Update 2020: There were originally 12 WordPress Plugins listed here but now only 6 are regularly maintained.
Hey guys! This is a guest post from James Adams.
There are over ten thousand plugins that you can add to your new WordPress blog.
There are plugins which will optimize your content, manage your pictures, and connect you to the social networks.
Which ones are the best? Following is a list of ten WordPress plugins that you should place on your site.
image by bobbigmac
1. All in One SEO Pack
Make your posts more search engine friendly by installing the All in One SEO Pack. No problems for beginners, simply install it and it runs. Creates META tags. Custom post types are supported, and it has a built-in API. Advanced users can tweak this plugin to their heart’s content.
2. Google Analyticator
With Google Analyticator you can integrate Google Analytics so that you can track who is referring traffic to your blog.
You can see what users view, what pages they view on your site before they complete a goal, how long they stay on your site, and where they go when they leave.
image by lumaxart
3. Add to Any
This plugin allows others to share your posts and pages with any service. Integrate this service through Google Analytics.
Optimize your selections from over a hundred social networks, including Twitter, Google Buzz, Delicious and Facebook. Maximize the chances of your posts going viral.
4. WP Super Cache
Optimize your blog by serving up static html pages instead of loading the information each time. This reduces the server load. An essential plugin if you are expecting a lot of users to your site.
image by Dunechaser
5. Google XML Sitemaps
Google XML Sitemaps makes it easy for the search engine crawlers to look at your site. It pings Google, Bing, Yahoo and Ask.com with any changes that you have made to your blog. Tweak your plugins, customize your parameters and priorities.
6. Akismet
Akismet is essential to preventing spam comments from your blog.
It will hold those posts for moderation to let you determine whether you have received a visit from the spam bots.
It is activated by using your Akismet API Key. There is a counter which will tell you how much spam Akismet has captured.
image by heggarty_david
7. SEO Automatic Links
Interlink your posts and make your blog rise in the page rankings on Google.
This plugin works automatically to connect phrases, tags, categories and pages within your blog. You can set the links themselves to open in new windows for those who want to stay on your blog.
8. LinkWithin
If you want to help your users find other posts on your blog that are related to the one they’re reading, then this plugin is a great way to show related posts.
There are other plugins that list related posts, but they tend to be most text-based, and easy to miss. However, LinkWithin provides a visual interface that engages users. Install LinkWithin and boost your pageviews instantly.
image by AJC1
9. FeedBurner FeedSmith
By integrating FeedSmith you can automatically make your RSS feed redirect to FeedBurner, which means you can get really useful data on how many subscribers you have, who is using your feed, how your feed is being read. FeedSmith is indispensable.
10. Digg Digg
Although the name suggests that this plugin is for Digg only, it isn’t. Digg Digg allows you to add social shared count and voting buttons for super high traffic websites including Digg, Reddit, StumbleUpon, Twitter and Facebook. Using this plugin can help your best content go viral as it makes sharing easier.
11. Ozh’ Admin Drop Down Menu
If you’re serious about your blog then you’ll probably spend a lot of time in the backend administering posts, pages and media. This plugin makes it much faster to navigate, hence making admin less of a chore.
12. WP Security Scan
This plugin is an essential part of defending your blog from hackers. It will scan your blog’s setup and advise how to make it more secure by making your password stronger, ensuring you have the correct file permissions, changing database prefixes, etc. A must have for any WordPress blogger!
Installed plugins should make your blog run smoothly and more efficiently. With Add to Any, you can share posts easily. With the All in One SEO pack, you will make your posts more SEO friendly. Stats allows you to track your visitors without confusion. These plugins are easy to use and will make your blog shine.
This guest post was written by James Adams, a writer who covers developments in technology and analyses new hardware for Cartridge Save.
I think that robots meta and Broken Link Checker it will be also a good addition here.
Good idea, Bit Doze. Robots Meta is really important as it will give the search engines a better impression of your site. Thanks for the addition π
Great list of plugins you got here Gloson. I use most of them and will check out the others that I haven’t used as yet.
I stopped using the Akismet because it does not work well, so I don’t recommend it. I use the GASP plugin which keeps spammers out.
