7 awesome WordPress plugins

May 5, 2011 — 51 Comments

I have been using WordPress now for just over 3 months and I am continuing to love it!  In this post I want to share some of the awesome plugins that I have been using and that I recommend.

7 awesome WordPress plugins

1. Askimet

In my opinion this is the first plugin that you should install on your blog.  Akismet is quite possibly the best way in the world to protect your blog from comment and trackback spam. It keeps your site protected from spam even while you sleep.  In 3 months it has protected me from 1315 spam!

2. CommentLuv

Plugin to show a link to the last post from the commenter’s blog by parsing the feed at their given URL when they leave a comment. Rewards your readers and encourages more comments.

3. Sharebar

This plugin adds a dynamic bar with sharing icons (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) that changes based on browser size and page location.  What I love about this plugin is that it “floats” right beside your post and it follows you as you read down.  It makes sharing so much easier for your readers!

4. WP Greet box

This plugin shows a different message to your visitor depending on which site they are coming from. For example, you can ask Digg visitors to Digg your post, Google visitors to subscribe to your RSS feed, and more! Best of all, this plugin is compatible with various WordPress cache plugins.

5. TentBlogger SEO Categories

SEO Categories optimizes your permalink structure at the category level to make them as functional (and pretty) as possible for both your users and the search engines (Google, Bing, Yahoo) that index your content!

6. LinkWithin

LinkWithin is a blog widget that appears under each post, linking to related stories from your blog archive.  This is great for getting readers to stick around on your blog.

7. WordPress.com Stats

Tracks views, post/page views, referrers, and clicks.  I love stats!

I have some other plugins installed but these are my favourites!

What plugins are you using for your WordPress blog?

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Kevin Martineau

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I am the Pastor at Port Hardy Baptist Church on Northern Vancouver Island, British Columbia. I am married to my best friend and I have three beautiful daughters.

51 responses to 7 awesome WordPress plugins

  1. Matt May 5, 2011 at 10:03 am

    Thanks for the post Kevin! I’m going to give a couple of these a try. Where did you find LinkWithin? I searched WordPress, but it didn’t return with anything.

    Reply
  2. jasonS May 5, 2011 at 10:32 am

    Very nice list, Kevin! Thank you.

    Reply
  3. Adam May 5, 2011 at 10:36 am

    I use nrelate instead of link withing and I like it a whole lot better.I also use most of the plugins that Tentblogger has suggested and developed.

    Reply
  4. Rob May 5, 2011 at 11:42 am

    I just started a wordpress blog and this was extremely helpful… thanks, Kevin!
    Rob recently posted…Video for Lyrics Of My HeartMy Profile

    Reply
  5. John (TentBlogger) May 5, 2011 at 11:54 am

    thanks so much man!

    Reply
  6. Usman May 5, 2011 at 1:54 pm

    Hi,

    from these 7 akimest and comlov is my favorite because of their functions.

    Regards
    Usman recently posted…Man Nature MinecraftMy Profile

    Reply
  7. Gera May 5, 2011 at 3:34 pm

    Hi Kevin,

    I’ve had problems with Akismet labeling as a spammer, so I prefer GASP or others with a Captcha.
    I’ve installed LinkWithin but it stopped working, so I’ve installed YARPP.

    For stats I use Getclicky :)

    Cheers,

    Gera
    Gera recently posted…StumbleUpon Tips and Tricks to Stumble Upon like a Rockstar!My Profile

    Reply
  8. Jeremiah M. Wean May 5, 2011 at 6:38 pm

    I have not tried “Link within” I presently use Yet Another Related Post. I like how YARP allows you to remove certain categories, from showing as a related posts, and allows you to specify a deferent number of related posts for the site and feed. The link within looks cool how it puts a little thumbnail of each related post.

