One of the reasons I love WordPress is the plethora of amazing plugins available. Here are 5 plugins that I recommend for getting a professional look to your site:
Featured Content Gallery
This plugin is amazing. It’s so easy to implement and really makes a big difference in a static site. Check out this site or this one to see it in action. To use, you simply install the plugin, and then set your preferences in the admin panel, add the bit of code to your theme files, and start posting in your featured category including the use of the custom field for the featured image. Just an FYI, for you techie types, I have found that this plugin does not work on a site that is also using “Moo Tools” javascripts. Click here to visit download page.
Breadcrumb Navigation XT
Another simple one to implement and a must if you have a site of any depth. It ads “breadcrumb” links to make it easy for the user to navigate, especially as they get deep into your content. Click here to visit download page.
Multi-page Toolkit
If you have content that is quite lengthy, this is a perfect plugin to help your users wade through it. There are many options for customizing it in the admin panel, and you can style the display by adding some plugin specific CSS to your theme’s stylesheet. Check out this post for an good example, and click here for the download page.
Related Entries
This plugin gives your readers suggestions at the end of each post for other posts that may interest them, and is a great way to increase the time they stay on your site. You can even include exerpts if you like! Click here to visit the download page.
CForms
This is simply the best contact form plugin I have ever come across. It allows for multiple forms, custom form styling and it’s very easy to insert your forms into posts, pages or your sidebar. Download page is here.
And, while I’m in plugin mode, here are some plugins I couldn’t live without:
BackUpWordPress (if you don’t have a plugin installed that backs up your site, drop everything you’re doing and install one now)
just starting to figure this out – we’ve got a typepad blog – is there an easy way to go from Typepad to WordPress so we can start to work with some of these cool dofollow tools?
thanks,
-GJ
PS – blog is http://auguitar.typepad.com/ (hopefully soon to be on our own domain using WP!)
I love comparing notes about the little extras that set sites apart and make them more functional.
I am hoping to use the Featured Content plugin soon – it gives a site a very polished look.
My favorite plugin for related content is Yet Another Related Posts Plugin – I found it easier to implement than any of the others.
That is a nice list, and I really like what you have done to your template! Looks really good.
I have been using wordpress for a couple years not and i love the plug ins feature. it makes having your own professional website so much easier that trying to build it from scratch. thanks a lot for this list of plug ins!
[...] Clay shared her 5 new favorite plugins today – among them a slick new featured content gallery and [...]
I like the plugin page.
im just a bit disappointed by the technical nature of all the plug ins. Surely someone at wordpress is going to make an icon driven system for people like me who are afraid of anything that comes in html?
I love the cForms plugin. I haven’t heard of these other ones so I’ll have to check them out too. Thanks
First I’d like to say great site layout! The list was very good because most of those I didn’t even know about so that helps alot. Thanks!
Thanks for the link for the Featured Content Gallery plug-in. I am starting up a new site this week and this is exactly what I needed to better visually organize the content sections.
Perfect!
I’m using CForm. It’s so powerful. Many customization can be made, and it provide all the things we would ever need from a form. Yet, if one don’t have a good internet connection speed, it would take quite a long time to work with the form’s editing.
I really don’t know much abt this plugins{Multi-page Toolkit,Breadcrumb Navigation XT}…By posting this article u made me to think about that,thanks for providing such a valuable post ..
Thank you so much for this list of plugins. I just made the switch to wordpress and the plugin list is a bit overwhelming.
I tried cforms and had some issues, but Contact Form 7 works just great for me!
CForms is without question the most important add-on on the list. WordPress forms that ACTUALLY WORK are extremely rare, I fought with trying to make my own contact form forever and it did not have the hoped for results. CForms is something every WordPress blogger should grab, it will make your life a lot easier
I haven’t use the CForms before amd I will try it out as soon as I having free time…
By the way, thanks for the recommendation!
Guitar Jones,
There is info on that here: http://teblog.typepad.com/david_tebbutt/2005/12/moving_from_typ.html.
Great list. A lot of bloggers may take these for granted, but new bloggers like me need posts like this. I may may knowledgeable about PPC, but when it comes to blogging… I’m still a newbie.
I love the cForms plugin.
Out of the 5, I’m currently only using the Related Entries plugin on my blog. There is a simple reason for that, and it falls back to the fact that I still want to improve my blog theme and get some of the other plugins integrated.
I must admit, I tried out the CForms plugin a while back but something just wasn’t quite right with it. Saying that though, I now have a seperate helpdesk were all my support is managed. (So it works out just the same really!)
