My Ultimate List of Wordpress Plugins

One of the reasons I love Wordpress so much, besides the fact it’s just so damn easy to use, is the never ending supply of plugins. If there is something you want to do, chances are there is a plugin (maybe several) out there that you can use to accomplish it. And if there for some reason there isn’t, you can just write your own.

Everyone has their personal favorites and there are tons of “Top Money Making Plugins for Wordpress”, “10 Free Wordpress Plugins”, “Top SEO Plugins for Wordpress” and “Top AJAX Plugins for Wordpress” articles floating around. What makes this list different is I’m not just telling you they are the best, I’m actually using them.

Below is a list of Wordpress Plugins I am currently using here at Average Joe Blogger and some comments on why I think they are the Best Wordpress Plugins. I’ll keep this list updated as I add or remove plugins so you will always know which plugins I am using and why.

Adsense-Deluxe | Place Google AdSense ads in your WordPress Posts.

Why: Allows me to easily insert any one of my preset Google Adsense ads into a post.

Akismet | Akismet checks your comments against the Akismet web service to see if they look like spam or not.

Why: This one should be self evident. While using this plugin I have not had one spam comment get through, and not for lack of trying either.

All in One SEO Pack | Out-of-the-box SEO for your Wordpress blog.

Why: Everyone needs a little boost with the Search Engines and this can help give that extra bit.

Comment Relish | Increases your readership and RSS subscription rate by simply sending a short ‘thank you’ relishing type message to users when they first comment on your weblog.

Why: This plugin sends an automated email to a reader after they make their first comment. A great way to say thank you, provide some contact information, and encourage further participation in your blog.

Comment Timeout | Automatically closes comments on blog entries after a user-configurable period of time. It has options which allow you to keep the discussion open for longer on older posts which have had recent comments accepted, or to place a fixed limit on the total number of comments in the discussion.

Why: Part Spam control and part laziness. I don’t want to worry about manually closing comments, or spam bots continually trying to comment, on posts where the discussion has ended.

Custom Query String (CQS) | Change the number of posts displayed when viewing an archive page.

Why: Allows me to specify the number of posts to be displayed based on a set of predefined criteria. Read my review for more information on the Custom Query String.

Dagon Design Form Mailer | A secure PHP form mailer script. This plugin has a wide range of features including: Support for multiple instances, an easy to use dynamic form generation system (any number of fields, in any order), multiple recipients, multiple file attachments, optional auto reply feature, an image verification system, numerous security features (including protection against email header injection), a message template system, and multiple languages.

Why: Just a really good form script.

FeedBurner FeedSmith | This plugin detects all ways to access your original WordPress feeds and redirects them to your FeedBurner feed so you can track every possible subscriber.

Why: Makes sure all RSS feeds are directed through FeedBurner.

Feed Footer | A WordPress plugin that allows you to add footers under all your blog posts in your RSS feed.

Why: Allows you to easily add information only to your rss feed. Great for advertising or just a simple “Thanks for subscribing to my feed”.

Get Recent Comments | Displays the most recent comments or trackbacks with your own formatting in the sidebar.

Why: Gives a quick view as to where the discussion is.

Google Sitemaps | This generator will create a Google compliant sitemap of your WordPress blog.

Why: Just letting Google know where to find my stuff.

Link Love | Where a commenter has commented at least 10 times (configurable) the nofollow reference is removed. For all newer commenters, the nofollow remains.

Why: This one is all for the readers. Some automatic link love for commenter’s.

MyAvatars | This plugin allows you to add MyBlogLog.com avatars to Wordpress comments.

Why: Adds a visual about your readers. Just nice to put a face to a name.

Popularity Contest | This will enable ranking of your posts by popularity; using the behavior of your visitors to determine each post’s popularity. You set a value (or use the default value) for every post view, comment, etc. and the popularity of your posts is calculated based on those values.

Why: Provides a nice list of the most popular articles on your site. Plus, adds some good deep internal linking.

Related Posts | Returns a list of the related entries based on active/passive keyword matches.

Why: Encourages readers to stay on your site and adds deep internal linking.

Show Top Commentators | Encourage more feedback and discussion from readers, by rewarding them every time they post a comment! Readers with the most comments are displayed on your Wordpress blog, with their names (linked to their website if they provided one).

Why: Rewards readers for commenting often.

WordPress Database Backup | On-demand backup of your WordPress database.

Why: Just makes sense. Set up a scheduled backup and have it delivered to your email or archived on the server. Never worry about it again.

WP-Polls | Adds an AJAX poll system to your WordPress blog.

Why: Polls are a great way to gain feedback and WP-Polls gives me an fast, easy and ajaxy way of doing it.

I’m always interested in new and beneficial plugins so if you have a favorite that isn’t on my list, let me know what the plugin is and why it’s useful in the comments.

Last Updated: 08.16.2007