Plug-in is add on.  WordPress plug-in obviously bring the meaning it is add on for WordPress script.  It is undeniable that WordPress blog management system script have a great features and are the most user friendly and most popular and widely used nowadays.  But, there’s always custom functions that the users wants that do not exist in the original WordPress script.  This is where other developers create a new separate programs to work a long with WordPress and it was officially encouraged by WordPress.  Some of the feature was to optimize the blog for optimum level for search engine, some for interaction between the author(s) and the readers or commentators, and some of the feature are to  tightened the security feature of existing script while some are just for internal administrative task.

This article will represent the MUST HAVE WORDPRESS PLUGINS in my point of view.

Search Engine Optimization

Bloggers are those people who like to voice out their opinion.  Wouldn’t it be great if your blog was discovered and your post creates conversations that opens our mind?  This is why search engine optimization is important, so that there will be organic visitors from the search engine such as Google, Yahoo!, and Bing(MSN) to your blog.

While for merchant or internet marketeer or professional bloggers, search engine optimizations mean there will be more traffic to their designated blog and it mean more revenue. ;)

This are the plugins to fulfill the dream to optimize your WordPress Blog.

  • Google (xml) Sitemap Generator — This plugin generate sitemap for your WordPress blog.  It also generates optional .gz sitemap and virtual robots.txt.  Then you can submit these sitemap to Google Webmaster Tools, Yahoo, MSN or other directory.
  • Platinum SEO — While there are still a lot of bloggers using the legendary All In One SEO plug-in, They actually the same and Platinum SEO was the updated, latest version and re-branded of All In One SEO.  This plugin will take care of your metas and also preventing duplicated content by restricting the search engine spiders for certain page. Platinum SEO also built in with canonical url feature which do not exist in All In One SEO.[Citation Needed]
  • SEO Smart Link — This is optional.  It function is to change the words with the keywords you have define in the setting page to the url of your choice.
  • Sociable — It’s a social bookmarking badge for easy nominating the post by your readers.  When your post was bookmarked by the readers, this indirectly affect the traffics and also add some juice to your search engine ranking.

Blog Interactivity

Readers, obviously they like to read.  In early 1990’s, the first generation of website, internet surfers can read journals(before the words blog) but they cannot interact directly with the author.  Far to say interact with other commentators for the journal article.  The only way they can appraise the author is by sending emails.

Nowadays, we have a comment form feature on a blog.  This feature is deadly important as it will add interactivity into your blog.  As of WordPress, they do have this comment form feature, but is very basic and limited.  Readers may leave comment(s), but they hardly get notification when there’s new reply to their comment(s).  To add this new feature so commentators have notification send to their email address they used when they leave a comment, we can use this plug-in.

Subscribe To Comments — Its name is self explanatory.  It lets commentators to subscribe to that particular post comments reply.  So when there’s new reply, they will get notified and if they wish they want to voice out their new comments as of respond to the new comments, they may do so.

But how if the reader wants to contact you regardless what is your latest post?  I mean, they just want to contact you about matters such as banner advertising at your blog, or they are asking you to promote their charity event(if you blog about charity event).  The conventional way was sending email via your domain email address such as admin@pangeran.org but not all would think of doing this, and what if there’s better and much more easy solution?

Cform II — You must create a page and embed the form to that page.  Later, your readers may just leave their message through this comment form.

Security Issues And Administrative Tasks

My website, this blog have been hacked by someone years back.  As a result, I lose all my posts and contents.  So we should take precaution where possible.

Sometimes ago, my blog was spammed with unrelated comments that were written in unknown language.  Some of them promoting casinos and viagra.  Well, I’m not too serious about peoples who wants to promote their new websites, but please take care of your ethics.  It does matter.

  • Akismet — This come as a package in WordPress.  So get yourself an ID at http://wordpress.com and activate the plug-in.  It will chase away those un-appropriate comments on your blog.
  • Feedburner — Redirect your feed to feedburner.
  • Google Analytics For WordPress — It will always good to see your website status so you know what happening out there, I mean at your website.
  • Statpress Reloaded — Another stat counter. This use your server resources.  Well, two is better than one. ;) Or you can choose either one.
  • WordPress.com Stats — YES! Another stat counter.  This one using wordpress.com api.
  • WP Security Scan — This plug-in will scan your WordPress installed files against any security hole.  The warning will appear in RED.  While you get GREEN, it means your WordPress install is secure against any security attack, well at least you REDUCE the risk.

That’s all my recommended WordPress plug-in.  I hope the plug-in recommendation will increase your blog interactivity, security and also your serp ranking.

Fell free to suggest any WordPress plugin that I might missed out. :)