Basic Wordpress Plugins
These Wordpress plugins are the ones you really should not be without.
They will not have a direct effect on your traffic OR conversions. However, each of them will save you time, aggravation & possible heartache…
The first, and most important is WP-DBManager by Lester Chan. Sure, it lets you easily back up your MySQL database, any number of plugins do that. But what’s really cool is that it also allows you to optimize your database, repair it, restore it, delete the backups, run queries…AND…it supports automatic scheduling of backups and database optimization.
Of course, if you own your server, or have physical control, you can optimize your database by running a cron job that looks like the following:
2 6 * * * mysqlcheck -Aao --auto-repair -u root --password=your-mysql-password >> /dev/null 2>&1
This little cron will run every day at 2 minutes past 6 (AM). and it repairs/optimizes your MySQL database. Since most people don’t have that kind of control, it’s much simpler just to use the WP-DBManager plugin.
The second wordpress plugin that you really shouldn’t be without is the Wordpress Automatic Upgrade plugin available from Techie-Buzz.com. There are a couple of upgrade plugins out there, and I have only used this one. But, It has worked every time.
Once you install it, the plugin checks periodically to make sure you have the most current version of Wordpress. When it’s time to upgrade, you’ll get a gentle reminder. The upgrade process is quick and painless.
Not that the “old way” via ftp was painful…Wordpress prides itself on ease of installation & upgrade.
However, the Automatic Upgrade plugin takes ease of use to a whole new level. I’ve had three trouble-free upgrades so far, and each time, all it took was about five clicks from within the admin interface. George Jetson worked harder than that.
The last of the make-your-life-easier Wordpress plugins is the One Click Plugin Updater by Janis Elsts of w-shadow.com. This is one of the coolest plugins I have ever seen. Combined with the other two (above), it will actually simplify your life and give you more time to play with the kids.
The One Click Plugin Updater automatically checks to see if your plugins are the latest version. If not, it lets you know when a plugin needs to be updated to the newest version. When it’s time to upgrade, you get a gentle reminder just under the admin menu of your Wordpress installation. Click the button, and “presto!” Generally, it takes about 5 – 20 seconds to upgrade one (or more) plugins.
Since Akismet comes pre-installed with Wordpress, you don’t have to go out and look for it. However, before you start thinking about any other plugins, or which theme you want to use, go get set up with an account at Akismet.
These plugins are what I would consider basic minimum requirements for blog headache reduction. And best of all, they are zero cost items…though each developer does solicit (much deserved) donations. Akismet has a very generous “free for personal use” license. However, if you are making “mad paper” as they say on their site, they want you to buy a commercial API key. All in all, it’s not a bad deal.
Coming up next…we’ll go over some of the other plugins that I’ve tested, used, abused and certified.
Comments
Tell me what you're thinking...
and oh, if you want a pic to show with your comment, go get a gravatar!