Essential Plugins for WordPress
Continuing with our Guest Blog post series, Josh wanted to share with you what he considers to be some of the most essential (free) Plugins for WordPress that everyone could be using to better not only the performance of their sites but improve their visibility & SEO appeal to Search Engines…
Josh:
WordPress on it’s own is not half bad, but what makes it truly great is the number of extra features you can add on for free through the use of plugins.
Setting aside the obvious UAW plugin (which I’m sure you already have installed to receive TONS of FREE Unique Content to your sites) there are four main areas you might want to enhance.
#1 – SEO
Whether you’re looking to make it to the cover of W or the front page of Google, you need to look your best, and that’s what SEO is for!
Picture yourself at a professional photo shoot. Flash bulbs going off in all directions, beautiful people posing and posturing, while someone yells “Make love to the camera, baby!”…
Lets face it, ordinary people, doing ordinary things, don’t attract the camera’s attention; that’s why professional models exist! Well, ordinary websites, doing ordinary things, don’t attract the search engines attention!. But of course, you are an expert on business, not necessarily fashion, so you want something that works right out of the box, instantly sprucing up your blog:
For this, I recommend the All-in-one SEO pack. Install, activate, and you’re good to go – no configuration needed, although there are plenty of options if you want to mess around with them.
Still, to seduce that kingpin of the modern web Google, you may want something a little more specific. To that end, I present the Google sitemap generator. Specifically designed for compatibility with Google, it will make it much easier for Google to index your site, helping to boost your ranking and making sure that nothing is missed.
#2 – Networking
Now that you’re finally on the cover of… er, I mean the first page of Google, and you’re starting to see some visitors. That’s a good start, but what you really need is, well, more visitors. Wouldn’t it be great if people had some way to tell their friends about you? Well, now they do!
There are a lot of social media tools, and more plugins than you can shake a stick at, but unfortunately I only have space here to cover one or two, so let’s keep it to the big ones:
First, the 800lb gorilla in the room, yes, it’s everybody’s favorite Google.
With this plugin, you can add the Google +1 button to your blog, allowing your visitors to ‘like’ it and reporting to Google just how awesome you are. Speaking of ‘like’, there’s an equivalent button for facebook – the facebook like button.
These are the simplest, easiest like button I could find, but if you are looking for more customization options, there are plenty of alternatives.
Finally, on the subject of alternatives, I can also recommend the official WordPress Tweet button. For those who like nothing more then a good twitter, this is the button of choice – it not only counts up the users who like your blog, but clicking on it will let them automatically post a link to your site on their twitter feed.
You can include any of these, or none of them, it’s really up to you. If you prefer simplicity, the google +1 button is as simple as you can get. For a more sophisticated, and effective, social networking tool though, you really can’t beat the twitter button.
#3 – Caching
You know how it goes…
Your sitting there, quietly blogging away, watching your hit counter slowly roll over into the double digits… and then it happens. You get cited on slashdot, and suddenly a hundred thousand visitors are pouring into your site. You, of course, are absolutely thrilled – with all this traffic, your ad revenue must be going crazy! Except wait, it’s not – the huge influx of new visitors have overloaded your server, and your site has crashed!
If only you had thought ahead, and installed some sort of caching system…there are certainly no shortage of caching tools for WordPress.
You may have heard about the wp-super cache plugin, but as a matter of fact it’s actually not the best, just the most common. For most people of course, it doesn’t make any difference, as they all do the job. I, however, being the over the top obsessive that I am, actually went out and researched the differences (by which I mean I found someone who had already done it 
).
As it turns out, the Hyper Cache plugin is at least 10% more efficient. The setup is dead easy too – you can mess around with the settings if you want, but you don’t really need to. Just install and activate it, and you’re ready for anything. Best of all, being built with the low resource user in mind, it’s guaranteed to work on any system and could even save you money with your hosting provider.
#4 – Spam Protection
So now you’re popular, and the entire internet is abuzz about your amazing blog, which means a lot of back links to you… and a lot of spam! Unfortunatley this is unavoidable
Whether you take the time to carefully read each comment and reply, or if you prefer to leave your site to it’s own devices, spam does nothing but get in the way.
There are two core plugins that I suggest you include in every one of your blogs. First of all, the universal standard, Akismet. You’ll need an Akismet API key to use it, but it is very effective at intercepting and marking spam for you.
