD link, and embeds * **Improved:** Performance optimizations for WordPress sites #### 1.2.2 * **Added:** Option to disable XML-RPC * **Added:** Option to remove WordPress version information * **Improved:** Security enhancements and settings page UI #### 1.2.1 * Initial stable release with essential security and performance features. ## Meta * Version **2.0.0** * Last updated **2 weeks ago** * Active installations **10+** * WordPress version ** 5.0 or higher ** * Tested up to **7.0** * PHP version ** 7.4 or higher ** * Tags * [custom scripts](https://wordpress.org/plugins/tags/custom-scripts/)[performance](https://wordpress.org/plugins/tags/performance/) [security](https://wordpress.org/plugins/tags/security/)[smtp](https://wordpress.org/plugins/tags/smtp/) * [Advanced View](https://wordpress.org/plugins/essentials-by-digital-creatings/advanced/) ## Ratings No reviews have been submitted yet. [Your review](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/essentials-by-digital-creatings/reviews/#new-post) [See all reviews](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/essentials-by-digital-creatings/reviews/) ## Contributors * [ Puneet Tiwari ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/puneetbca/) ## Support Got something to say? Need help? [View support forum](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/essentials-by-digital-creatings/)