Top 10 Wordpress Plugins
Dec 27th, 2009 | By Kevin | Category: bloggingWhile there are thousands of Wordpress plugins available, here are what I consider the top 10 that I always use on the blogs I create.
NOTE: These are in no specific ranking order, just added as I think of them.
- WP-DB-Backup – If you ever have lost a blog with no backup, you know how much it sucks. If not, take my word for it. This plugin automatically takes a backup of the core tables in the wordpress database and saves the backup on the server and send you a copy via email. Every time I receive one of these emails with the backup file for my blog, I breath a sigh of relief.
- Twitter Tools – I believe Twitter is a a great alternative syndication source for my blog besides RSS. When using Twitter Tools, I only use it for outgoing broadcasts of my blog posts. My actions/tweets on Twitter do not show up as a consolidated post on my blog, but do show up on my sidebar widget.
- Akismet – I have heard there are better comment SPAM plugins out there, but I have liked what I have seen with Akismet. It does require a key from Wordpress.org, but hey it’s free.
- All in One SEO Pack – Like Akismet, I have had other SEO plugins recommended to me, but this is the one I always use. I know how to configure it, and it seems to get the job done.
- Ozh’ Admin Drop Down Menu – When the Wordpress team switched the menus to the left side, I was crushed. This plugin has been my saving grace and is one of the first ones I install, so the menus move back to where i like them across the top.
- Hana Flv Player – This is the FLV plugin we have moved to recently. One of the great features it has is the ability to link the video to a website so that if the visitor clicks on the video while it is playing it will take them to a website you link it to. This is great for promoting affiliate products with videos on your blog that end with a call to action.
- Yet Another Related Posts Plugin – One of the best ways to keep a visitor on your blog longer is by using this plugin to recommend other posts on your blog related to the one they are reading.
- Sociable – This plugin adds icons after your post allowing the reader to share the post on the social networks you select. I currently support up to 99 different sites!
- Google XML Sitemaps – This plugin goes back with the core principle of creating your blog, to get found and read. This plugin generates and maintains your Google XML Sitemap and notifies Google, Yahoo and MSN when it has been updated by automatically sending out pings.
- Auto-tags – One of the things that is almost as hard as writing a new blog post is coming up with related tags. This plugin handles that for you. If you blog remotely or automatically, this plugin really helps. I no longer worry about tagging my posts, and leave it up to this plugin to choose the tags.
Originally from Wisconsin, I moved out to Salt Lake City over ten years ago on a six month software development contract. I now have over 15 years in software development, and was introduced to internet marketing back in 2003. During the wild west days, our business focused on content sites for Adsense revenue. As it became harder and harder to keep up with the search engines, our business has evolved, and forced us to focus on building lists and creating products. We now have a list of about 5000 interested in goal setting, and a small internet marketing list of about 500.