Hey Kharim, thanks a lot! Yeah, I agree. And I just realized that I haven’t been using the GASP plugin. *gasp* I better install GASP now! π
It would be really cool if you did a post about how your blog comment moderation has changed since switching from Akismet to GASP. I have thought about switching, but I don’t want the extra headache of moderating comments as much.
Wow, Gloson Blog Rock Again Man. I love the Seo Automatic Links Plugin. You have collected a great list.
Hi Sam,
Haha, thanks! Thanks to James who collected this great list. π
Thanks Gloson for sharing all these plugins and keep it up, you are going really good in blogs world.
Awesome list of plug-ins, that improves the look and feel of your wordpress website or blog. thanks for sharing with us.
Well I won’t say that these plugins are new to me and to most people but I know these and some others are essential not just fo new bloggers but for literally everyone.
You are certainly right at putting the All in One SEO plugin at position one. This plugin is great at getting your blog high search engine rankings.
I use w3 total catch instead, it has advanced options. Came to know about “Ozhβ Admin Drop Down Menu” very recently through website magazine. Best plugin for sure!
these plugins are also amazing to use, you must try them.
Nice list. I would recomend Yoast SEO plugin over all in one.The Yoast plugin also includes xlm sitemap. It also gives you a preview of the google meta tekst.
Cool, thanks for the suggestion. I will certainly try out Yoast. π
SEO doesn’t work on my blog π
Nice list. There are a couple of plug-ins new to me that I now need to check out.
The provided list is really awesome.All 12 Best WordPress Plugins not helpful only for newbie but also for experienced fellows. Gonna implement Yoast SEO plugin to mine,its containing xml map with it too….
I have to agree with Google xml sitemaps and All in One SEO Pack.
Both of these tools are great.
Not had any use of the others but I will sure give a couple of them a whirl.
Thanks
Great post..
I am interested with All in One SEO pack, Google analyticator, and SEO Automatics Link.
I assume that a blog is success if the blog traffic is high and increase day to day. All of tools that I mentioned will help us to increase blog traffic. I hope my blog traffic will increase from day to day.
Hi James,
Some fantastic plug-ins here! I have a lot of them installed already but the SEO Automatic Links plugin is new to me and looks fantastic. Iβll certainly be giving it a try!
Thanks!
Pete
Hi James,
unfortunately, one of my sites is in Drupal and I miss the LinkWithin plug-in which is only available for WP sites. I hope they make it Drupal-compatible one day. Great article.
Awesome list of wordpress plugins Gloson. There are also other new plugins that is good for new bloggers like GASP and Arkayne’s community linking plugin. Well, I mostly use everything that’s listed here, except for akismet – it’s quite inaccurate these days.
Some fantastic plug-ins here! I have a lot of them installed already but the SEO Automatic Links plugin is new to me and looks fantastic.
Iβll certainly be giving it a try!
very nice list of plugins.. I might add a few more… rss footer, a great plugin that allows you to add a copyright text at the end of you rss.. and maybe quotes collection, good for bloggers that want to add randon text, quotes and other in the sidebar
they are almost all great plugins, but I don’t like google analyticator.. I mean, what’s it’s purpose on this earth?:D come on, google analytics does everything you want and to integrate it you don’t need a plugin, whatsoever… just copy-paste the js tracking code to the header file.. and you’re done;)
Hi Jake,
Thanks for the comment π . Well, it might seem pointless, but beginners mostly don’t know how and where to paste the code. LOL. So the plugin makes it all easier for them.
Cheers,
Gloson
Personally I find it quite useful and i’m not at beginner, it would be straight forward enough to copy n paste, but when themes are frequently being updated, it’s much easier just having a plugin take care of the work, that way you know it will be on every page, also you have extra functions that are nice too.
Thanks Gloson, enjoyed the article π
Nice list of plugins. WordPress always do new innovations. Thanks for sharing it.
I only SEO Automatic Links, askimet and wp navi.. I try to keep my blog clear and simple, because less is more, in my opinion.
Regards,
Anna
Thanks for the great list. I was little skeptic about using SEO smart links on my blog. Your listing has helped me get out of it. Gonna integrate it at my blog now. Thanks.
