Blogging is hard work. You have to be a good writer, plus have good technical skills. Not to mention marketing, communication, interpersonal, financial, and design skills.
Not all of us are able to program ourselves what we need our blog to do, which is why there are some great essential WordPress plugins that you should be using on your blog. There are some fantastic plugins that you can use to really customize your blog and make it rock.
But, have you seen the WordPress Plugin Directory lately? There are almost 10, 000 Plugins to choose from.
Which ones are worth your time and effort to download?
Here are the WordPress Plugins that I use and think are essential:
If you don’t have Askimet installed I can only imagine how much spam you are dealing with on your blog. You probably don’t have any time to write since you’ll be inundated with spam with out this essential WordPress plugin. It catches almost all of the spam for your site and is truly amazing the number of true spam it filters so that you don’t have to. It’s loaded automatically on WordPress installations but you do have to activate your API key. Do it once and forget it.
We all have commenting strategies whether we admit it or not. We want to spread the word about how great our posts are and CommentLuv gives us that ability. CommentLuv is the easiest way to leave a little breadcrumb back to your blog when you leave a comment on another blog. It also provides you with a way to give back to your own commenters. We want to reward our commenters for taking the time to leave a thoughtful comment, and CommentLuv is the best way to do this. It’s an essential plugin to have installed on your blog and if you are not using it, then you are being selfish.
FollowMe or other Subscription button
If you want Twitter followers, then having the FollowMe plugin makes it really easy for you to configure your Twitter ID and have this badge on your site. I have mine on the right-hand side that automatically scrolls when you’re reading my posts. Whether you use this plugin or a different one, having some kind of icon so that you can gain Twitter followers or Facebook fans or whatever social site you want your readers to engage you with.
No one likes to look at your affiliate id URLs so hide them using GoCodes. You can use this nifty little plugin to create shortcut URLs to any site. It’s a great way to redirect your links.
Why make it harder for Google to find you and index your site? Just download this plugin, configure it once and let it do it’s magic. It will create an XML sitemap of your entire blog that so that Google, Yahoo, Bing, and other search engines to index your site.
Having an Archives page or link on your blog is absolutely essential and Smart Archives Reloaded is one of the better archive plugins. I love the way you are able to customize your archives so many different ways. It’s another easy plugin to install it once and forget about it. If you don’t have an Archives page (and I can’t believe how many blogs I run into that don’t) you are losing potential readers of your older posts. Your main page or sidebar can only hold so many recent posts, why not make it easy for your readers to find some of your older gems by using this essential plugin.
This is another little plugin that you set and forget about it. It’s an easy plugin to overlook, but when a blog is missing some way for your readers to subscribe to follow-up comments, they’ll let you know. A lot of people when leaving comments look for the engagement factor with the blogger – they want to have a dialog with them and this little plugin emails the commenter your response to their comment. You can keep the conversation going using this plugin. Why wouldn’t you want that?
You absolutely have to have this plugin installed on your blog. It’s essential to have as you want your readers to retweet your posts. Tweetmeme makes it very easy – press the button and your posts are automatically RT’d to Twitter. When I’m reading I also look at the Retweet counter to see how popular posts are and I’m always looking to Retweet great articles. Put the button before and after each of your posts so that it provides social proof at at the beginning of your article and makes it easy for your readers to retweet after they have read your fantastic piece.
Having a backup system in place is so important. We all know that, but sometimes we fail to actually go through with the backups. Not with WordPress Database Backup which you can automatically set to email you or download a backup of your site. Backups are essential because you just never know.
Yes, they can be annoying, but greet boxes are a great way to welcome new visitors to your blog. WP Greet Box is a customizable plugin that you can add your own message to welcome your readers to your blog, regardless of where they originated from. We want our first-time readers to feel welcome when they come to our blogs and WP Greet Box is an essential plugin that you can add easily. Set it once and forget it.
These are just some of essential WordPress plugins that I use and recommend.
I’m sure that I’m missing the ones that you think are essential to have on your blog.
So, share with us those plugins that you can’t live without. Thanks!
Karen writes at A Meaningful Existence, a blog devoted to helping others put meaning into their existence through practical personal development strategies. You can subscribe to her RSS Feed and also find her on Twitter at @kruby.
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Hey Karen,
Great article. I’m already using all these plugins except backup plugin.
I would like to add one more Digg Digg social Plugin.
Thanks for sharing this great Post.
