WordPress offers a wide range of plugins that can help bloggers work more effectively. However, due to the numerous options available, many people end up confused and frustrated when selecting plugins for their site.
Don't let that be you! Simply refer to our must-have list of 12 plugins for WordPress bloggers.
This plugin allows you to highlight popular posts on your site on a regular basis. You can set the plugin to display popular posts in the past month, week or day. This can be an effective strategy for driving more traffic to your pages.
2. Yet Another Related Posts Plugin
With time, after a post has been published on your blog, it is likely to disappear into oblivion. The related posts plugin allows you to match your posts using related categories, tags and keywords. This allows readers to access similar articles they might find interesting. Visitors are likely to spend more time on your site, thus significantly reducing bounce rates.
Comments are an important element for any blogger. However, at times, there are some comments that are just spam generated by bots. Block spam by Math is a great plugin able to distinguish between genuine readers and bots. One is required to complete a simple calculation, such as 5+3=, before making a comment.
This plugin allows you to thank blog commenters through email. You can choose when you want the email to be sent, which could be minutes, hours or days after commenting. Besides sending a ‘thank you’ message, you can use the email to share top comments and posts, as well as links to your social channels. Installing this plugin can be an effective way of encouraging return visits to your site.
This plugin checks all your pages and posts for any broken links. When such links are detected, you will receive a notification via email. Broken internal links can be rectified easily. And, if the link is external, you can either delete it from your copy or link to a different page.
Contact forms are an important feature for any site. Such forms not only allow you to receive feedback from your visitors, but also enable you to build a mailing list for future communication. One of the most widely used WordPress plugins, Contact Form 7, allows you to create customized contact forms for your site. This is a great plugin, especially for bloggers who want visitors to sign up to receive email newsletters and other marketing emails.
When it comes to writing articles, it is normal to make typing and grammatical errors. Such mistakes can be easily corrected after proofreading the article. The Front-end Editor is a great plugin that allows you to edit posts directly on the site without having to return to the dashboard. This makes editing much easier and saves you precious time.
8. Google Analytics for WordPress
It is very important for bloggers to stay updated about their website analytics. The Google Analytics for WordPress plugin allows you to monitor analytics, such as the number of website visitors, most visited pages, average time spent on your pages and your site speed. These analytics will show how your site is performing and reveal aspects which need to be improved.
This plugin is great especially for novices who don’t know much about how SEO works. Whenever a post is being published, the All in One SEO Pack automatically assigns keywords and creates meta descriptions. However, users are allowed to update or change them according to their needs.
10. Post Ideas
As a blogger, you might have several topics for posts you would want to write in the future. The Post Ideas plugin allows you to store these ideas safely. Anytime you are ready to write a post, all you need to do is click on the respective topic and start writing.
11. WP Smush.it
Images are an important element for any blog. However, to enhance the performance of your site, images need to be sized properly. WP Smush.it is a plugin that helps you optimize your images. You can compress the images in your media library easily without affecting their overall quality.
12. WordPress Backup to DropBox
Due to the risk of attack by bugs or hackers, it is imperative to backup the content of your site. This plugin allows you to backup your files in your DropBox account on a regular basis. How frequently this happens is up to you; it can be monthly, weekly or even daily. In addition, you can decide what specific content you would want archived.
That's our list, but there are plenty of vital plugins. What are your must-have WordPress plugins? Let us know in the comment section below.
Charles Mburugu is a professional web content writer who likes sharing tips for internet marketers and bloggers.
