There’s a WP Plugin for That
WordPress started out as a blogging platform, but with the addition of plugins, it can become much more than that. Some of the more popular plugins (W3 Total Cache, Google Analytics for WordPress, Google XML Sitemaps, HeadSpace2 SEO, Akismet) have become standard fixtures for most WordPress sites. However, there are many other useful plugins out there, aside from these, that are worth taking a look at.
Back it up
Computers and servers die. This is an accepted part of life, so there’s no question that everyone needs some sort backup system in place. The same goes with your WordPress site - it would be a shame to lose all your files! WP-DB Manager (backs up databases), Online Backup, WordPress Backup (backs up directories)>, and VaultPress (paid) are all good plugins to backup your site. However each one does some things a little differently and fulfills different needs.
Security
Encrypt your email addresses so they can’t be scraped by bots. Email Encrypter (paid) and wL Email Encrypter (free) both do the trick.
Exploit Scanner scans your files and database for signs of hackers. It doesn’t remove anything, but just detects for you.
You can further guarantee security by creating a membership-only site. Magic Members (paid) and WP-Members (free) allow you to control who has access to and can contribute content. These plugins turn your site into a membership driven site.
SEO
SEO Slugs removes the little filler words from your permalink to make it more search engine friendly. (For example it would change >/the-best-wordpress-plugins-you-can-use to >/best-wordpress-plugins.)
SEO Auto Links & Related Posts is a plugin that combines auto links and related posts. It automatically converts post titles, meta keywords, and tags into internal links. Additionally, it will put up links to related posts based on options you choose. This can facilitate longer time on site and improve SEO.
Add ads to your site
WP125 makes it really easy to manage your 125x125 ads. You pick a one or two column display, choose how long you want it to run for and everything’s formatted for you. It’ll even track clicks for you.
Social Media – Create a buzz
Digg Digg provides a social media bar that stays in place as the page scrolls. You can pick and choose which social media sharing outlets you want on the bar. Making the buttons so easily accessible will increase the chances that viewers will share the content on your site.
Communicating with your audience
Fast Secure Contact Form (free) and Gravity Forms (paid) provide highly customizable contact forms for whatever your needs.
Encourage viewers to interact with and return to your site with plugins such as Thank Me Later and ReplyMe. You can customize messages and choose who to send them to and when. You could send a welcome email to new subscribers. Alternatively, individual commenters can receive an email whenever someone responds to their comment, keeping the conversation flowing on your blog. These add a nice touch to the personality of your site.
Formatting your site
Make your site mobile device friendly by using the WPTouch plugin. This will format your site to be viewed on mobile devices, and can even turn your site into an app.
WordPress blogs default with the “older posts” and “newer posts” buttons. WP Page Navi can help make your blog more navigable, allowing viewers to access the pages they want more efficiently.
One way to make your site more navigable is to organize your posts by topic rather than by date. AVH Extended Categories Widget allows you to organize your posts by category, while the Ultimate Tag Cloud Widget allows you to create a tag cloud to display your previous posts. Or you can use the Archives plugin, which is a more comprehensive tool that allows you to create an archives page, tag cloud, latest posts, and categories list. Any of these options can make your pages and posts much easier for the viewer to locate.
Adding media to your site
Portfolio Slideshow allows you to integrate a slideshow onto your site.
WordPress Video Plugin (free) and VidEmbed (paid) are useful plugins if you want to incorporate videos onto your site.
Depending on what kind of phone you have, i-Dump iPhone Photo Uploader and Picasa Photo Embed allow you to upload pictures from your phone directly to your WordPress site.
Embedly makes it really easy for you to embed any media (images, music, videos) into your site.
Go global
Google AJAX Translation allows your site to be translated in 52 different languages, making your site internationally accessible.
Sell something
WP e-Commerce (paid) and ShopperPress (paid) allow you to have a functional e-commerce site, whether you sell services, digital, or tangible goods.
Add reviews to your site
You can turn your site into a review site with MyReviewPlugin (paid) or WP Customer Reviews (free). Both are easy to implement, but for the price, MyReviewPlugin has many more options.
Plug it in
With the addition of plugins, WordPress can become a very powerful content management system. There are a lot of plugin options available and if you do a little digging, you’ll be pleased to find that some of the lesser known plugins can be quite useful. Different sites require different plugins. Decide what the purpose of your site is and see if any of these plugins can help enhance your site.
Guest post by: Nina Wu writes for A Small Orange
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