While akismet is great at catching spam comments and preventing them from being shown, I think it’s better not to have them submitted in the first place. That’s why the second essential anti-spam plugin adds a captcha to the comment form.
There are plenty of different plugins, and they all work more or less the same. I find that the SI captcha for wordpress plugin is a good one, but if you don’t like it there are again plenty of alternatives.
A Final Word
As I am writing this, I see that there are 17,276 WordPress Plugins. That’s a big number, and it’s growing daily. Out of so many options, it’s really hard to pick and choose which are the best, but if nothing else I hope I’ve given you some food for thought.
So take this article as a starting point, and whenever you need some new feature on your blog, well, you know where to look.
Good luck, and happy blogging!
~ Josh
Tags: free content, seo plugins, site performance, uaw plugin, unique content, Wordpress, wordpress plugins
I’d like to add the “WordPress related posts” plugin as it auto adds inner links to your post and “quick adsense” plugin as that will easily let you place ads (not just adsense) very easily.
BTW, I prefer Platinum SEO rather than AIO because AIO can get buggy with updates.
Thanks Josh
I have just downloaded the si-captcha plugin.
Will be back to look at the rest!
Keep them coming
Regards Chris
All in SEO is a hog on resources. I would not recommend it at all.
a hog on resources???
What does this mean???
Thanks — I have no idea who this works against you …
When it comes to SEO I have come to like the new yoast webmaster plugin which has
a few extra bits that all in one seo does not have and I wonder your points on this plugin ?
For the SEO, there are just so many different options, it really is a judgment call as to which ones work best. All-in-one SEO is a good, generic seo plugin that does everything you really need, and I think it’s a good starting point.
I didn’t suggest the YOAST seo plugin, because it does too much. I know, a strange thing to say, but I don’t think it’s good to have plugins with overlapping functionality, and the yoast seo plugin has just so much functionality in it that there’s a good chance it will overlap with another plugin. For advanced users it’s a matter of preference, but in the interest of those who might not have a lot of experience with plugin interactions, I thought I should keep it straightforward.
Although YOAST’s appears more complex and overlapping, it actually simplifies things. 1. has xml site map built in, so need to add Google’s 2. has all the ‘correct’ options pre set as default so no need for people with lesser knowledge of WP or plugins to figure out how to set up correctly. All in ONE can be challenging if you don’t know what the terms to be set mean 3. Robots txt and which ‘no follow’ options to set are covered as well. All as pre set defaults, so no need to think!
Couldn’t agree more! I have tried All-In-One and Platinum SEO, and both are good, but my plugin of choice is now Yoast’s. I think it is available through the WordPress system, but I downloaded it directly from his website. Highly recommended!
What about ultimate seo plugin? I have been using it to on a few blogs and find it quite comprehensive. Am I the only one here?
Great collection. I use some of the plugins you mentioned but some are completely new to me. I will take my time and try to use them. I believe they work alright because they are recommended by a person like you. Don’t you agree with me?
Thanks for sharing.
Great post. We are converting our website to a wordpress format and need just this kind of advice. Cheers
As you point out there are thousands to choose from and that’s just the freebies. Obviously there are a few paid ones worth considering too but that’s personal choice. I have heard that having too many plugins can be hazardous to the health of websites so I look forward to future posts setting out say the top 10-15 best to have.
For social media I like the Sharebar plugin. As for SPAM I’m not convinced Akismet is the be all and end all so I appreciated the “captcha” tip. Recently I added “Antispam Bee” to one of my sites that was getting 300+ spams a day (courtesy of those irritating automated back link programs) and now it’s down to under 10 so perhaps “captcha” will complete the task.
Yeah, I’m not at all sure about paid plugins. I mean, there are just so many free ones, it’s hard to imagine anything might only be available paid – unless you’re commissioning something really specific, of course, but that’s a whole other ballgame.
I like your suggestion of antispam bee. I picked Akismet for the list because it’s so easy to use, but I like the connection to project honeypot the antispam bee has. Do you find much of a difference between them?
Thanks for your response Josh
I’m no expert on plugins. I was told a few months back by an experienced software developer that for safety I should keep plugins to the minimum so I would love to see you post what you consider the 10-15 “must haves” for affiliate’s niche websites.
Re: “captcha” I see a variety in the free pool. Which one is best?
