Plugins come and go. The good ones stay around, while the not-so good ones just don’t get updated.
Sometimes it is fun to test them out and see what they do. Some end up slowing down the site too much, so they get deactivated and deleted.
Here are a few not-so-common plugins that I have found that you might want to take a look at (in no particular order):
1. Akisimet – OK – this one is not uncommon as it is installed by default when you install WordPress! This plugin helps remove spam comments, something that you WILL get as your site gains popularity.
2. SEOPressor is THE plugin to have for helping you with on-page Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Think of this plugin as a running checklist that actually calculates your on-page SEO score. When you make some changes to your page or post, your score will change – you can see what helps and what hinders! I install it on all my sites!
3. WPTwin – Here is a true story – one of my other websites, All About Gratitude, was hacked! I had a massive Link Injection attack (this means someone else went and put in all sorts of links on my pages and posts – and link to buy drugs, and other things!). It took me probably 8-10 hours of manually going into each post and cleaning up the rogue links! It was HORRIBLE! That was before I had WPTwin. If that happens today, I can simply revert to previous night’s backup (which is automatically created for me). In under 2 minutes, everything is back to normal!
4. WordPress Editorial Calendar Plugin – This is a great little plugin that helps you visualize all the posts that you have posted, all the posts that may be scheduled, and even when you created a draft post. I like the ability to drag and drop a draft post or unpublished post from one day to another. It makes scheduling and changing you mind a lot easier than when the posts are listed in the regular WordPress All Posts listing.
5. P3 (Plugin Performance Profiler) – I have to say that this is one of my newest favorite plugins! This plugin creates a profile of your WordPress site’s plugins’ performance by measuring their impact on your site’s load time. Often times, WordPress sites load slowly because of poorly configured plugins or because there are so many of them. By using the P3 plugin, you can narrow down anything causing slowness on your site.
Have you seen these before? Which ones do you like? Do you have any to add? Leave a comment and let me know!
hey paul
my favorite for my selfhosted blog is
http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/nextgen-gallery/
just figured out that it also does photoalbums 🙂
Hi Paul…. I “assume” since you’re going to check out my site that you’ll make sure we have just the right plugins, no more, no less. I won’t have to worry about backups either…. just let me know when you are ready to check it out…. by the way….
Chris Farrell has an extra security step….
Let me know if you need more.
Best regards,
DON
Don – Check your email – I followed up privately.
If anyone needs assistance with their site, you can contact me over at
Be Well.
Paul.
Thanks for sharing these plugins, Paul. Love Askimet! I’ve had plugin conflicts in the recent past so sort of leave that to my web person who does my sites securities etc. to install. I will be checking out and likely installing the WordPress Editorial Calendar Plugin as I like the description you gave.
Hi Yvonne – Using the Editorial Calendar makes sense, especially at the start of the New Year if you are going to be laying out a blogging plan! Let me know what you think!