Many webmasters choose WordPress when it comes to their online publishing platform. And why not – it has great functionality, it’s intuitive, and most importantly… WordPress is very newbie friendly.
But there’s another great reason people love WordPress, and that’s because of plugins. Plugins give added functionality to the basic WordPress platform, and let you achieve things beyond simply publishing content to the web.
If you’re looking to build your tech skills, getting proficient with plugins is a must in the online world – and here are some of the top ones you should know.
Broken Link Checker – This plugin is a handy tool for regular webmasters; for an affiliate marketer, however, it’s a full-fledged life preserver that will keep you links and your sales afloat. This plugin automatically checks the links on your site at a pre-designated period you specify, then alerts you when broken links are detected.
Bad Behavior – A spam-fighting superhero of a plugin, Bad Behavior combats link spam and the robots that deliver it via a PHP-based application. It’s easy to install and requires little if any setup. If you really want an eye-opening experience, open up your Bad Behavior log and see the deluge of spam attacks this plugin thwarts on your behalf.
WordPress Database Backup – A must-have for backing up your blog, this plugin lets you choose the frequency of backups and then gives you the option of saving your backed-up data to either your server, your desktop, or your inbox.
All-in-One SEO Pack – Helps you easily optimize your posts and pages with SEO friendly titles, homepage descriptions, and keywords. Considered by many to be a must-have plugin to get you found on the world-wide web.
Sitemap Generator – A step above other sitemap generators, this lets you customize your website’s sitemap while also offering category/page exclusion capabilities. Dagon Design’s Sitemap Generator also lets you tailor your sitemap to your own specifications, so you can choose what items to display and what order to list them in.
Comment Luv – Builds community and encourages comments by displaying the title of your commenter’s latest blog post. They can also choose alternate posts to display instead. A fan favorite plugin for people looking to contribute while building backlinks to their own site.
One important thing to remember about plugins is that there can be pesky compatibility issues on occasion; it’s a good idea to install plugins one at a time and test your site for issues before installing the next one. Plugins that are updated frequently and receive good reviews also are less prone to inciting compatibility problems.
