Tuesday, 7 July 2015

12 Most Amazing WordPress Plugins to Power Up Your Websites & Blogs

Used by more than 23 % of the world’s top 10 million websites, WordPress is the reigning name amongst all Content Management Systems and Blog Software. This open-source CMS based on PHP and MySQL offers a gamut of spectacular templates to create websites. However, what sets this CMS apart from its contemporaries is its storehouse of over 33,000 plugins. As a website owner or blogger, you would surely understand that constant evolution is the key to making your online presence rewarding. This can be achieved by installing the right plugins, which expand your website’s functionality and thereby engage more customers.

However, when a treasure of 33,000 options is laid ahead, choosing the best ones can give jitters to anyone. Particularly if you are a beginner, some teething problems are bound to occur. But worry not! Hereunder is a list of 12 most amazing WordPress plugins to power up your websites & blogs.

1. WordPress SEO by Yoast
An exhaustive SEO solution for your WordPress site, this plugin is a sure shot way of increasing the number of visitors. Its in-built content analysis system helps you write better content and optimize titles and Meta descriptions for Google Analytics. Furthermore, with automatically generated XML sitemaps, Permalink clean ups, and Breadcrumbs, this plugin has everything you need to get your site noticed.

2. W3 Total Cache
Page loading time is a parameter on which, not only the users but Google as well, judges the quality of your website. If you wish to optimize its performance, leave aside all other caching plugins and switch to W3 Total Cache. Having innovative features and CDN integration, this plugin works better on its own. Its number of downloads are close to 4 million; surely there must be something that makes it so popular.

3. Duplicator
For those planning to migrate their site from one location to another or simply create a backup, Duplicator is the way to go. This plugin makes it easy to copy the database and create an archive. All you need to do is simply put the archive on the new location, using a special installer and run it.

4. Contact Form 7
With its simple but flexible features, this plugin is capable of managing numerous contact forms, while also allowing you to customize them and flexibly mail the content using simple markup. Additionally, it is compatible with Ajax-powered submitting, CAPTCHA and Akismet.

5. Akismet
This advanced anti-spam plugin is capable of screening and processing a humongous amount of data from a million sites in real-time and thwarts off the spam material from your blog immediately. The plugin has been downloaded over 22 million times – just saying!

6. NextGEN Gallery
Dominating the world of WordPress gallery plugins, this is also one of the most popular plugins in the ‘general category’. NextGEN Gallery gives you the power of uploading and managing images, thumbnails etc. Try this once and see how you can play with the image galleries.

7. Broken Link Checker
Whether it is broken links or untraceable images, this plugin scans it all and sends real-time notifications on your WordPress dashboard. Using this plugin, you can also replace broken links with the working ones.

8. Shareaholic
This one is a powerful and must-have social media plugin which is compatible with every major social networking site like Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google+. Apart from social sharing, it comes with other unique features like Classic Bookmarks, Related Content Tool and Recommendations etc.

9. All In One WP Security & Firewall
Need high-level security for your site? Then All In One WP Security & Firewall is the most reliable plugin for you. With its cutting-edge security scanners & programmed database backups, it protects your site against all possible threats. Almost every WordPress Website Development Company recommends its use.

10. Google Analytics for WordPress
Tracking the usage of your site becomes simplified with this plugin. Google Analytics for WordPress automatically maps the site speed and can be integrated with extra engines and automatic click out with ease.

11. Redirection 
If you have recently migrated your site, use of Redirection plugin is strongly recommended. Increased number of 404 Not Found errors can translate into users walking away. This plugin, by redirecting your users to the right page, reduces the number of such occurrences.

12. Disqus
Add this plugin to your site and let your readers tell what they feel about your blog. This plugin is not some boring commenting system; rather it gives the options of share buttons, user tagging, and other interactive features to make your blog an interesting social media community.

These plugins would fit almost every type of website or blog. For adding special features, specific to your site, you can check out the WordPress Plugin Directory. However, refrain from stuffing your site with additional plugins as that can hamper its performance.  

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