Before we dive into the best WordPress plugins out there, let’s cover a few definitions for the uninitiated among us.
WordPress is the most widely used open source content management system (CMS) in the world. While often used as a blog, WordPress is powerful enough to power entire websites. So it’s not just a blogging platform. Powered by PHP and MySQL, WordPress comes with exciting features like templates and plugins that make building awesome websites relatively effortless. WordPress is used by 13% of the 1,000,000 largest websites in the world, which is no small feat given the breadth of options available.
Plugins are simply applications that extend the capabilities of WordPress and make it better to work with. Most plugins are free.
Here are the best WordPress plugins out there. My opinion is very subjective, but I want you to know these plugins.
#1: All-in-One SEO Package
All-in-One SEO Pack makes on-site search engine optimization easy. Bestforblogger For this reason it is my first choice. With this plugin, adding meta tags like title tags, meta descriptions, and keywords has never been easier. This is a good thing, as too many websites are missing these crucial elements (thus missing out on online lead generation and/or selling online).
#2: Askimet
Askimet allows you to stop moderating comments. Comments left on your site are automatically checked against the Askimet web service to determine if they look like spam or not. If it’s spam, throw out the comment. To keep the service honest, you can analyze the spam it catches to ensure that the plugin is doing its job accurately. There are two things that make using this plugin essential. First, your readers will never have to type a CAPTCHA again. Second, your readers will never have to wait for their comment to be moderated again (this drives me crazy when we visit other blogs).
#3: Google XML Sitemaps
Google XML Sitemaps creates a special XML sitemap that allows search engines to index your blog. If this sentence is giving you a headache, just know this: it makes it easier for Google to read your website. It’s good. If Google can’t or won’t read your website, that’s bad. You want them to read it so they can share your site with people who use the internet. Consider this a crucial WordPress plugin if you’re happy to trade your work and/or skills for money.
Subscribe to #4 comments reloaded
Consider this the icing on your delicious WordPress sundae. Subscribe to Comments Reloaded will change the way people use your blog. Without them, people just come by, leave a comment and never come back. This plugin allows your readers to click a box indicating that they would like to be notified of follow-up comments via email. This email notification prompts (in some cases) the reader to return and leave a comment. This will get you more web traffic, more comments, and your blog will be more talkative.
#5: Tweet memes
Guy Kawasaki once called this the most important button on the internet. It’s probably not at that level today, but it’s certainly still very useful when it comes to getting your message out to the masses. Twitter has proven to be an extremely beneficial viral marketing tool. If you have something important or interesting to say, Twitter will probably go a long way in getting your voice heard. Within the Twitter sphere, there is nothing more valuable than a ReTweet. A ReTweet occurs when someone reading your content retweets it to all of their followers. When this happens, viral marketing happens. TweetMeme makes it easy for your blog’s readers to retweet your content, which will bring you more traffic, more comments, and (hopefully) more sales.
Best Blogging Tools – 3 Blogging Tools You Need
There are a few different blogging platforms that are very popular: WordPress, Blogger and Typepad are some of the most widely used blogging platforms. They each offer some great aspects that you can use for your blog.
However, WordPress really is the best blogging platform out there. The features it offers are unmatched in the industry. It also has an incredible amount of plugins at your disposal. If you are looking to start blogging, you should definitely consider using WordPress.
Plugins allow you to do many different things with your blog. You can use these plugins to set up a contact form, eliminate spam, or just about anything else you can think of with your blog.
You can ping a website, which increases your traffic. If you are looking for other blogs, you can check out the latest posts on them. In turn, pinging these sites will increase traffic.
Another of the best blogging tools is using trackback. This allows you to create a link to something you’ve previously posted. You can also link to other blogs and the blogging software will set up the link. It’s actually quite simple and a great way to add value to your blog for readers.
If you want to make your blog big, you undoubtedly need to use RSS. Really simple syndication allows people to read your blog without going there every day. Let’s say a reader enjoys reading several different blogs. You can get an RSS reader and have everyone’s posts sent straight there. They just look at their RSS reader and get all the blog posts they wanted to see. It’s really easy and a great way for your blog to gain exposure.
Initially, when I started learning how to make money online, I wasted a lot of time and money on products that promised to show me exactly what to do. As I learned how to blog and optimize my blog, I started making money. I know I have 18 blogs, each making money, some more, some less, but ALL EARN.