WordPress Plugins

This is our Top WordPress Plugins.

The initial WordPress installation comes with 2 plugins:

Akismet and Hello Dolly

My first job is normally to remove Hello Dolly ( Sorry Matt) and then begin installing others. I am aware installing too many may cause the site to run slowly so I have a test site and the main site. This way if my tweaking goes too wrong i haven’t lost much.

1. Yoast SEO. –

This is a great plugin with so many features in 1 simple plugin. Also the character Joost has on the pages makes is better than plain pages of text.

With the integrated ‘Webmaster tools’ allowing you to easily verify with Google, Bing and Alexa.

The Social section allows Facebook and Twitter integration. which is a must for business these days.  The other tabs allow further customisation of WordPress. For details on all the options please see my ‘Guide to Yoast‘

2. Google Analytics for WordPress

Again another Yoast plugin, This is great for tracking visitors, where they come from , what they do and where they go. Every small business should have some analytic s in place and with Google being free it is a great place to start.  This is a simple to use plugin and if set up correctly will link the analytics and webmaster tools together for awesome reporting.  Want to get he most from your plugin? see my ‘Guide to Yoast‘

3. Clicky for WordPress

Okay you may think I have gone Yoast mad here but like many sticking to one brand makes for less stress and ease of compatibility. Only having 7 options you cant go wrong, but once linked to clicky gives you more analytic data to look through

4. W3 Total Cache 

This is currently regarded as the most comprehensive caching plugin to date. This gives you so much control over your site/blog. If you are looking so speed up your site then this is a must. It can be a bit tricky to set up but with a bit of research then you can gain speed and ranking (page loading is a ranking factor although not huge) W3 Edge do offer to set this up for you. You can order this here. For speed I have followed this post by Rob cubbon

5. Akismet

No one like spam, and for a nominal fee this plugin will protect you from the majority of spam. simply register in wordpress.org and log in worth this ID in to akismet and you will be given an API key paste this in to your akismet configuration tab and bingo.

6. WP remote          

This is only really needed if you look after multiple WordPress sites. It monitors the versions of WordPress, themes and plugins installed and you have 1 place to check and 1 click update. Best of all it is free.

7. GTmetrix 

This is an other plugin designed for speed. This will not speed up your site its self but using the website will give you recommendations on what to look at to make the site smoother and faster. The site provides a generic guide on speeding up, but after installing run the report for a detailed report specific to your site.

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10. Still in testing

If you would like me to setup these plugins for you then fill out the form below
As always your comments are welcome.