WordPress is one of the World’s most used web and blog tools - it has 1000’s of plugins that add functionality to your website. Here then is a short list of essential WordPress Plugins from WordPress.org to get you started. The list covers SEO, Spam, Analytics and helps you get started with Google SERP.

Akismet

Akismet is included in every installation of WordPress, so that makes it one of the alltime popular plugins. There aren’t better spam protectors and no one solution will stop spam comments. You now need a WordPress.com and also login to the Akismet Website to get your API Key..

What makes it great? Akismet shares info on known spammers, etc to save you alot of time and effort. It also has a pretty graphs page to remind you that it’s working.

WP Super Cache

WP Super Cache isn’t something you need if you’re getting started but it’s valuable for anyone serious about improving their SEO and Pagerank -  go tweak your settings and speed things up.

Search Meter

Are you inquisitive about what people are searching for on your site? Then this is the plugin. It keeps logs of the top searched for content and no content found search results.

All-in-one SEO Pack

Search engine optimisation (SEO) is an art, which makes All-in-one SEO Pack an artists dream. Install the plugin and let it run. If you know what you’re doing then you’ll have lots of fun tweaking the settings.

For basic SEO, beginners should focus on your title and the short description as this is what shows up in search engine results page (SERP).

Analytics360 from Mailchimp

Mailchimp and Analytics360 adds armour to your integrated marketing and CRM toolkit. Easily track blog posts, email bursts and watch your stats.

WordPress.com Stats

WordPress’ own stats engine is good. You can see what’s going on throughout the day. It’s now been integrated in WordPress Jetpack plugin pack.

Google XML Sitemap Generator

Another popular plugin for your SEO tookit. The Google XML Sitemap Generator plugin will generate a new sitemap every time you add a new page or post. Very helpful for keeping those search engine spiders happy.

WPtouch iPhone

A final plugin that’s more focused on Mobile Internet & usability than anything else. WPtouch makes your website optimised for mobile in a flash.

Tags: Analytics, plugins, seo, spam, stats

Read more from my blog for an introduction and quick tips on developing in Hugo or UCTD.

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Damien Saunders
An experienced management consultant and business leader interested in digital transformation, product centred design and scaled agile. If I'm not writing about living with UCTD (an autoimmune disease), I'm probably listening to music, reading a book or learning more about wine.
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