What is a Plugin?
A plugin is an application (app) that enhances the capabilities of WordPress. It is simply a piece of code – written in PHP. Anyone can develop plugins and release them to the creative commons of the WordPress.org community. But to do so requires a decent understanding of the coding language. If you want to you could of course pay someone else to develop a plugin for you, based on a functional idea you have. Who knows, it might just become the next hit within the community.Why Plugins Are a Must for A-List Bloggers
Plugins give A-list bloggers a heads up on their competition, thanks to their functionalities. They help simplify a lot of standard blogging tasks, saving the owner time and often money. Plugins also help a blog rank higher in the search engines, simplify social media, attract more readers and keep away spam comments. Below are the industry’s 10 most popular plugins:1. All in One SEO
Having been one of the most popular plugins since it was first coded, the All in One SEO plugin is great for on-page blog optimization. It helps you to optimize your blog with the right title tags, meta tags and keywords. This is a must have if you are hoping to compete for top Google rankings.More Information on All in One SEO Plugin
2. WordPress Data Backup
I’ve used this plugin on all the blogs I own. To me it’s the easiest and quickest way to generate backups of my blog whenever I want to. Even better is the scheduling feature that allows you to create backups every day, every week or whenever you want.More Information on WordPress Data Backup Plugin
3. Akismet
Is a standard WordPress plugin that is already part of your install if you use Fantastico (via your cPanel). You will have to grab your Akismet key from this site or from WordPress.com. This key is basically your Akismet identity and should not be shared with others. You can reuse it time and again. The Akismet plugin polices your blog against spammers.More Information on Akismet Plugin
4. Google XML Sitemaps
TheGoogle sitemap plugin will automatically generate an XML sitemap for your blog. This will help search engines (Google, Yahoo, Bing, etc.) to index your blog. Whenever your blog is updated with new content the search engines will be notified.More Information on Google XML Sitemaps Plugin
5. Contact Form 7
Having a contact form on your blog will help readers connect with you easily. It’s a must have if you want to have a simple contact management solution for your site. I have always liked this form as it allows me to place several on my blog. Other contact form plugins are also available.More Information on Contact Form 7 Plugin
6. WordPress Stats
Monitoring your blog’s statistics is imperative if you want to increase your readership over time. This plugin will give you some important insights into the behavior of your readers. You can then use these insights to publish better content.More Information on WordPress Stats Plugin
7. Sexy Bookmarks
Want a sexy blog? Then give Sexy Bookmarks a go. I LOVE this plugin. It creates a really sexy bookmarking section at the end of each post. Your readers can easily share your content across dozens of sites (however many you tick when you set this plugin up).More Information on Sexy Bookmarks Plugin
8. WordPress Super Cache
If you expect large volumes of traffic (think Digg), this plugin is a must have. It helps to reduce server load while routinely caching your site.More Information on WordPress Super Cache Plugin
9. Evermore
Evermore is a groovy plugin that lets you display simple post excerpts on your home page. Good for SEO if your theme is displaying full page posts across multiple pages. The plugin will add the ‘’ tag and you can choose how many characters you want displayed before the tag cuts the post.More Information on Evermore Plugin
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