I have my preferred plugins – please share yours….

As I have used and enjoyed WordPress for many years, I have found that with the use of specific plugins you can get the most out of your site or blog.  Not only is it a great way to build and structure your site, but #plugins are very useful to share you content direct from your page.  In the years that WordPress has grown, so has the addons you can use with it.  The more you understand and adapt certain plugins to your blog.  The more your website takes on credibility in Google’s eyes as well as your readers.

Today I would like to introduce my 6 favorite #plugins that I prefer to use with all my WordPress sites:

Askimet (you will need to sign up for a blogger.com account)

WordPress SEO by Yoast

Google XML Sitemaps

Hide Title

conact form7

WP Content Copy Protection

I have also created a survey here:

Which WordPress Plugin Do You Use?

 Now, most of these plugin’s you may be familiar with, but just because you have them installed to your site does not mean you are using them effectively.

For many years I struggled to understand how a simple little plugin could make any difference with my sites.  But as I progressed, I learn that when these plugins are set up correctly from the get go….they can have an everlasting effect on the search engines and also how people engage your business.  You may need to do a little research on each plugin, especially on how other users are finding it with their productivity as far as site optimization is concerned.

Paid Vs Free Plugins

I will say this though….Be careful when you install any plugin whether  it be paid or free.  If it’s corrupting your current theme in anyway, it could also be affecting any search rankings you may have on your site.  After installing any plugins to your site, always check the rest of your site from your dashboard panel to make sure none if the functionality is lost and also on the front end if your site still appears the same to the user.  In my experience, overloading your #WordPress site with too many plugins can almost destroy your site, leaving it vulnerable to hackers and stop some major functionality on the sites front end.

Always install plugin’s with cation whether they are paid or free.  In a way it’s a little like desktop software.  If you have any doubt about the developers credentials or which site you are downloading the plugin from, make sure you do your Google checks 🙂

I have found that when my sites were loaded with plugins, especially those you don’t use much if not at all.  It also slows down your sites performance.  Especially now that Google gives authority to faster loading sites over those which have poor functionality and load slower.  It is best to also monitor this aspect when installing plugins also.

With that being said….I really hope you find the right plugins for your own site and don’t take my word for it.  Do your research and keep it as simple as possible.  If your thinking of using a plugin on your site, take some time to understanding how it works.

That’s all for now – Best of luck