I have assembled a list of the very best WordPress plugins, some of which I use on my own blogs (*), and some of which I don’t.

Try them out yourself, and see if they work with and improve your blog.

Optimizing Your Blog Site

Ultimate Google Analytics*
Google Analytics is an amazing free web site tracking service. This plugin allows you to add your tracking code to your entire WordPress site in one easy step.

DB Backup*
Your entire WordPress database is backed up and sent to your email, or you can download the file.

WP-SpamFree
This amazingly powerful anti-spam plugin eliminates all automated spam.

All in One SEO Pack*
This universally useful plugin optimizes your meta tags for the search engines.

Google XML Sitemaps*
This Google XML Sitemaps plugin generates an XML-Sitemap compliant sitemap of your blog. XML-Sitemap is supported by Google, Yahoo, MSN Search and Ask.com.

Social Networking Support

Lifestream
Your activity from many different social sites can by channeled by Lifestream. Facebook, Friendster, Flikr, YouTube, Twitter as well as any other RSS feed are all supported.

Twitter Tools
You can pull your Twitter tweets onto your blog, both as posts and digests, as well as create tweets from within your WordPress blog.

Facebook Connect Community
Facebook Connect Community allows your blog’s users to sign in with their Facebook login info.

Spreading the Word

Sociable*
Automatically add links to your favorite social bookmarking sites on your posts, pages and in your RSS feed. You can choose from 99 different social bookmarking sites includ ing Digg, Reddit, SU, Mixx, Propeller. You can also add e-mail and print buttons. It also supports TwitThis, but the plugin can be made easier by using TinyURL (or another URL shortening service) and automatically logging the user into Twitter with the URL and Title already shown.

Digg Digg
Dig Digg adds Digg, Reddit, Yahoo Buzz (and Stumble Upon coming soon) buttons with counters allowing your readers to vote for your posts directly on your page.

Visitor Interaction Tools

IntenseDebate
This plugin replaces the comment boxes with an advanced comment system, which includes karma points, RSS, threaded replies, and the ability to comment via email.

Disqus Commenting System
This plugin replaces the comment boxes with an advanced comment system, which includes Facebook Connect, RSS, Gravatars, comment karma threaded comments. Additionally, Discus features top commenters, recent comments, and video comments.

WP Greet Box
New visitors to your blog receive a greeting tailored to the site they were referred by: Google, Facebook, Mixx, StumbleUpon, Digg, Reddit, etc. Customizing a message for anyone coming from any specific site is a breeze.

Popularity Contest
Your readers will be able to see which of your posts are most popular based on views, comments and pingbacks, etc. You are able to weight the value of each type of feedback.

WP Since Last Visit
This very cool widget reveals to your blog’s visitors which posts and comments are new since their last visit.

WP-PostRatings
This plugin allows your readers to rate your posts, and allows you to display the ratings on the sidebar.

WP-PostViews
This plugin allows you to display how many times a post has been viewed.

Subscribe-Remind
Inserts below each post an invitation for your readers to subscribe via RSS.

Yet Another Related Posts Plugin
Yet Another Related Posts Plugin introduces your readers to other relevant content on your blog site.

Video Support

Smart YouTube
You can easily insert YouTube videos into your posts, comments and RSS feeds with this plugin.

Video Widget
You can easily display videos from video sharing websites on your blog. Supported formats include Quicktime, Windows Media Player, YouTube, Google Video, MySpace, Daily Motion, MetaCafe, Reever, Blip.tv, and others.

Miscellaneous Cool and Useful Stuff

Category Posts Widget
This widget will display any number of posts in your sidebar from any category you specify.

PHP Contact Form
Your readers can contact you easily and securely when you use this custom fields contact form generator

WP Page Numbers
This plugin adds pagination to your blog.

Front Page Excluded Categories
This plugin allows you to select categories you don’t want to appear on your front page, and block them.

DropCap First Character
This plugin makes the first character of a post larger, like in a magazine.

Wordpress Download Monitor
This plugin allows you to manage and track uploads to and downloads from your blog.

AdSense Manager
This plugin allows you to insert AdSense, Yahoo, AdBrite (and other) advertising to your sidebar (and anywhere else on your blog).

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This entry was posted on Sunday, May 3rd, 2009 at 11:48 am and is filed under 4-Hour Academy, Connecting. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.