WordPress Plugins
Posted by Tim Gruber | Filed under wordpress
Since redesigning my portfolio website and producing my Snowbird project using WordPress I’ve got a few emails about how I did things.
If you’re like me and don’t know squat about php or coding these WordPress plugins will go along way in making your WordPress endeavor an enjoyable one.
If you’re completely new to WordPress Richard has a very nice intro tutorial to WordPress at MultimediaShooter.
Here are a few plugins that have made my life a little easier. Hopefully they can help you.
Advanced Permalinks
This plugin proved to be extremely helpful in changing the default WordPress link structure to a user friendly and inviting link. It also helps in SEO(search engine optimization) rankings. The plugin keeps your old link structure in tact so even if someone is using an old link they’ll still get to the right page.
For example by default my link to the Projects section of my website was:
http://www.timgruber.com/?page_id=4
After Permalinks it’s a more usable:
http://www.timgruber.com/projects
Akisment
Akisment is a no-brainier when it comes to fighting spam on your blog.
All in One SEO Pack
What good is your website if people can’t find your content? The SEO pack will allow you to configure and optimze your site for improved SEO performance. The All in One Pack can auto generate your post descriptions and create keywords for your posts based on your tag or category groupings.
Google Analyticator
Just who’s coming to your site and how much time are they spending? This plugin automatically enters the Google Analytical code in the header of every page making it a breeze to track users across your site.
StatCounter for WordPress
If you’re a fan of monitoring how people are using your site the StateCounter plugin is another useful item to have in your plugins directory. Lately I’ve been using it more than Google Analytics for the nice log of recent visitor activity it keeps.
Flash Video Player
This will make embedding FLV files on your site a breeze. You can also customize the poster image for the player along with a slew of other options. For example with all my videos the user sees a splash screen with the branding of my site and a simple “Click Here to Start Video” in case they’re not web savvy.
Wordpress Plugin - My Page Order
Allows you to quickly and easily change the order of your pages. With this plugin I can change the order of the links on my navigation bar with ease. For example my about page was one of the first pages I built so by default it was one of the first links on my navigation bar. From a hierarchy standpoint it felt awkward having it in-between my singles and projects links and is much more at home where it resides now.
Random Image Selector
This simple plugin allows me to have the main image on my homepage change with each visit. It cycles through a folder of images I created for that purpose only.
WordPress Database Backup
After seeing what happened to MultimediaShooter a few weeks back this pushed me into action and this plugin makes backing things up a breeze. It does backups for you automatically on a daily or weekly basis. The backup can be emailed to you or stored in a hidden directory on your server.
Theme Test Drive
If you’re like me you’re always looking for a new theme to try. This plugin makes it easy to do that without your audience being affected by your playful curiosity. The plugin allows you to safely test drive any theme on your blog as an administrator, while visitors still see the default one.
Subscribe to Comments 2.1
This plugin allows people leaving comments on your blog to check a box before commenting and get an e-mail notification of further comments.
Maintenance Mode Plugin
This plugin adds a splash page to your blog that lets visitors know your blog is down for maintenance. Especially handy for those times when you’re upgrading to a new version of WordPress.
Good luck and hopefully that list will help you some. Any that I missed?
