10 Basic Newbie Must Have WordPress Plug-Ins

There are many websites out there and blogs that point out the “Top” or “Most Wanted” Plugins out there for WordPress users but the problem is most of the Top Lists out there only showcase Advanced Plugins for the WordPress users.

Most WordPress users run into the problem of what plugins to start out with and haven’t event started blogging yet to fully take advantage of the more complicated plugins. 

Simple is better and below are the layman basic package for WordPress users Must Have Plugin Package.

The 10 List

1.  Akismet –  This is probably your most important plugin to use and most WordPress versions already have this plugin installed when you first download WordPress.  This is your basic spam fighter preventing spammers leaving spam comments selling you something.

2.  Broken Link Checker - Checking broken links can be a tedious chore and this plugin makes this task simple by checking images and links if they are broken will be notified on your dashboard.

3.  All in One Seo Pack - The grandaddy of popular plugins to use.  The reason why this plugin is so popular because its so simple to use in helping you with your SEO by making it easy to change titles,prevent duplicate content and other optimization options.  A must have.

4.  Contact Form - A simple and must have plugin.  This your everyday “Contact Form” that is used to notify the blogmaster or webmaster of users wishing to contact them.  This is a popular plugin because of the ease of use and privacy if the Author does not wish to disclose their real e-mail address.

5.  RSS Footer - This plugin allows you to add a line of content to the end of your RSS feed articles.  This is very useful to prevent sploggers of not linking back to the original article.

6.  Google XML Sitemap - This plugin generates XML enabled sitemaps to help with indexing by search engines like Google, MSN, Yahoo and more.

7.  Popular Posts –  (WordPress 2.7 has added this) WordPress Mobile Edition – This must have Plugin automically configures your Blog to show an interface designed for a mobile device when visitors come to your site on a mobile device.  No configuration is needed, so its a great plug and play!

8.  Post-Plugin Library - Does nothing by itself but supplies common code for the Similar Posts, Recent Posts, Random Posts, and Recent Comments plugins. Make sure you have the latest version of this plugin.

 9.  Related /Similar Posts - A cool plugin that returns a list of the related entries based on a unique algorithm using titles, post bodies, tags, and categories.

10. WordPress Automatic Upgrade (WordPress 2.7 has this now) Sharethis – Is a great plugin to put a social bookmarking content in every post or page you want.  This is definitely a good starter and advanced Plugin must have.

Post from: Social Media Vision

10 Basic Newbie Must Have WordPress PlugIns

Online Identity

Your online identity or brand is the representation of yourself in the online world.  The easiest way to establish your online identity is first by establishing a username or handle.  Your username is vital in leaving digital footprints in the online world.

A great way to check the availabilty of a username is by going to www.usernamecheck.com here you can just plug in a username you would like to use to see what is available.  With over hundreds of social media websites out there it can be very difficult to keep up and I think that usernamecheck is a great tool to check for this.

Securing an online brand

If you are not careful you can lose your online identity or have your identity tarnished in a blink of an eye.  You must secure your online identity or brand.  Claim your name everywhere.  

Many people love to domain park or online id park.  What this means is a person would simply buy a domain name or register at a social networking site simply as a place holder so the original host will buy the name.  Some people have cashed in big time this way like when pizza.com sold for 2.6 million 

Harmless claims can happen too.  This happened to Darren Rowse a.k.a the problogger.  He recently created a new site called twitip.com.  Well he registered the domain name but didn’t register the twitter name.  Having an online identity in part is being recognized everywhere in every avenue.  You don’t want false misrepresentations or misleading avenues.  So Darren was on a mission to secure the twitter name and eventually did. (Article)

Mark your territory

There is no wrong way or certain way about going about this concept.  The idea is to claim your online presence everywhere and the next step is to have a lasting memorable presence.

You can create an online brand by having:

• Slogan/Motto – having a catchy, unique or memorable slogan can increase your presence.  What stands you out from the rest?  There are millions of users out there and why should I remember your name/company/website etc.  For example. My name is Justin and there are tons of Justin’s out there.   When I was trying to get Realtors to send me business I wanted a catchy name to stand out and hence the logo of “Just-In-Time-Loans” came out

• Logo/Trademark – Along those same lines having a great logo or trademark can also stand you out from the rest of the crowd.  Think about how many people use the same theme on websites, or blogs or any other platform.  The real difference in many platforms is the logo.  Once you have created a unique logo it doesn’t matter if plenty of people have the same product or platform you will be different just by your logo.
• Unique Username – Don’t just assume that by using your real name is going to be your username.  First of all its not that unique and if you are going to do this then you will need a unique name like Guy Kawasaki. Second of all, if you have a common name then its no use.  For instance if your name is John Doe then chances are you will not be able to secure any of the websites out there.  Try variations.

Post from: Social Media Vision

Secure A Powerful Online Presence By Claiming Your Online Identity