As for paid plugins I tend to agree with your thoughts. They’re a dime a dozen in Warrior Forum WSO’s and some are probably suspect. Just bought one last week on recommendation of the aforementioned software developer (Jeff Penchoff). It’s called “WP Affiliate Ultimate” and it supposedly automatically adds “in text” affiliate links using your chosen keyword. Haven’t tested that yet. The day I installed it on one site I found ALL my pages/posts became blank pages. Ironically the same day the developer was preparing a mailing to his list with an update that fixed the bug but frights like that I can happily live without.
Robert Plank’s Backup Creator is excellent apart from the fact that he keeps upgrading it every couple of weeks. Not that there’s anything wrong with the upgrades but having to delete the previous version then upload the new zip is a pain. I’ve only got 9 sites but for those with 20 or 50 or more it must be a real pain. At least the free ones only need one mouse click for updates.
Regarding the difference between Akismet and antispam bee I have no idea. Have antispam bee running concurrently with Akismet on one site. Not sure if that’s a good idea or not but the reduction in spam from 300+ down to less than 10 a day is pleasing. As yet I haven’t added antispam bee to my other sites. Should I instal both or just pick one?
Hey this comment will soon be longer than your post so better stop now. Feel free to send me a private email. Have yourself a safe and happy festive season.
JR (Down under in NZ)
Hey Jon, “best” is a hard term to use in regards to plugins. Especially with something simple, like adding captcha to the comments form, it’s fair to say that one is as good as another. I suggested SI captcha, but it’s not really any better or worse then any of the others – just pick whichever one you prefer.
Backup creators didn’t ake my ‘essentials’ list because a lot of people either don’t need backups, or use some other backup system (e.g. cron rsync, or the cpanel backup facility). I’m surprised it needs so much upgrading – I would have thought that once you’ve got the backups working, there’s not much that needs to be added!
Akismet is good, antispam bee is good, but again which one you use is up to you. As long as it’s working, I’d say just keep doing what you’re doing. If you’ve only got one installed, and it works, then don’t add the other – if it doesn’t block all the spam, you might as well install the other. I’m not aware of any reason why you shouldn’t have them both.
And a happy holiday of your choice to you as well!
One area that you missed out completely is the most important of all — website security! Speaking from experience here, because I have had a couple of WP websites hacked into, and it is a bitch to get sorted out and get the site up again.
I have used a few free plugins, and bought a few premium ones as well, but the one I use now is appropriately named “Bullet Proof Security” and is a free plugin available through the WordPress site.
Don’t let the complexity of it scare you, it really is a matter of pressing a couple of buttons to set it up, but for the more experienced users there is a stack of options and functions to play with.
Highly recommended.
Thanks for this tip Terry. I have had autobots place pharmacy spam links into my posts twice. The first time I had only a few posts. The last time I had over 40! I just downloaded it and will set it up today.
Security is important, but I actually left it out deliberately here, for a few reasons – first, because I don’t think of security as a plugin, more a required part of the site. Securing your site is complicated and important enough that it deserves it’s own article… or more likely it’s own book! I’d rather not say anything, then give people the impression that all they need to do is install one or two plugins to secure everything, and ‘suggest one or two plugins to do X’ is pretty much the point of this article!
On that note, “bullet proof security” is a good tool, but doesn’t cover everything; no plugin can. WordPress should really be secure even without anything added – if there are vulnerabilities that you need a plugin to solve, then there’s something more fundamentally wrong with the design of wordpress. That said, vulnerabilities do arise, and it is good to know how to keep your site secure.
Bullet Proof Security is definitely useful, and a good place to start, but I think any webmaster should take at least a little time to familiarize themselves with the common security threats, and how to handle them.
I opted for the Yoast plugin too after years of All In One and Platimum SEO. I like the extra things it does.
Will you be reviewing any paid for plugins? I use very few. Most everything you need is free.
And not forgetting too, that despite all the plugins in the world, people won’t stay on your site, or revisit if you are not providing them with awesome content in the first place. Thankfully UAW helps us with this, but don’t forget to delve deep into the problems of your target market and write to that from your own experiences too.
Thanks I had almost all of them but never thought of cashing I even do not know what it mean but will install the plugin anyway thanks
Caching means to store frequently visited pages, so they don’t get recreated whenever someone visits. For example, if the front page is cached, then instead of having to do time-consuming database queries to find out what article to display every time someone visits, it only does the queries once and then stores the result to display to the rest of the visitors. This reduces the load on the server, especially for when you have a lot of articles.