~Dev
Dev | Technshare´s last [type] ..How to Build a Strong Community Around Your Blog
Hi Dev, oh you really do need some kind of backup plugin or process to ensure that you don’t lose your blog. I hope you are using something?
Thanks,
Karen
Karen´s last [type] ..How Healthy Is Your Relationship?
Good summary there. I use the majority of those, though GoCodes is an exception and I’d like to check it out.
Mo “Mad Dog” Stoneskin´s last [type] ..John Smith and the Blue Mackintosh
Hi Mo,
I know what you mean. I had seen GoCodes used one some places (…/go/…) but didn’t know what it did or how to get it. I’ve been using it for a while now for my affiliate redirects and it works like a charm. Check it out.
Thanks,
Karen
Karen´s last [type] ..How Healthy Is Your Relationship?
Having these plug-ins ARE essential, especially the tweetmeme plug-in, it encourages people to retweet your posts. But it’s also important to also have a ShareThis or Onlywire button that allows people to choose other social networking sites that they’d like to share. I also like the StumbleUpon button, to make it easier for people to stumble my posts, but I wouldn’t say it’s essential, just a bonus.
Kiesha @ We Blog Better´s last [type] ..10 Blogger Must Reads – Weekly Link List
Hi Kiesha,
Oh, I totally forgot about that. I used to use ShareThis, but it interferred with TweetMeme so I deactivated it. I now use Sexy Bookmarks to provide the social media sharing icons for my site. That’s an essential plugin that should have been listed, too.
We definitely need to include a social media plugin that you are able to configure to display Stumble, Digg, Reddit, Twitter, etc so that your readers can spread the good word about your site.
Thanks for the reminder,
Karen
Karen´s last [type] ..How Healthy Is Your Relationship?
Karen,
This is a great list. I use a few of these, but hadn’t heard of the back-up plug-in. The tweetmeme button alone was reponsible for gaining 750 new visitors to my site in one day.
-Joshua Black
The Underdog Millionaire
Joshua Black | The Underdog Millionaire´s last [type] ..Do Not Repeat My Dentist’s Money-Losing Marketing Mistake
Wow, 750 new visitors in one day!? Good for you, Joshua!
Karen´s last [type] ..How Healthy Is Your Relationship?
Karen,
I thought maybe I would already have these but no. You have given me some more to investigate. Thanks.
Ralph´s last [type] ..Finishing Strong – A Manifesto and Call to Action
That’s great, Ralph. Glad to help. Kind in mind that I think that these are essential but you don’t have to use them (except for Askimet, the spam filter). Give them a try and see if they help you.
Karen´s last [type] ..How Healthy Is Your Relationship?
Hi Karen,
Thanks for the great list. I am using a few of these but not all of them. I didn’t even know about the backup plugin until a friend lost his blog.
Also, I am using a tweet meme button in the top right hand corner of my posts. I see that some people use a digg button. Which do you think is the best to use for this area?
Jazz Salinger´s last [type] ..Learn and Earn Competition – This is It
Hi Jazz,
I can’t believe how many people aren’t using a backup plugin. What are people using to backup their blogs?
I like to use TweetMeme at the beginning and end of my posts and use Digg at the end. It makes it easy for people to spread your content, after they have read it.
But, you can try a variety of methods and see which one converts best for you. Experiment.
Thanks,
Karen
Karen´s last [type] ..How Healthy Is Your Relationship?
Hi. Thank u so much for this. Am completely new to blogging and this is just what I need. Hence much appreciated. Thank u and god bless
Uzmz´s last [type] ..Destiny and the journey
I’m glad that you found us, then, Uzmz. There are tons of great resources here for newbie bloggers. If you have any questions, just ask!
Thanks,
Karen
Karen´s last [type] ..How Healthy Is Your Relationship?
Great stuff. One that I will add that has been the BEST discovery is the click of a button that turns your blog on iPhones into a brilliantly professional one. The free plugin of WP iPhone Theme – I think it’s very important that we make sure the mobile users out there can easily read our blogs and once you see the way this plugin looks on your iPhone, you won’t go back…You can easily turn it off. Also I am sure there are others for other smartphones…..
That’s a great addition to the list actually. It really does make posts easier to read on the iPhone.
Matthew Needham´s last [type] ..How to create your dream chart
Tweet Meme is a great plugin and like Joshua has had an enormous influence on my traffic.
Fortunately, you’ve some of these great plugins before, so I’m already getting the benefit!
This is a great list, the only one I’ve not used is the link shortner. I’m going to check this out.
Matthew Needham´s last [type] ..How to create your dream chart