16 Wordpress Plugins Every Blogger Needs

I am always on the lookout for Wordpress plugins that will make my blogging life easier as well as make my blog more interactive and user friendly. I have found through trial and error that many of the plugins simply do not work anymore as intended and some just plain suck despite the great description given to them.

As a result of my many hours spent on refining my Wordpress plugin list, I believe now that I have a very optimal setup which would be extremely useful for any blogger.

1. jQuery Lightbox – This plugin is used to darken the rest of your screen and bring the photo to the front. It enables the user to stay on the same page while viewing large versions of photos unlike being taken to another page using just the standard Wordpress method.
2. Add LightBox And Title – This is the easy way to add the rel=”lightbox[POST-ID]” tag to all of your photos automatically.
3. Akismet – Takes care of spam for you and should already come with Wordpress
4. All-In-One SEO Pack – Does provide in-depth SEO options however for those not too adept with SEO it also works great right out of the box. When writing your articles it provides a window down in the bottom to enter some SEO information.
5. FeedBurner FeedSmith – If you have a FeedBurner account I suggest you have this plugin. It will detect all ways to access your original Wordpress feed and redirect them to your FeedBurner feed allowing it to track all possible subscribers.
6. Google XML Sitemaps – Creates a sitemap file for your site which makes it easier for Google to better index your site.
7. Max Banner Ads – Exceptional free program for managing all of your ads. Allows you to place banners and ads virtually anywhere you please on your blog. It also displays statistics such as impressions, clicks and click through rate (CTR). It also automatically centers ads in your widgets which many other ad managers do not offer.
8. StatPress Reloaded – Great real time traffic stat system. Your traffic stats are displayed in a clean bar chart manner.
9. Twitter Tools – Updates your Twitter page anytime you publish an article. Great for driving traffic to your site or promoting affiliate products.
10. Twitter Tools Su.pr Links – Used in conjunction with Twitter Tools and utilizes the Su.pr URL shortening service. I like it because Su.pr keeps track of your views, clicks and stumbles as well as makes your page available to other Stumble Upon users.
11. Ultimate Google Analytics – Automatically adds the Google Analytics code to all applicable places within your blog template pages. All you do is add your Account ID
12. Quick Adsense – I prefer to use this for my Google Adsense ads as it seems to have more flexibility for them rather than using Max Banner Ads. It may also be used for ads other than Google Adsense.
13. Sexy Bookmarks – Has options to add any of the popular bookmarking site buttons to your posts which is important for spreading the word!
14. Subscribe To Comments – Allows readers to receive notifications of new comments posted to an article.
15. Top Commentators Widget – Rewards your readers for commenting on your blog. Not only is their name display in a prominent place, but also their hyperlinked name is a “do follow” link.
16. Wordpress Related Posts – Displays as many related posts as you like located at the bottom of each article. This lets new readers discover your previous work and also keeps people on your site longer.

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