Pimping Wordpress

// March 13th, 2009 // Technology

As undeniable it is as, the premier blogging platform (sorry Blogger) is Wordpress and there are a number of plugins available to really add a bunch of functionality WP really needs.  While there’s quite a few “Best Wordpress Plugins” lists out there, I’d thought I’d shed some light on a few of our favorites, as WP installations tend to be one of the most requested services asked of us.

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Here are some of our favorites that any WP powered blog should have:

  • Akismet – This is a free service from the folks at Auttomatic.  You’ll need to obtain an API key which is pretty straight-forward.  Once the plugin is installed and activated, it will catch about 99.9% of possible comment spam.  You can also use this in conjunction with the built-in Comment Moderation and Comment Blacklist (inherent in WP) to add an extra layer of protection.
  • WP SuperCache – This is perhaps one of the most useful plugins that you will rarely know its running, until you hit the home page of Digg or Slashdot.  As the name implies, it is a caching mechanism that essentially creates static HTML files of your blog posts thereby relieving WP from having to deal with database queries.  As about 90% of most visitors to a web site don’t leave comments, this plugin will send a cached version of the page.  For you and other logged in users, they will receive a non-cached version of the page.  If you ever received a major spike in traffic with a relatively short period of time, then you’ll appreicate the amount of stress this plugin will take off of your shoulders.
  • Google XML Sitemap – Although the name may imply only Google, it actually works with Google, MSN, Ask and Yahoo!.  This plugin will generate a search engine sitemap file of your latest posts and activity on your blog.  Whenever you write a new post, this plugin will automatically notify the search engines that your site has new content and to send a friendly search spider over.
  • All in One SEO Pack – This is another one of those plugins that is here to help you gain more traffic to your site.  If you’re like most bloggers, your post titles may tend to lean to the creative side.  Good for your readers.  Not so good for search engines.  This plugin allows you to set meta tags for the title so they can be more descriptive and SEO friendly.
  • WP Security Scan – Although Wordpress is pretty secure its also open source so the bad guys also have a copy of it to screw around with and find weaknesses in it.  This plugin does a number of things to make WP more secure as well as make it harder for the bad guys to break into your WP blog.  Each subsequent version of WP adds a ton of new features, but sometimes adding new things leaves a few unexpected holes.

The folks at NETTUTS has put together a really concise list over here.  Also, be sure to check out Mashable’s Wordpress God list of over 300 plugins.  There are literally hundreds of Wordpress plugins available.

However, not all programmers go through the necessary steps to ensure that their plugins do not become a security issue.  As with most web apps including WP, plugins have a number of upgrade releases as each developer squashes bugs or improves security.  While there are a number of must-have plugins, having too many may put a strain on your blog.  I remember one blog we were consulting with had over 30plugins installed — And they wondered why their blog ran so slow.

Try not to go plugin crazy and really consider why you need it before installing it.  Even uninstalling a plugin can leave DB reminants.

Happy blogging!

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