Enjoy this guest blog from author C. Pearson. Image courtesy FreeDigitalPhotos.net
One of the great things about blogging platforms such as WordPress is that they come with an enormous number of plugins. These plugins allow for bloggers to customize their blogs and extend functionality with limited programming knowledge.
However, with so many plugins available, bloggers can quickly become overwhelmed with the options available and will often need additional assistance choosing the best plugins. The key to choosing the best plugins is to consider what the blog will be used for. There are certain features that are generally beneficial to most bloggers.
Antispam Bee
For bloggers who have a comments section, it will be crucial to filter out spam comments. Automated software programs will locate blogs and post comments that contain links to spammy and virus-laden websites. Bloggers always need a spam filter like Antispam Bee to remove these messages, unless they wish to spend time removing spam messages manually.
WPtouch
Another crucial plugin is one designed to optimize the blog for mobile devices. An increasing number of users are accessing the Internet using smart phones and other mobile devices. While highly convenient, the screens on these devices are much smaller and blogs need to be adjusted to accommodate. Fortunately, most blogging platforms have plugins that automatically convert the blog into a mobile-friendly version, such as the WPtouch.
Sexy Bookmarks
Blogs are among the most sharable forms of content, and bloggers should take advantage of this by making it very easy to share content on social bookmarking websites, such as Digg and Reddit. With social bookmarking plugins, such as Sexy Bookmarks, users can choose to bookmark the blog post on websites that they have accounts with. Doing so will increase the chances that other users will discover the content and do the same thing. This can grow the blog’s readership over time.
The Slide
When a user discovers a blog through a search engine, they will most likely read part of the blog post, click the back button and search for something else. This occurs regardless of if the user enjoys the blog post. One way to get the user to stick around is to provide a list of related posts that can entice the reader to continue reading the blog, increasing the chances that the user will become a subscriber. Fortunately, there are plugins that will automatically show users related blog posts. An example is the Slide.
WordPress SEO
To get users to come to the blog in the first place, bloggers need to have sound SEO. There are numerous SEO plugins that will optimize the post titles and meta tags to maximize the chances that the blog will be indexed in major search engines for relevant search terms. One example is the WordPress SEO by Yoast.
Google Analytics for WordPress
A final crucial plugin for bloggers is an analytics tool that gives the blogger data on his or her user statistics. While the blogger might have a web provider who provides sufficient analytics, it is helpful to have information readily available through a tool such as Google Analytics for WordPress.
Author Bio:
C. Pearson is a professional writer and blogger. He enjoys sharing his money saving tips and coupons finds on fatwallet.com. He has also written several ebooks.
thank you so much for this nice plugin collections…
I love your Blog Writing Style and your blog very much
My brother suggested I might like this blog. He used to be totally
right. This submit truly made my day. You cann’t consider just how a lot time I had spent for this info! Thanks!
Thank you. However, I searched for “The Slide” to no avail. Saw many “slide” plug-ins, yet no “The Slide.” As for comments, I have Invisible Captcha — discovered that the comments I approved are NOT showing on the live pages. Is there a better comments PlugIn?
Lastly, tried to install Google Analytics for WordPress — it’s asking me to select among a series of options. I’m uncomfortable with this. Worried I’ll delete something, or add live displays.
Any guidance would be very much appreciated.
The Slide is actually under The Slide by SimpleReach. We use Captcha with a simple math formula for most folks… I’ve stopped using it here temporarily as readers seemed to be having a hard time finding the math problem, but will no doubt reinstall when spam becomes a problem again (seems to show up in waves). For the Google Analytics – make sure you go to Google first and login there… then you should be able to grab your UA code and paste it in at the WordPress site… (which, once you install on WordPress you’ll find under “Settings.”) Hope that helps!
Once again, Shari, great info. Thanks for bringing these points to our attention!
Pattie
Thanks, Pattie! Write on… Shari
Working to creatively conduct writing business: As a writer of a significant number of unpublished, fun novels and novellas, thank you… And having entered the Pirate’s Alley novel competition for this year, I’m enthused with the piece I submitted. I would have loved to have met Mr. Ted Turner at Words and Music.
I’m a member of the South Carolina Writers Workshop, as well. And I have some novel concepts on how to get to market with my extensive portfolio. Wish me well, please, as I proceed. Best wishes to you as Charleston is a favorite location of mine as it is for many. I hope to meet you sometime.
Mark Mitchell, Owner: Mystery’s 2, LLC.
“Mystery Moves the Mind: Open Your Mystery”
Thanks, Mark and all success with your books. Also, congratulations as I see you made the Short List for your novel submission to the Faulkner Wisdom Creative Writing Competition this year… A GREAT accomplishment as the quality of work submitted to that contest is nothing less than stellar!
well…of course the sexy bookmarks…what else? Seriously…good info