The 30 WordPress Plugins that I Use on My Blog

Every WordPress user probably has a couple of plugins that they use to enhance their blog/site, be it on the back-end or front-end.  Here are the 30 WordPress plugins that I currently use on my blog.  Are there any that you use that I didn’t list?

1.  Akismet – Akismet is a must-have plugin if you want to have extra spam protection.

Version 2.2.6 | By Matt Mullenweg | Visit plugin site

2.  All in One SEO Pack – The All In One SEO Pack plugin is a great way to add SEO to your blog/site without having to be a SEO expert.

Version 1.6.8.1 | By Michael Torbert | Visit plugin site

3.  CommentLuv – CommentLuv provides a way for your blog commenters to show their last blog post.  I’ve talked to some people who say that this is a way to have readers leave your blog, but I think it’s a great way to help your fellow bloggers out.

Version 2.7.63 | By Andy Bailey | Visit plugin site

4.  Easy Contact – Easy Contact provides an easy way to add a comment form on your blog/site.

Version 0.1.2 β | By Scott Allan Wallick | Visit plugin site

5. FD Feedburner Plugin – The FD Feedburner plugin helps to redirect your feed to your Feedburner feed

Version 1.41 | By John Watson | Visit plugin site

6. flickrRSS – The flickrRSS plugin allows you to beautify your blog/site by adding Flickr images.

Version 5.1 | By Dave Kellam and Stefano Verna | Visit plugin site

7. Front-end Editor – I love this plugin.  The Front-end Editor lets you edit your blog posts directly on the page without having to access the WordPress admin dashboard.

Version 1.5.1 | By scribu | Visit plugin site

8.  Google Analytics for WordPress – For Google Analytics users, this plugin is a must have.

Version 3.2.4 | By Joost de Valk | Visit plugin site

9. JS-Kit Echo – I decided to use JS-Kit’s Echo commenting system after receiving no response from Disqus on issues I had after I changed domains.  I must say that I love it.  I plan on writing more about Echo in a future blog post.

Version 2.2.0 | By js-kit.com | Visit plugin site

10. MediaRSS – I use this so the image I use in my blog posts can show up on RSS readers.

Version 1.1.4 | By Andy Skelton | Visit plugin site

11. MobilePress – MobilePress is a great plugin so that your blog/site can be mobile-phone friendly.

Version 1.1 | By Aduity | Visit plugin site

12.  Most Commented – Plugin to retrieve your posts with the most comments.

Version 1.6 | By Nick Momrik | Visit plugin site

13. Official StatCounter Plugin – I have been using StatCounter for years.  This plugin allows you to enter your StatCounter information without having to mess with code.

Version 1.0 | By Aodhan Cullen | Visit plugin site

14. Recent Comments – Retrieves a list of the most recent comments.

Version 1.18 | By Nick Momrik | Visit plugin site

15. Recent Posts – Returns a list of the most recent posts.

Version 1.1.3 | By Nick Momrik | Visit plugin site

16. Redirection – Manages 301 redirects and monitors 404 errors

Version 2.1.24 | By John Godley | Visit plugin site

17. RSS Cloud – RSS Cloud plugin pings RSS Cloud servers

Version 0.4.1 | By Joseph Scott

18. SEO Friendly Images – Automatically adds alt and title attributes to all your images.

Version 2.4.4 | By Vladimir Prelovac | Visit plugin site

19. SEO Slugs – Removes common words like ‘a’, ‘the’, ‘in’ from post slugs to improve SEO.

Version 1.0 | By Andrei Mikrukov | Visit plugin site

20.  Shared Items Post – Plugin that works to show your Google Reader Shared Items.  I only use it once a month, but you can change the frequency to whatever you like.

Version 1.3.0 | By Craig Fifield, Google Tutor | Visit plugin site

21. The WordPress Bar – This plugin adds a navigation bar to external links.  Very similar to the DiggBar.

Version 0.6.2 | By Anthony Montalbano | Visit plugin site

22. TweetMeme Retweet Button – TweetMeme plugin to show your retweets and allow your readers to tweet your blog posts.

Version 1.7.2 | By TweetMeme | Visit plugin site

23. Tweet Stats – Plugin that allows you to show your most tweeted posts and your most recently tweeted posts.

Version 1.0 | By Improving The Web | Visit plugin site

24. WordPress Related Posts – Plugin that generates related posts at the bottom of each blog post.

Version 1.1.1 | By Denis | Visit plugin site

25. WP-PageNavi – Adds a more advanced paging navigation to your WordPress blog.

Version 2.50 | By Lester ‘GaMerZ’ Chan | Visit plugin site

26. WP SUP – Adds the SUP-ID HTTP header to your site’s feed and pings FriendFeed’s public SUP feed.

Version 1.1 | By Derek van Vliet | Visit plugin site

27. WP Super Cache – Helps with your blog’s caching

Version 0.9.8 | By Donncha O Caoimh | Visit plugin site

28. WP Widget Cache – Goes alongside the WP Super Cache plugin.  Helps cache the output of your blog widgets.

Version 0.25.2 | By Andrew Zhang | Visit plugin site

29.  Zemanta – Zemanta helps you find related images, links, and content without lifting a finger.

Version 0.6.3 | By Zemanta Ltd. | Visit plugin site

30. Google XML Sitemaps – Generates a XML sitemap of your blog

Version 3.2 | By Arne Brachhold | Visit plugin site

Your Comment is Awaiting Moderation…NOOO

Comment moderation seems to be the big thing now. Whenever I leave a comment on a blog and press the Submit button, I get “your comment is awaiting moderation. It will appear when the blog owner has approved it.” I’m starting to see this more and more. I can understand personal blogs doing that. I’ve had people, who I knew in real life, stalk my blog and leave rude comments whenever they could. This happens a lot with personal blogs, so if the blog owner wants to moderate the blog, then I don’t see anything wrong with that.

