Top 10 Plugins for WordPress
It has been a couple of weeks since we explored into the world of WordPress; implementing plugins to my WP install has been a fun adventure. There are virtually thousands of wordpress plugins available, covering a diverse range of categories. Below are some of the ones we find useful.
#1. Contact form 7
Author: Takayuki Miyoshi
Very simple to use contact form, flexible and easy to add new fields to your forms. Multiple forms can be made and saved, and tags are easily inserted into pages or posts. A simple captcha plug-in can be installed to work with it as well.
#2. Subscribe to comments & Subscribe to comments now!
This helps bring your commenter back into your site, and keep the conversation rolling. I personally think this plugin should come with the WP default installation. When the plug-in is activated, the commenter can check the box to subscribe to the topic, and when a new reply is added, he/she will get sent an email notification. Highly recommended.
The subscribe to comments now! plugin, enables your visitor to subscribe to your comments without having to post a comment.
#3. NextGen gallery
Author: Alex Rabe
NextGEN Gallery is an integrated Image Gallery plugin for wordPress. Easy to implement, add a gallery or albums, and upload your photos in a zip file or one by one. At the front end, you can choose different gallery pop up effects, like lightbox, thickbox, or view the gallery as a slideshow. Read full features list on the plug-in home page.
#4. Google site map generator
Generates XML sitemap for google and other search engines as soon as new content is added to your site. Easy to install, there are 2 files you have to place into your WP install, and set permission to 666. Activate the plug-in and generate a sitemap in less than 4 seconds! Nice.
#5. Excerpt editor
Quick and easy to use excerpt editor, quickly write summaries for all of your posts. Huge time saving tool, for someone who likes to write custom excerpts for their posts.
#6. Thumbnail for Excerpts
Automatically generates thumbnails for your excerpts. If you have an image nested in your post, this plug-in will automatically resize it, and place it next to your excerpts. This shows up too under search results menu. Pretty easy to implement, and helps to make the site more interesting.
#7. Headspace2 SEO optimisation
Search engine optimization to the max. Easily manage your page titles, keywords and decriptions. For a full list of features, please visit the plug-in website
#8. Automatic SEO links
Very useful tool for word linking within your posts, for example if you want the word ‘Contact us’ to link to the contact page, simply set it up in the plug-in, and every time the word ‘Contact us’ appears in your post, it automatically links that word to your contact page.
#9. Google adsense
This plug-in adds Google Adsense scripts into your site. You can have max of 3 ad boxes to appear in your posts or pages. Simple and easy to use adsense widget, non-complicated options menu.
#10. WP-Table Reloaded
Have you noticed that the wordpress word editor doesn’t allow you to insert a table easily? Well, this plug-in is designed to make table making easy. You can make as many tables as you wish, save them and tag them into your posts.
