I have been on the WordPress platform for about a year now, and you can read why I moved from Posterous here. I loved using Posterous but plugins are a major reason I made the move. Think about the old phrase everyone loves to use, “why recreate the wheel…”
Over the past year I have discovered 7 plugins that I can not live without:
- Digg Digg – Probably the most important plugin is one that easily allows your readers to share your content. Digg Digg allows for a fully customizable floating share bar. They have done a great job of giving you flexibility of what platforms to include including newer ones like Pinterest, and Google+.
- Disqus Comment System – A good commenting system is a must. Disqus is mine of choice. It not only allows for commenting but more of a community feel, tracking reactions (tweets, etc.) to your content. Disqus works on all platforms thereby allowing you one community between your blog and website’s newsroom for example.
- HelloBar – HelloBar is a new plugin (there is a free and paid version) I have been using. If you have a call to action you want to feature HelloBar allows you to drop down a simple banner strip on your site. Some cool features are A/B testing, the ability to update though a RSS feed, and analytics.
- Quick Drafts Access – I use my WordPress site of course to blog but also to capture ideas that will morph into post down the road. You can read more about how I do that here. Based on this I have quite a few draft posts. This simple plugin allows me quick access to drafts only so I can quickly see what posts I might want to finish out for the coming week(s).
- WP Evernote Site Memory – This is a great button for anyone who might read your posts and also use Evernote. If they are like me and use Evernote for their information hub, they will appreciate a button attached to your post that allows them to quickly store your tips/ideas for later use.
- WPtouch – In today’s world you need a mobile version of your blog. This is a great free (there is a paid pro version) plugin that makes your WordPress site mobile friendly.
- TentBlogger Social Widget – I love this simple plugin. I was looking for a clean plugin to simply display my twitter feed on the sidebar of my blog. This is it. You can also add Facebook and RSS feeds if you wish.
Bonus: If you are looking for a stellar and robust theme for your WordPress site I would encourage you to check out Standard Theme from 8BIT (affiliate link). It does cost but is well worth the onetime investment for all they offer.
Question: What is your favorite WordPress plugin?
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