However, business blogs are increasingly getting into this practice and it doesn’t make sense. The rules don’t apply to them like they do with personal blogs. I’ve gotten my share of rude comments on my blog posts. It sucks when I see them, and I do get the urge to delete them, but I don’t. The best way to show your professionalism is to handle the comment head on. It will make your readers think “Wow, this person has got it going on,” and it will give you a sense of accomplishment.

Business blogs, take that moderation off.  If you are worried about spam, get something like Akismet to manage it.  If you are worried about rude comments, deal with it.  Not everyone is going to like what you write, so all you can do is accept that and move on.  It discourages people to leave anymore comments when they see the moderation message pop up.

Five Tips On How to Handle Rude Comments On Your Blog Posts

When you see that comment staring you in the face, that is how you want to react. You want to turn into the Hulk and go vigilante on these hecklers. In reality, you can’t behave that way. Here are some tips to rise above the negativity:

1. Take a deep breath and step away from the computer - Your gut reaction is to say some smart remark back to the commentater. However, nothing will be accomplished except giving the impression of immaturity and unprofessionalism. When you read the comment, turn off the computer and calm down before returning to it.

2. Realize that not everyone will love you or your post – We are not pod people, so we will not all like the same things. Even if the person is overly rude, just accept that you can agree to disagree, and that not everyone will feel the same about your post.

3. If you can, send a copy of your response to a friend – Sometimes it’s better to have an outsider read your response before you hit the Submit button. When I have done that, people have seen things that I didn’t think about because I was wrapped in my emotion. It will also calm you down because you will usually take a step back.

4. Don’t feel like you have to defend yourself but to an extent – You may want to defend yourself, but usually the person will already be set in his/her ways, so anything you say will not change his/her mind. Just keep to the facts.

5. Acknowledge the commentator’s feelings and move on - Sometimes it’s better to acknowledge what they wrote without spouting any negative comment and leaving it at that. You might feel like it’s a copout, but then you will feel better because you didn’t get down to that person’s level.

It’s hard, but after awhile, you will not even be as affected with the rude comments as before.

Photo Detail: Jay and Slient Bob, originally uploaded by theleetgeeks.

Blog Action Day: 5 Ways Your Office Can Help With Climate Change

Climate changes have dangerous consequences on the Earth and the animals and plants inhabiting it. Here is an interesting article, “100 Effects of Global Warming,” that lists the 100 ways climate changes can be disastrous.

I’ve worked in a few offices, and I am always shocked on how they are not trying to do much to help with environmental issues. The amount of materials wasted is mind boggling, especially when you consider that it isn’t just one or two offices doing it, but the majority of them.

Here are five ways that offices (regardless of their size) can help control climate changes:

1. Allow Employees to Telecommute – With the advancements of technology, people are more connected than ever. More and more, companies are adopting cloud computing technology and laptops/netbooks. However, even though this is increasing, companies still want their employees to be at the office five days out of the week. This is a form of micromanaging and unwilling to change that is causing more harm than good. It’s also a known fact that telecommuting has more pros than cons, so there is no reason to not start allowing this today. Telecommuting allows companies to save money while helping the environment because you minimize the use of electricity needed at the office. If you are worried about the productivity level of your employees, then try it on a trial basis. You will more likely find that it’s a good change.

2. Web Conferencing/Teleconferencing is a Good Thing – Meetings are a necessary evil because you want to work alongside your clients to provide the best solution for them. However, many of these meetings could be held via web conferencing/teleconferencing. This eliminates the need to travel by car, train, or plane, which lowers fuel emissions, while saving money. Majority of offices have this option available, but rarely use it. You are paying for a subscription to this service, so start setting up web conferences/teleconferences with your clients today.

3. Eliminate Paper Waste – The amount of paper that is wasted in an office is incredible. I try and skim through documents on the screen, or print on both sides of the paper for those documents that I need to really read. However, there are plenty of people who don’t. They print out any and every tidbit they come across, and then throw it in the trash when they are done. Additionally, the amount of paper cups, plates, and utensils that are used in an office and then thrown away is even worse. This is something that employees need to do. Stop wasting so much paper! The majority of the documentation that you are reading can be read online. There are many ways to store data without having to print a hardcopy. You don’t need paper lying around that is just collecting dust.

4. Turn Off and Unplug Electronics – Many people leave their computers, printers, scanners, faxes, etc. running at all times at the office. It does not hurt if you turn them off and unplug them before you leave the office. You save energy, which in turn helps the Earth. Another great way to save energy is by buying electronics that have the ENERGY STAR label. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, it can save up to as much as 90% savings for some electronics.

5. Encourage Employees to Volunteer in Helping the Earth – Find ways to have your employees volunteer by partnering with groups that have environmentally-friendly activities, such as recycling, cleaning the environment, biking to work, etc. If you get your employees involved, they might be more receptive in being accountable for their actions around the office.

If we work together, we can start helping the environment.