One of the great things about WordPress is that it can basically do anything you want.
If you feel there is something missing, just write or download a plugin. It’s amazing how many plugins are already available. Below, I highlight 7 plugins I’ve used, find helpful, or just think are interesting:
1. Akismet
I’ve been using Akismet from the moment it became available and it’s made life considerably easier. Akismet is a spam management tool. Check that. It is a hassle free spam killer. Akismet now comes bundled in WordPress 2.0.
2. WP On-Demand Database Backup
Coming from the world of dealing with highly sensitive financial data, this plugin is particularly important to me. If you are not backing your database up on a regular basis, you are messing with fire. You need this plugin. It also comes bundled in WordPress 2.0.
3. Google Analytics and Feedburner Reports
My friend and team member (at Silas Partners) is an uber WordPress plugin developer. I recently became aware of his reports plugin, which ties in data from Google Analytics and FeedBurner. Using his plugin, I can check out stats from both of those services via a “Reports” tab within WordPress. That saves me time and that is why it is an awesome plugin. Thanks, Joe.
4. Flickr Photo Album
Joe makes the list twice. This time with his Flickr photo album. While I wouldn’t publish an album (especially not on this blog), what I do like is that this plugin pulls in photos from a Flickr photostream to quickly post to a blog entry.
5. Customizable Post Listings
With this plugin, you can quickly create a WordPress page with any sort of content you want. I previously used it alter the home page of my blog, changing what and how much information was displayed for each post.
6. Jerome’s Keywords
Thanks to Jerome, you can add in Technorati tags to each of your posts rather easily. I previously modified the plugin to work for other services too, although I am no longer using this plugin.
7. Author Limit
One of the fellas who helped me code this great design created a plugin to limit the length of the author name and title for my comments section. Rather long trackbacks were effectively “breaking” the design – he threw together a quick plugin to limit the author length to 33′ characters. Why do I include this plugin? To end with an encouragement that if for some reason WordPress isn’t doing what you want it to, even a couple lines of code from a plugin might solve your issue. And the chances are that if you are wanting a plugin to do something, someone has already written it.
Have any plugins that you think are awesome? Feel free to share them below.
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Ken Yarmosh is a consultant who helps organizations get the most out of their technology investments. He works with technology users and creators across various industries, focusing on technology education and strategy. With over 7 years IT experience, Ken has worked with small businesses, non-profits, federal agencies, and multi-million dollar companies.
His online efforts include acting as the Editor for the Corante Technology Hub and authoring the TECHNOSIGHT blog.
