Extensions, or plugins, are used to give your site or blog more functions and extend its usefulness. They also make it more interesting and more convenient for you, the blogger, and may even draw more readers to your blog! This article will list a few basic WordPress plugins that will definitely improve your blogging experience.
Starting off the list is Shutter Reloaded, a plugin that makes your photo-viewing experience a better one. It uses the Lightbox effect, which is a script that enables images to overlay the existing page you’re on. It is very cool and definitely enhances your image-viewing experience. And because it doesn’t use an external JavaScript framework, it’s very light. That’s always a plus!
Another item on the list is the Google Custom Search plugin. The default search capability that comes with the WordPress page is limited to searches within your posts only. This powerful search capabilities can expand your search to the whole of your website and will be able to return more relevant results to your users.
Third on the list is a very interesting plugin called Akismet. What it does is that it blocks automated spam, which is the type that is sent by automated bots. Akismet eliminates spam by scrutinising the method of delivery, instead of the message itself. Installing this plugin will mean virtually no comment spam, as it is commonly delivered by bots. Automated bots, beware!
Another plugin that would up the convenience level of your WordPress is the Query Posts. It compiles a list of pages similar to the one you’re currently viewing, by way of a calculation of a page’s similarity in terms of title, content and tags. There are a lot of options that you can choose from for you to find related posts.
I’m sure your readers would like leave comments on your page, right? Well then you should install Subscribe to Comments. It enables your commenters to choose if they’d like to be notified of recent comments on your page. When this plugin is installed, a checkbox will appear for your commenters to tick whether or not they’d like to be informed via email of new comments.
Last but definitely not least is the WordPress Automatic Online Backup, an automated backup program that’ll save you the hassle of manually backing up all your databases. As you should already know, it’s crucial to have backups, especially for important data. WordPress Automatic Online Backup sends database backups to your free account at its website, but also does it on-demand. It will delete any old backup as soon as it receives a new one. You can also determine which backup version that you do not want to be deleted.
In conclusion, all the plugins listed are basically plug-and-play, so no hassle of long-winded installations; they are also compatible with WordPress 2.7; not to mention LEGAL and licensed under GNU GPL. They’ll make your WordPress experience a million times better!