About the SEO plugin, I really don’t know why everyone is still recommending All In One SEO. The best SEO plugin is WordPress SEO by Yoast and I recommend everyone to install it on their blogs and forget about all the other SEO plugins.
Just check it out, see how many downloads it has, see the ratings, checkout the features and if that won’t be enough than do a little research about the developer Yoast.
Thanks for the list
I much prefer W3 Total Cache to Super Cache. Seems to have better coding and compatibility with other plugins…
And hyper cache is better than both of them! :p
Thanks for this excellent article.I will use the plugins recommended by you.
Just today (on advice) I Googled … fast secure contact form … and found the W/p site for this FREE plug-in. Upon a quick look it appeared worthwhile (incorporating optional captcha) to the extent I’ve listed it for a good look tomorrow.
On the matter of yoast I understand this is” the goods” … however I had not thought of the possibility that it may interfere with other installed plugins … any comments from experience anyone?
I’ve picked up a couple of good bits from this thread for which I’m thankful.
Keep this alive please Josh … Cheers from Aus. … Doug …
Wish I had known about the caching last week before I run a special to open a ghostwriting service. After half an hour the site was a gonner.
Hate to imagine the amount of lost leads.
One thing. The link you have to the tutorial about that isn’t working. Can get the cached version though.
Thanks for the info.
Robbie
Thanks for the list. The only list of plugins I have from your list are the SEO plugins.
But now, I love to use the networking plugins.
The plug ins you reviewed are good and seem to work for me. I’ve been using them for a little while now. The spam blocker (Akismet) is a big one that is needed. I get so much spam on my blogs that it’s hard to keep up with what I can consider good comments.
One WP plugin you miss : on page seo score plugin, its check the keyword density, LSI and some on page analysis, the one i use is easywpseo
Nah, just didn’t think it was essential. Thanks for the suggestion though. For analysis, Yoast does a good google analytics plugin as well, which you might want to look into.
Hi Josh, Kevin Stacey here..
First off, this post is extremely thorough! I don’t see too many bloggers going into detail like you have…that’s the mark of a blogger who knows their SEO plugins.
As you stated, there are 17,276 WordPress Plugins! For optimization, free plugins like All in One SEO Pack, Google Sitemap Generator, etc are really great as it lays down the basic SEO foundation for a WordPress site, but every blog is different and nothing works best for everyone.
I always suggest looking at a side-by-side comparison of the best seo plugins for WordPress in order to make an informed decision of what the best plugin is for that blogger and their website’s specific needs.
Here’s my most recent write-up on the subject:
SEO Pressor vs Easy WP SEO vs Scribe SEO
http://www.bestseopluginforwordpress.com/wordpress-seo/the-best-seo-plugin-for-wordpress/
Check it out and let me know what you think.
Great article btw…I’ll be referencing this post on my main blog.
My favorite free and premium plugins:
FREE
Hyper Cache Extended
SEO SearchTerms Tagging 2
All In One SEO
Akismet
SI CAPTCHA Anti-Spam
Official StatCounter Plugin
Google XML Sitemaps for qTranslate
Easy Privacy Policy
cbnet Ping Optimizer
All in One Adsense and YPN Pro
Fast Secure Contact Form
PREMIUM
Affiliate Product Dominator: This is a neat plugin. You can create unique affiliate product posts on your blogs.
AutoPress: Another good one; it creates automatic content on your blogs.
Jeez, I’m an affiliate marketer and I didn’t even use affiliate links. Who’s gonna listen to me? LOL
Always be sure to keep your plugins updated. One cracker got into one of my sites by searching on Google, PHP Speedy page icon. PHP Speedy is a cache type plugin that’s not supported anymore. I used it and had their icon showing. The kid (at least I’m assuming that) hacked his way in and put up a page: Ha Ha, I’m Smart and Your Dumb.
Moral of the story, don’t use unsupported plugins.
Hey Josh,
Wow, thanks. I really enjoyed reading your aritcle and all the comments. I’m new to UniqueArticleWizard, whence I came here, and I learned a lot, and will be trying out some of the mentioned plugins.
Thanks again, Greg
Best season’s greetings to all.
I agree with the majority of Plugins you have recommended. I, however, do prefer antispam bee to Aksimet. Will use your suggestions. Thanks for a good post, Sarah