    My Fav plugins are presently:

    1. All in One SEO Pack
    2. Digg Digg
    3. Coment Luv
    4. Gravity Forms
    5. Google XML sitemaps
    6. Smart Youtube

    I am presently using Akismet; however, previously I was using Disqus for commenting and never had a problem with spam. Now that I have removed Disqus Akismet has blocked over 24K spam comments in 4 months.
    Jeremiah M. Wean recently posted…Best Renovation Loan For First Time Home BuyerMy Profile

    Reply
  9. Tim & Sole May 6, 2011 at 11:59 am

    Hi Kevin,

    Thanks for your list! There are a couple we’d like to try. We are using Digg Digg that has a bar very similar (if not exactly the same) to Sharebar, maybe we should look into the latter to find out what the differences are.

    For spam protection we like to use Bad Behavior.

    We also have tried a couple of plugins to make your blog/website mobile. We are planning on writing a blog post about them.

    Thanks for sharing!
    Tim & Sole recently posted…How To Turn Your Customer Database Into a Living- Responsive Buyer ListMy Profile

    Reply
  10. Suresh Khanal May 6, 2011 at 5:07 pm

    I do not rely on Akismet only as it threw lot of false positives. I rather prefer GASP that effectively prevented automated spam comments. Other plugins we share Kevin, thanks for the share.
    Suresh Khanal recently posted…Be Prompt! Grab 12 Months Web Hosting FreeMy Profile

    Reply
  11. Dereck May 7, 2011 at 11:25 am

    Fantastic posting and it really does help people who are looking to start a blog.

    I think most of the plugins that you mention are not only great tools to use, but most of them are also what I consider to be mandatory. I’ve also identified some plugins that I’ve identified as the Best WordPress Plugins for 2011.

    Keep up the great work and I’ll be back again!
    Dereck recently posted…Joyce Penner – Dedicated and MotivatedMy Profile

    Reply
  12. Andy Nathan May 7, 2011 at 9:45 pm

    Love the LinkWithin plugin. Great for reducing your bounce rate!

    Reply
  13. RaisingOrleans May 9, 2011 at 11:14 am

    I have a couple of new wordpress blogs that your post is going to help me immensely with! Thanx!

    Reply
  14. pcguyiv May 9, 2011 at 10:11 pm

    I’ll have to disagree with #3. I find junk that follows me down the page to be annoying and I look for a close button. If I can’t find one, I kill it with ad/element blocking software.
    pcguyiv recently posted…It May be Your Space- but It’s not MySpaceMy Profile

    Reply
  15. Felicia May 11, 2011 at 5:38 pm

    Hi Kevin,
    I’m glad that you love WordPress so far! Thanks for sharing with us your favorite WordPress plugins. There are so many out there and there are many plugins being created everytime! What I like about most WP plugins is that they are usually free to use.
    Felicia recently posted…Worst Bad Beat in WSOP historyMy Profile

    Reply
  16. Rev. Gerald Collins May 22, 2011 at 12:10 pm

    Great topic. I had not heard about GASP. I will defienetly give that a look at. I use most of the same one mentioned above. I also added GTranslate to allow international visitors to interact better. I also made some restructuring and have been using redirect to correct 404 errors and reqrites. I have been using a 404 notifier called “404 Notifier” to track the errors.I also use “WP Realtime Sitemap” to create a table of contents page. Finally, I also use “WPtouch” to create a wonderful mobile enviroment.

    Reply
  17. Alexis September 2, 2011 at 12:59 am

    Comment luv really is the best plugin for me… Thank you for sharing some other ideas. They are also great!

    Reply
  18. alexa008 October 6, 2011 at 5:42 am

    those are great list Kevin, thanks for posting this. i think commentluv is the best ever!

    Reply
  19. Lucy November 2, 2011 at 9:49 pm

    been using CommentLuv plugin for almost a year now :) and there’s nothing i could say against it yay!

    Reply
  20. William Moore November 14, 2011 at 4:31 pm

    Glad to know about this 7 WordPress plugins, all truly awesome and very useful. All are perfect to blogs that needs security.

    Reply
  21. Bessie December 30, 2011 at 5:29 am

    Nice post. I was checking continuously this blog and I’m inspired! Extremely useful info specifically the closing section :) I care for such info a lot. I used to be looking for this certain information for a very long time. Thanks and good luck.

    Reply

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