So you’ve just installed a new WordPress blog but don’t know which plugins to use eh?
This post consists of the 15 most useful WordPress plugins you should use on your blog.
1. Askimet
Askimet helps prevent your blog from being overrun by spam. This intelligent system filters out comments that come across as too spammy. You will need an API key to activate it which is freely available.
2. Google XML Sitemaps
A sitemap helps to tell search engines where your content is located on your blog. Instead of using an external script or manually editing an XML file, this plugin automatically creates your sitemap and submits it to search engines.
3. All In One SEO Pack
For those that really want to rank well with their blog, the all in one seo pack is key. This plugin allows you to set your own post titles, description and tags to ensure you show at the top of search results.
4. Yet Another Related Post
After your reader finishes with your article, it’s good to give them additional content to keep them on your blog. This plugin automatically displays related posts based on tags and keywords.
5. WP Gravatar
Gravatars allow you to easily use public profile images instead of the default wordpress ones. If a user has signed up for Gravatar, their image will be posted accordingly – allowing them to be recognized.
6. WP Cache
When your blog hits the first place of Digg or a post goes viral, tons of traffic will be coming your way. With this flood of traffic, your blog may go down which means lost readers. This plugin caches your pages so they’ll still be available to read even during heavy amounts of traffic.
7. Contact Form 7
Many readers will want to get ahold of you at some point. Instead of using additional code (or if you’re not code saavy), Contact Form 7 allows you to easily add a contact form to your pages.
8. TweetMeme Button
Twitter is a great way to attract new visitors to your blog. Installing this plugin places a tweet box within your post so readers can easily retweet and share.
9. WP-DB-Backup
Incase something goes horribly wrong with your blog, you’ll want a backup. This plugin allows you to automatically backup your blog around your selected parameters.
10. WP PageNavi
Using the ‘Next Post’ / ‘Previous Post’ isn’t very helpful to show the depth of your content. This plugin adds an informative page navigation system so readers can easily dig deeper into your blog.
11. Sexy Bookmarks
Social bookmarking is a great way to share and drive new visitors to your website. This plugin places sexy bookmarks at the bottom of each post.
Note: Sociable is also a very good social bookmarking plugin.
12. FD Feedburner Plugin
By default, your RSS very simple. This plugin allows you to combine your Feedburner RSS with your WordPress RSS to make sure everything is in sync.
13. Subscribe To Comments
This handy plugin allows your readers to subscribe to a post’s comments.
14. Recent Comments
The recent comments plugin helps make your blog sticky by allowing readers to see what others are commenting on and participating in.
15. Top Commentors
There’s no better way to say thank you to your blog readers than to highlight the top commentors with this plugin.
Bonus: CommentLuv
CommentLuv helps share a commentors latest blog post right within the comment, allowing you to help promote their blog and letting your readers find new information.
I hope you enjoyed this list of wordpress plugins to install on your new blog.
These plugins will help create a dynamic community which come back time and time again.
Which plugins do you use on your WordPress blog?
Nice collection, however I think we should reduce the number of plugins as they will slow down users’ experience. Some plugins should be replaced by manual code.
.-= Tek3D´s last blog ..BlackBerry 6 OS Video Preview =-.
Indeed. It’s great to find a WP theme which integrates many of these features.
For example, this theme integrates bookmarking which reduces the need for SexyBookmarks or Sociable.
These plugins will help create a more dynamic blog but if they distract too much from the content, you may need to step back and see which ones you truly don’t need.
Thanks for the comment.
Feedburner is really very useful for syndicating feeds from other websites.-”
I know I’m late to the party but this was very helpful. There were some things I wanted but I didn’t know what they were called so I couldn’t search for them very well. Thanks!
.-= Jennifer Barry´s last blog ..Tigers- Tea- and Technology- Part 3 =-.
Thanks for the comment Jennifer.
Plug-ins really make WordPress very versatile, love how many options are available and the support too! In some ways, WordPress has diverted my Web Design haha – it’s now common to work solely with WP instead.
Hello,
I’ve been checking out your blog for a month or so now. Very helpful. I recently started my own wordpress blog to learn to setup my own blog.
My question is which “Facebook LIKE” plugin do you use?? I can’t seem to find one (or setup one of my current plugins) to meet my exact needs (simple, very small space taker, within post itself only).
I like your “FB Like” model, I suspect maybe you’re more versed in HTML than I.
Thanks very much if you could help.
Hi Kevin,
Thanks for reading and great job at starting your own blog. I believe you setup your domain through my referral
The Facebook Like button is done by the plug, drumroll please…. Facebook Like. Within WordPress just do a search for that and you should find it. From there you can configure it – I set mine to the smaller version since it fits well with the smaller tweet button