Akismet - Where would we be without Akismet? When I first used WordPress Akismet was near enough standard and everyone downloaded it. Now, it is standard and integrated in the latest versions of WordPress. And it is unquestionably worth using if you are leaving comments open. So get yourself an API key and be sure that that you activate it. If you do not, then you are leaving yourself open to heaps of comment spam.
WordPress.com Stats - I to begin with begun using this as part of another plugin, but very rapidly grew to find the plugin very useful. In the past I had always relied on Google Analytics for my site stats, but this plugin, which gives less detail, presents what you need to know right in your site. Graphs of up to the minute reader stats, where they have come from, how they found you and where they went. Invaluable information to improve your blog.
WordPress.com Popular Posts - This is the plugin that demands the stats and why I discovered the stats plugin. This plugin in itself allows you to display a list of your most often referred to posts. These popular posts are a good way of steering traffic round your site to areas of interest and a way of keeping them on your website for longer. Ultimately, this builds trust and makes them more potential to join your RSS or newsletter.
Contact Form 7 - A straightforward and straightforward to use contact form. It does what it says! But I think it is one of the most useful plugins because it gives you the basis for a contact page, without having to flaunt your email address. If you do display your email, then spammers can scrape it and start filling your inbox. But do not have any contact method available and then no-one could make you advertising offers and so on!
Really Simple CAPTCHA - Again, does what it says! Only one function to this plugin and that is to display a CAPTCHA box on your newsletter. But by using this plugin you are nigh on fully preventing spammers from automatically submitting your contact form and saving yourself stacks of spam!
Yet Another Related Posts Plugin - Where are your readers going to go once they reach the bottom of the post that they are currently reading? Well, install this little plugin and it will suggest similar themed posts on your website that may interest them. You know what they are reading round now, so offer them more. Again, this is a simple method of increasing the time that traffic spend on your website and the chances of them becoming a regular visitor of your blog.
Post to Twitter - Virtually perfect this plugin, I use it regularly on my sites. It merely sends the title of your post to your Twitter account every time you publish a new post, which not just saves you the effort, but gives your posting more exposure via Twitter. This might increase your Twitter followers whilst increasing your website's readers. As I said, nearly perfect, I merely make a easy change to the way that it posts the title, but this is not really required so use it as it stands.
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Written by Keith Lunt of http://www.howtostartmyblog.com . If you want to know more about starting blogging , call in and sign up for the free ebook!
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