Hi Gloson,
Thanks for sharing the above post. You are right all the above plugins are essential for any serious blogger. Keep up the good work π
Steve
Thanks for a great list, I’d add ‘after the deadline’ which is a pretty good proof reader. I hadn’t heard of link within, I’ll go and check that out.
Great list! I have about more than half of them activated on my blog π
I use Fluency though instead of the Ozhβ Admin Drop Down Menu. Fluency looks better in my opinion
I never used any of these plug ins when I started using WordPress. but I will try it now since I can get a lot of benefits from it. And I have lots to choose. Thanks for posting.
Out of those plugins, I like the SEO automatic links the most. Creating interlinks of my post took some time and with this plugin I don’t have to worry about missing any links to my older articles.
I suggest that you need to replace the WP Super Cache by W3 Total Cache because it worth and useful than the WP Super Cache.
Thanks for sharing this great resources for bloggers which helps them to increase the websites traffic as well blog for more attractive and easy to manage.
Regards,
Rabia Tareen
I used to really like All In One SEO, but I think it only gets mentioned so much because of it’s popularity, not that it is the best or most useful.
I’ve started using something called SEO Ultimate, it’s no where near as popular but the amount of features it has is immense!
I think these plug-ins are very necessary to install on a blog.First of all your blog should on site optimize for good ranking.
Great list of plugins… Although I prefer W3 total cache to WP super cache.
I personally like the all-in-one SEO pack because it enables me to add keywords and description to my blog posts. In fact, it improves my blog’s success on search engine. Thanks for the new plugins.
Hi Gloson, Thanks for the list…I can say that this blog post help me a lot, I have been searching for plugin that can help me increase my blog readership and I think you and James has really helped me in solving this issue.
Thanks a lot for sharing this awesome contents.
You have not mentioned comluv .This is also a great plugin to increase loyal visitors.All in one seo is my favorite seo plugin
Superb list of plugins you got here Gloson. I use most of them and will check out the others that I havenβt used as yet. I have got mostly which i was searching for my blog. I am reading your every post as well. My Best Wishes with you.
-sara
Wonderful !!
There are amazing tools. I like most the Google Analyticator. It is very fantastic and very valuable tool. I am going to download it and install it. It is very beneficial for our blog.
Nice post but misiing your posts π Where are you bro these days i miss your presence here?????
Great work glosson! A lot of very useful tips here. I need to find the best plugins and certainly learned a lot from your blog.
Congratulations, I just bookmarked this page :)) Really good plugins π I used only the first one π SEO uber alles :))
There are so many plugins in the whole wordpress , which are desirable .But the most convenient plugin is Aksmit . Akasmit uses for stopping the spammers to reduce spam comments .
Hi Gloson, I can’t believe a very small age you are providing such a nice and informative blog. Good plug ins you shared. Keep sharing.
I installed FeedBurner FeedSmith and LinkWithin after reading about them here. I can’t say anything about the results but installing LinkWithin only took four easy steps. The links to other related blog posts on my site showed up immediately. Thanks for this post. I’m excited about using these to make my blog a better experience for my readers.
Thanks friend that is very useful the information you shared, people are always looking around for help and you really provided with help and ways to overcome small issues which can make your blogs more complete.
I have all the above plugins except WP Security Scan. I am going to install it right away Thanks Gloson.
Hi Gloson,
I found your website very informative and you well explained and shared 12 best wordpress plugins for new bloggers.This post is simple and easy to understand.Thanks for sharing!
Great plugins are there in wordpress and they are all very useful. I am using different web 2.0 and for me wordpress is one of the best. Great tips with this article very helpful and informative +1 to Google, 1 like to facebook and retweet to twitter π
All In One SEO Pack is definitely useful but it fades in comparison when it comes to functionality compared to SEO Yoast.
Hi Gloson, I canβt believe a very small age you are providing such a nice and informative blog. Good plug ins you shared. Keep sharing.
do i dare to comment on the selection , no. But i like to say i am liking the ranking of the plugins u know what i mean no.1 for All in One SEO Pack and Number 2 for Google Analyticator. Great choice of plugin and as always great post gloson. Keep it up.