Released in 2003, WordPress has emerged as a leading blog publishing application. There are two versions: WordPress.org and WordPress.com.
WordPress.com is designed for users who require or want little upkeep. The hosting and software management is included. Functionality is limited, but it’s free and extremely user-friendly. WordPress.org is an open source platform that requires users to install software and manage hosting. For those with Web savvy or technical knowledge, this is a rather simple process.
WordPress.org has additional benefits: users can upload and modify thousands of themes and plugins.
The plugins enable users to increase blog functionality without extensive coding knowledge. They can be downloaded with just a couple clicks of the mouse through the backend of the site.
The Official WordPress Plugins Repository has more than 6,400 possible plugins to choose from, which can be overwhelming to the average blogger. The following seven essential WordPress plugins are among the top tools to increase blog functionality:
Akismet Blocks Spam Comments
Spam is a concern for anyone with a blog. It’s an unsolicited or undesired bulk message that’s distributed indiscriminately. These types of comments are distracting, unwarranted and can pose a security risk. The Akismet plugin automatically blocks spam comments. It also enables users to display Akismet statistics on their blogs, if desired.
All in One SEO Pack Can Help Increase Blog Traffic
This is an out-of-the-box, search engine optimization (SEO) plugin for your WordPress blog. Developed by Semper Fi Web Design, All in One SEO Pack is streamlined for SEO best practices, optimizing titles, descriptions, keywords and more. Users can tweak default options and customize the plugin to fit their needs.
Contact Form 7 Generates a Professional Contact Form for a Blog Page
A professional contact form is easy to generate with Contact Form 7. This plugin creates form fields for name, e-mail address, subject and message. The form can be customized, and it uses Akismet for spam filtering. It also provides bot prevention with CAPTCHA.
FeedBurner FeedSmith Allows Bloggers to Track and Manage RSS Feeds
Originally developed by Steve Smith, this plugin detects all of the ways to access the original WordPress feeds and redirects them to a FeedBurner feed. Google’s Feedburner is among the most widely used tools to manage RSS feeds. It allows bloggers to burn feeds and track subscriber statistics. Many themes come with their own RSS feeds, and this plugin redirects all of them to Feedburner so that it’s possible to track every subscriber.
Google Analyticator Provides Code to Enable Google Analytics on a Blog
This plugin automatically generates the necessary JavaScript code to enable Google's Analytics, a free service that tracks detailed statistics about a Web site’s visitors. Simply enter the Google Analytics’ UID code to enable logging. The 11-digit code is provided upon signing up for Google Analytics.
Google XML Sitemaps Allows Users to Create a Sitemap for a Blog
This plugin generates a sitemaps.org compatible sitemap of your WordPress blog, which is supported by Ask.com, Google, MSN Search and YAHOO!. A sitemap helps blogs and other Web sites get indexed by major search engines, potentially boosting traffic.
WP-DBManager Can Automatically Back Up a WordPress Blog Database
WP-DBManager helps bloggers manages their WordPress databases. They can optimize, repair, backup or restore a database, and more. It also supports automatic scheduling for backing up a database, which can be vital insurance in the event of an error.
Plugins help increase blog functionality, drive traffic and manage content. The plugins mentioned above are free and can be downloaded from the Official WordPress Plugins Repository. Some developers are set up to receive donations from users who enjoy the plugins and wish to support the development effort.
To learn more about WordPress plugins, visit Top WordPress Plugins for Business Blogs and Top WordPress Plugins for Social Media Marketing.
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