Eons ago, I posted a list of what I considered to be the 10 best WordPress Plugins. Because of the wonderful functionality that WordPress 3.0+ has given us, many of my favorites are now obsolete, so I thought that it’s about time I started over on the plugin recommendations.
First of all, there are some things to remember…
• The more plugins you have the more memory it will take to run your site. Why does this matter? Well, if you’re on a shared hosting account (and most people are), then you ‘share’ the memory allotment for that account. This means that you can go over your allotted percentage of memory or ‘CPU’ usage. If you need to use lots of plugins, AND you get lots of traffic to your site, you probably want to move to either a VPS (Virtual Private Server), or a dedicated server. Make sure that your server uses CGI, not FastCGI. While FastCGI loads a site faster, it also runs ALL of the site’s scripts ALL of the time…so CPU usage is much higher. With CGI, the scripts are only called when needed.
Yes, a plugin is a script, so each time that plugin is ‘called’ or ‘used’, it uses memory.
• From version 3.2 (Estimated to arrive in 2011), WordPress will cease to be supported under PHP 4, with the minimum required PHP version being PHP 5.2. Make sure that you have the correct version of PHP on your server (hosting account). PHP 4 is outdated and thus WordPress is not tested on it anymore…along with most plugins. Check with your hosting company to find out which version of PHP your account is running on, and how to make the switch if it’s older. In most cases, there’s no charge to make this change to your account.
Also, keep in mind that older Themes and Plugins may have PHP code that eventually might not work with every PHP 5 version. Check with the Theme and Plugin authors for the specific requirements of the themes or plugins you’re using.
That all being said, let’s move on to some great plugins…
I start every WP site install with these basic (and I feel ‘can’t live without’) plugins:
• WP Database Backup. Yes, you can purchase more robust plugins for backing up and restoring your site. But, to me there’s no need. This plugin backs up your entire database, and you can schedule it and have it emailed to you on a regular basis. You’ll probably go through most of your online life, blissfully never needing this, but it is very important to have it all the same.
• Akismet. You don’t have to download and install this one, it comes with your WordPress install. However, it’s important (if you’re blogging or posting and allowing comments) to activate this plugin. It helps keep the spam away!
• WP Touch. In today’s fast paced mobile world, it’s important to make sure your site is viewable on mobile devices. This plugin converts your site to a special theme when viewed from iPhone, iPod touch, Android, Palm Pre, Samsung touch and BlackBerry Storm/Torch mobile devices.
• WordPress SEO. This plugin replaces many that I used to use as defaults: Robots Meta, Yoast Breadcrumbs, All in One SEO, Google XML Sitemaps, and even Headspace2. The WONDERFUL thing about this plugin, is that if you’re using all of those old stand-bys, you can install this new one, and import all of your settings! This puts everything regarding your site’s SEO in one place..making the task of optimizing your site so much easier!
• Ultimate Google Analytics. This plugin adds Google Analytics to each page on your website without making any changes to your template. You’ll need to get a Google Analytics account to use this one, but doesn’t everyone need one of those anyway?
What’s no longer needed? With WordPress 3.0 and Custom Menus, you no longer need plugins like Page Link Manager, Exclude Pages, Simply Exclude, etc. With custom menus (and your theme must support this function), you completely control the navigation of your website.
Here are some BEYOND BASIC plugins that I love to use:
• Vipers Video Quicktags. Makes it more than easy to embed videos in your pages and posts…just the click of a button, and you’re on your way.
• WP Customer Reviews. Get your customers and clients involved. They can easily post their reviews directly from your website. You can set it to send you an email when a review is posted, and you have final say on which reviews are actually posted on your site. This plugin supports both Business and Product hReview types, which are parsed by Google.
• WP Render Blogroll Links. Probably the EASIEST way to add a links page to your website (for link partners or relevant link exchanges). Allows you to categorize your links, add descriptions, organize them, hide them, and even nofollow them.
• NextGen Gallery. For photo galleries, you just can’t beat the ‘out of the box’ ease of use. You can have multiple galleries, with multiple uses (such as slideshows). You can watermark your images. Drag and drop your images to sort them. Tag support allows flexibility in how you post your images. A sidebar widget is included. Plus, you can add other plugins to make the functionality even better!
• GTranslate. Uses the Google Translate service to translate with a single click between 58 languages.
• W3 Total Cache. I have to be honest…I’m not a big fan of Caching, but if you must, this one is (IMHO) the best.
There are so many valuable plugins out there. If you are smart, and do your research, you can end up with an absolutely incredible WordPress website!
Tags: add-ons • database backup • functionality • google analytics • plugins • seo • spam • website • wordpress