In a world that is stuffed with Wordpress plugins, it can be quite a job to find just the plugin you’re looking for. It will turn out in a few minutes of searching with Google, when you don’t know the (exact) name of the plugin.

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Everyone can name their favorite plugins, so do I. But the trick is to name the plugins that really are worth installing, that add something usefull to the blog. Plugins tend to slow down a Wordpress blog, so it’s good to keep an eye on your performance.

There are a few plugins that came up in my mind instantly, when I thought about this list. Those plugins are so valuable for each blog that it’s not the question if they will be one the list, but how high on the list they will be.

The list of plugins

Off course, these plugins don’t make your blog professional, but they do add some important features to your blog. You can concentrate more on your content, which makes it easier to keep the level of your posts high.

Must-have plugins

Plugins that should be installed on all blogs, no matter what their about. These plugins provide functionalities that should be in Wordpress, by default. I’m glad they can be installed fairly easy.

1. Akismet
   The plugin that prevents your comments being flooded by spam comments. And if there’s anything that doesn’t look professional, it’s spam comments.
2. WP-Super-Cache
   Once a post hits the frontpage of Digg, you’re sure to recieve lots of unique hits. This plugin stores a static file of each page, which is easier to show than dynamic posts. It will, if configured right, prevent your blog from being killed by the Digg frontpage.
3. All in One SEO Pack
   Getting bored by adding descriptions by yourself? Let this plugin handle this (and many more features) for you! A must-have plugin for all blogs, professional or not.

Plugins for SEO & analytics

Off course, we want to stay informed about the amount of visitors and we want to be found by Google and other search engines. Time to add some tools to keep our analytics up-to-date and our blog indexable!

4. Google Analytics for Wordpress
   The most commonly used Analytics package, easily combined with the most commonly used blogging software, this is the perfect match!
5. Blog Metrics
   Perhaps you want to keep track of the statistics that normal analytics applications can’t track. This plugin tracks data like; average posts per month, average words per post, average comments per post (excluding your own) and many more.
6. Meta Robots
   It’s never been easier to add meta robot tags to pages or posts, within Wordpress as it is with this plugin.
7. Google XML Sitemap Generator
   Search engines and especially Google, love sitemaps. This plugins produces a XML-sitemap, that is highly configurable.

RSS plugins

Plugins that add features to your RSS feeds, or change the working of the standard Wordpress feed.

8. Full Text Feed
   Blogs that are running on Wordpress have the singularity to cut of the text of the RSS-feed, once <!–more–> is used in the text. Most bloggers do this, to create excerpts of the posts on the frontpage of the blog. This plugin ignores the <!–more–> text and shows the complete text in the RSS-feed.
9. Feedburner Feedsmith
   Each and every link of the Wordpress blog to the RSS-feed will be pointed to the, once submitted, Feedburner feed. Besides that, it’s a great recommendation to use a Feedburner feed, instead of the standard Wordpress feed.

Comment plugins

Standard, the comments are pretty easy to manage, and with the Akismet plugin you are safe from spam. But there are a few plugins that make the management of comments, just a little easier.

10. Move Comments
    This plugin gives you the ability to move a comment from one post to another. Easier than deleting and posting it again, once it’s been placed at the wrong post.
11. Subscribe to Comments
    People need to be informed. Once they comment on a post, this plugin allows them to choose, if they want to receive notifications on new comments on that post, or not.
12. Quoter or Threaded Comments
    I suggest you don’t use both, because it can result in some confusing comment threads. The first is to allow people to quote other comments. The second one allows comments to be as a reply to another comment and will be displayed in a threaded comment-tree.
13. Official Comments
    Allows you to make your own plugins look different than all the other comments, to make sure people read them and let people know that it’s a comment from someone special. Includes many more features, but this is the most important.

Miscellaneous plugins

Plugins that give great features, but just don’t fit in one of the other categories.

14. Related Posts
    Shows a number of posts that relate (according to matching keywords) to the post that is on the screen. Makes it easier for visitors to take a look, what the blog is posting about.
15. WPAds
    A nice and versatile plugin that allows you, as a administrator on a blog, to show and rotate ads on your blog. It can show lots of different banners, from AdSense to text and images.

There’s always room for improvement

There’s always room for improvement, so let me know if you think a plugin is missing, or if a plugin doesn’t deserve it’s spot in this list.

A few thoughts aside

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