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9 Useful WordPress Plugins

September 9th, 2008

So many plugins, so little time. When you are setting up a blog, it can be a little overwhelming trying to decide which plugins to activate on your wordpress blog. Here is a list of 9 useful WordPress plugins that I use here on Cardeo.ca

ALL IN ONE SEO PACK

The All In One SEO Pack is a must for any blogger that needs to drive traffic to their website. Once installed, it includes a panel on your Write Post page that allows you to: create a search engine friendly title, description, and keywords for each of your posts. Some other features include: title optimization, auto-generates Meta Tags, and it is backwards compatible with other WordPress SEO plugins.

» Download ALL IN ONE SEO PACK from WordPress.org

CONTACT FORM 7

This is one of my favorite plugins because it is really easy to use. Contact Form 7 allows you to easily create multiple forms for your WordPress Blog. The plugin also supports Ajax-powered submitting, CAPTCHA, Akismet spam filtering, and multiple languages.

» Download CONTACT FORM 7 from WordPress.org

FEEDBURNER FEEDSMITH

Feedsmith is a handy plugin for redirecting your RSS feed to FeedBurner so you can track every possible subscriber to your blog.

» Download FEEDBURNER FEEDSMITH from google.com

GOOGLE XML SITEMAPS

This plugin is a great way to create your XML compliant Sitemap which search engines like Google use when crawling your website. Including a Sitemap is a excellent way to further optimize your blog for SEO. Every time your create or edit a post, your Sitemap is updated with all the major search engines.

» Download the GOOGLE XML SITEMAPS plugin from WordPress.org

MAINTENANCE MODE

Another must have plugin for when you are editing your blog layout. Maintenance Mode hides your blog from the public allowing you to make design changes, test new plugins, and perform other various website maintenance. The Admin(s) are still able to view the website but it is hidden to everyone else. You are also provided with a splash page that you can customize while your blog is down.

» Download the MAINTENANCE MODE plugin from WordPress.org

SUBSCRIBE TO COMMENTS

Another great plugin for keeping your readers informed. Subscribe to Comments allows your readers to sign-up for email notification once a post receives a new comment. The plugin also allows your commenters to unsubscribe to certain posts, block all notifications, and even change their notification email address.

» Download the SUBSCRIBE TO COMMENTS plugin from WordPress.org

ULTIMATE GOOGLE ANALYTICS

Another must have plugin for WordPress. Ultimate Google Analytics allows you to add Google Analytics JavaScript to each page of your blog without any changes to your template. The plugin also allows you to add tracking to outbound links, downloads, and mailto: links. You will require a free Google Analytics account to configure this plugin.

» Download the ULTIMATE GOOGLE ANALYTICS plugin from WordPress.org

WORDPRESS DATABASE BACKUP

This plugin provides a quick and easy way to backup your WordPress database. You have the option of downloading the backup, saving it to your server, or having it emailed to you.

» Download WORDPRESS DATABASE BACKUP plugin from ilfilosofo.com

WP125

This is a great plugin for managing the Ads on your blog. It features: one or two column ad display, show as many ads as you like, and you keep track of how many times each ad is clicked. The best feature of this plugin is that it allows you to set how many days each ad should be displayed and it will automatically remove the ad when the time comes.

» Download the WP125 plugin from WordPress.org

Tags: plugins, seo, Web Design, Wordpress