The 7 Must-Have Wordpress Plugins
July 20, 2008
If you are a WordPress beginner, you will probably want to expand your site’s capabilities at some point. I’ve created a list of some of the most important plug-ins I feel are essential to getting the most out of WordPress.
This widget easily links your WordPress blog to the powerful and free traffic analysis product from Google. If you work to “increase traffic” without a clear metric of where you are now, how will you be able to measure improvement?
WordPress is updated frequently, but downloading manually can be tricky. But this tool makes it a breeze! As always, BACK UP YOUR SITE before making any changes, and be sure to include your database.
It doesn’t matter how cool your blog is if nobody can find it. This plug-in dramatically increases the SEO (Search Engine Optimization) effectiveness in WordPress. Again, As always BACK UP YOUR SITE and read the entire read me file first.
Have I mentioned how important it is to back up your WordPress site?! Let’s face it — sometimes things go wrong. This plug-in emails you a back-up of your precious database everyday. I simply archive my backups in a Gmail folder.
Clean easy RSS feeds are a breeze with the Feedburner plug-in. With a few clicks your readers can check out your posts in a reader. Follow the activation instructions and off you go.
6. WordPress Ready Contact Form
It’s never a good ideat to post your email address on the Internet, but of course you still want people to contact you. A nice solution is to include a form on your Contact Us page.
There are many contact forms available for the WordPress engine, and many of them stink. This contact form is neat and tidy.
This plug-in reduces SPAM comments, and it comes with your WordPress installation. If you accept comments on your blog or site, this is an important way to can annoying and dangerous spam.
You will need to register for a WordPress.com account to use the plug-in.
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