Personally, I feel it is essential for bloggers to track the activity on their blogs. You can make use of a web analytics tool, but it takes sometime to navigate through all the reports. That is where a plugin will be handy. The WordPress.com Stats plugin is a big help in this regard. Instead of using another application, you can keep track of your blog’s stats directly from your WordPress dashboard.
2. WP-Polls
It is a well-known fact that people like to participate in polls. There are options available to you on the internet, but the WP-Polls plugin will allow you to create custom polls on your WordPress dashboard. You do not have to leave your account to log into another site to manage it. This is only if you want to make use of polls.
3. Sociable
This plugin automatically add links to your favorite social bookmarking sites on your posts, pages and in your RSS feed. You can choose from 99 different social bookmarking sites.
4. Akismet
It is very important to activate your Akismet plugin on your blog. It is a fact that blogs unfortunately get comments that are spam. This plugin checks your comments against the Akismet web service to see if they look like spam or not and lets you review the spam it catches under your blog’s “comments” admin screen. Your readers do not like to see spam comments. This can easily result in a decrease of your traffic. I cannot stress this enough, please make sure you are using a plugin like Akismet. This WordPress plugin will save you time.
5. Math Comment Spam
In the fast growing era of technology, it is unfortunately a fact that comment spam blocking plugins like Akismet will not always be enough to eliminate all spam comments. By using the Math Comment Spam plugin in conjunction with the Akismet plugin, you will be able to decrease spam comments. The Math Comment Spam plugin will ask readers a simple math problem such as 2 x 3 before they can comment. This is to make sure that it is a human comment.
6. Theme Tester
Editor’s Note: The Theme Tester plugin may not work with newer versions of WordPress. A good alternate plugin is Theme Test Drive which can be found at: http://wordpress.org/extend/
It sometimes happens that bloggers want to change the WordPress theme. You do not want your audience to see the changes until all is finished and ready. This is where the Theme Tester plugin is of great help. Your readers will see your existing design until all is set up and ready for publishing.
7. WP-Database Backup
I want you to read the following with attention! If your blog is important to you, do yourself a big favor and install the WP-Database Backup plugin. It is most crucial to have this plugin installed and set to back up your WordPress database. This plugin will save the data on your hard drive or it will be sent to you via email. The next important point I want to stress is the following: Please keep in mind that this plugin makes a backup of your database files only. Make sure to make a manual backup of your WordPress content folder from your hosting account.
8. Easytube
This plugin will help you to get a YouTube or Google video published on your blog. It easily makes embedding YouTube and Google videos into your post a snap. Easytube also includes a preview image of your YouTube videos in the RSS feed with a link to the video. If you want to make use of visual media, it is essential to install this plugin.
9. Auto Close Comments, Pingbacks and Trackbacks
To reduce spam on older posts, you can make use of this plugin. Older posts are targets for automated comment spam bots. After installing the plugin, set the timeframe to a date when you want to close comments on your posts.
10. Google Maps Plugin
Editor’s Note: The Google Maps plugin may not work with newer versions of WordPress. A good alternate plugin is the Comprehensive Google Map plugin which can be found at: http://wordpress.org/extend/
This plugin speaks for itself. If you want to make use of maps from Google to be part of your blog post, this plugin will assist you in the process of creating, inserting and customizing it. This WordPress plugin will definitely save you time.
I really hope these 10 WordPress plugins will save you time and make blogging a treat. Make use of them and enjoy your blogging!
Jan de Klerk is an internet marketing enthusiast. Want to learn more about blogging and the online home business? Did you find the tips in his post helpful? Claim his free report about blogging, available at http://www.jandeklerk.com . He likes to give honest, real and valuable information to help people become successful online. He specifically likes to help with blogging and the online home business niche. Jan’s articles are jam packed with real honest tips and techniques for the internet marketer.
