5 Plugins Every WordPress Blog Should Have
Plugins are add-ons that give WordPress (self-hosted, not .com) sites extra functionality. They’re basically apps for your sites, and whatever you want, there’s a plugin for that. But just because you can use plugins for whatever doesn’t mean you should. Every plugin you add to your website is one more thing that load every time someone visits. So they can slow down your site (some more than others).
If you have more than 15 plugins, you’re doing the most. I had a client who had me optimize their site because it was acting funky and when I logged into their dashboard, they had 50 plugins. FIDDY!!! I was like “NAWL.”Having 50 plugins is like having to introduce yourself with 50 names. By the time you’re done saying your name, I won’t even be interested. Same thing. Loading 50 plugins on your site and having people wait for all of them to be done is going to drive them away. Ain’t nobody got TAHM for it.
Ennehweighs, there ARE five plugins that I think every WordPress site should have.
* Akismet – This plugin comes with every WordPress installation, and it manages your spam comments. It places the junk ones in the spam folder automatically, puts the ones it isn’t sure of into moderation (for you to approve, trash or mark as spam) and lets the good ones through. It’s about 99% accurate most of the time and is a lifesaver. There’s so much junk on the interwebs that if you do not activate Akismet (or another catcher), you might find your site overrun with these comments in no time. I once had to delete over 32,000 spam comments from a client’s website because they had never activated Akismet.
Alternate: Anti-Spam. I’ve never used any other spam plugin besides Akismet but this is another option.
Also: Hello Dolly comes with every WordPress installation. Please delete it as it is useless.
Read the rest of 5 Plugins That Every WordPress Blog Should Have on Awesomely Techie.
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18 Comments
i have the first 3 and after taking your SEO Webinar last year, i will do anything you say blog-related – so the other 2 will be installed tonight – i installed SEO by Yoast on your recommendation – best.advice.EVER. it is SO easy to use, tells you exactly what to do and has an immediate impact on your SEO – thank you so much for this post!!!
This is great, Luvvie. Thanks. I’m a relative newbie to WP, spend most of my time animating/working on my series and am planning on amping things up on my blog. I’ll definitely get/use these.
Thanks again!
I’ve typically used All In One SEO Pack rather than WordPress SEO on the blogs I own. No real reason other than familiarity I suppose.
CrankyAds and Shareaholic are two more I love and use frequently.
WordPress SEO is MUCH better.
Good list and thanks for sharing. I always look at the ratings and number of downloads as an indicator. I suppose that not always the best way, but I am a little risky with downloads.
Thank you!!!!! You’re the best! I will be downloading some of these tonight!!!!!
Thanks for these suggestions. I have most of them, but I will add the rest. I love when you blog about blogging. 🙂 I too have a humor blog. Would love for you to check it out whenever you get a chance. 1funnychick.com
I’m also trying to figure out this Pinetrest thing. Anyhoo, thanks for the advice. Keep them coming.
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Luvvie, I am thinking of turning this into a WordPress plugin:
Software Tool that requires no HTML, database, or web server knowledge. If you know how to use excel formulas, then you can create your own interactive web application. In mins not days.
The above is a bit general, I would like to tune it to solve problems that people using WordPress want to solve. Any thoughts on problem I can target?
Eddy.
I also use LinkWithin. I’ve heard that YARPP can slow down your site due to frequent DB queries.
Also take a look at the Cloudflare service. It can speed up your website and boost its security.
I use wp super cache on http://www.eddiekeyton.com and have since I opened it. It works great, but, I am thinking about exploring other options such as cloud flare. Does anybody have any experience with cf with wp?
I just recently installed YARPP and love it. I use All In One SEO, but you got me making life decisions with that WordPress SEO endorsement.
wow thanks for share this with us there is one plugin is amazing called The Ultimate WordPress Membership Plugin
I like your post, Thank You, I have a question, I am creating my web page and I put a blog in one of my page, but I want the blog that look like this site, comment to the left and advertisements in the right side, what plugin should I use.
If you will hire wordpress developer, make sure that he can offer support that you need. It is essential in order to help you navigate through WordPress without any problems.
I use most of these. I need to reinstall Link Within. It was a great addition. The pictures make it much better than YARRP.
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Thank for info. I will use all recomended wordpress plugin by you…