Thanks
Mark
While I like the related post plugin out of the 5 you mentioned – I am just wondering if there is any plugin made interlinking of posts if there is 75% or so matching in the key-phrase of the post with a previous post related to it.
I reckon, it would be a great SEO plugin.
Backup WordPress is an essential plugin to have. I have it on most every wordpress site I own, as long as I remember to plug it in. I’m sure many webmasters can relate to the feeling of losing all of your data because you forgot to backup the files. Tough game!
Another good plugin is translator by: http://www.nothing2hide.net/
That featured content gallery plugin really makes those sites look good. Thanks for sharing!
I am not familiar with these plug ins but with your post I am beginning to think that these are necessities and not just nice-to-have features.
Featured Content is the BEST. I am using it on 2 Revolution sites so far. I have never used a form tool yet but since you suggested CFORM I am going to try it. Cheers -
I think this will also enhance your website. Make a widget, hence increasing content portability and traffic. Try this site http://www.websnips.com which lets you make a widget out of any site.
I reckon, it would be a great SEO plugin.
Thank god for wordpress. I have a few blogs on typepad and feel like im sinning every time I post to them.
I do enjoy the Multi Page toolkit very much, makes the site look more professional for sure. Also have been meaning to install the related posts plugin; love the way that looks to.
Anyway, good list. Indeed all of these make for a more professional looking site.
I have tried Cforms and I find it easy to setup.
Automatic upgrade is a lifesaver for those of us that has several blogs to update.
Backupwordpress is something I will try out.
I’m relatively new to the world of blogging, and this article is very helpful. I’m going to look into Cforms asap. While I’ve been blogging for months, I haven’t really done much in the way of organizing my material. Thanks for this tip!
Thanks for the suggestions. I really liked the related entries plug in and will be checking out the others as well
Those are very handy plugins. I personally use cforms and I must say that I have liked it very much. It is a very good comment form plugin for WordPress
I’ve been researching what blog platform to use for starting another blog for our business, and like the plug-ins you’ve presented here. Thanks!
Hi,
Liked the list. Especially the first gallery!
Here are some other plugins you can use:
http://yoast.com/wordpress/
grt
it’s a very good resource information. being new to blogging platform, i find your suggestions very handy and helpful. Surely i will follow along with your upcoming articles..
Right on with the backup. May I also suggest the XML sitemap plugin. An absolute must for publishing to the seach engines.
CForms is something every WordPress blogger should grab, it will make your life a lot easier.Wordpress has a lot of good plugins, but they’re constantly hacked.it’s a very good resource information. being new to blogging platform
I’ve never seen breadcrumb nav before. Definitely something I will be checking out. Thanks!
Hi, I’m just a “mom blogger”, however I do appreciate the time you took in writing the No Follow post and creating the graphics. I made the change today and used a button for my blog. I didn’t see a way to comment on the entry, so I’m here!
Thanks!
I still haven’t figured out why WordPress doesn’t have breadcrumbs on the base install. o well..
I think related entries is pretty essential to most blog layouts, just because the reader will want to follow the train of thought to the next article on the web anyways. Better to have the reader stay within your site than wander off to the next googled site.
Right on with the backup. May I also suggest the XML sitemap plugin. An absolute must for publishing to the seach engines.
Some plugins there I haven’t seen before, will have to check some out. Thanks for the list.
Thanks for the blogpost. The featured content gallery is definitely worth a test. The Related Entries Plugin is a blast and for me one of the most importatn wordpress-plugins – good for improving your clickthrough-rate.
Wow, Great post, Im definatly going to have to try atleast 2 of these plugins, The breadcrumb always adds a nice effect and helps user navigation, I might try the photogallery also.
Great list, Bookmarked the page for future reference
Your post is super, Randa. And if I may to give my opinion personally, beside the thing which you told above, I think a good site must have good and professional navigation too (like navigation bar, navigation panel, etc).
Digg page Navygation style its a good plugin for this purpose.
As a beginner to webpage design and to blogs, I want to thank you for a resource like this that helps sort out some of the things that get me lost.
Even with wordpress there are so many options to choose from I don’t know where to start. Its great to hear an experts opinion
I have been using wordpress for a couple years not and i love the plug ins feature. it makes having your own professional website so much easier that trying to build it from scratch. thanks a lot for this list of plug ins!
good list of plug ins. I always prefer wordpress than all others becoz of these plug ins.
Thanks for sharing .
well, the automatic upgrade plugin is not supported anymore. in fact with the next release of wp namely wp 2.7 this feature will be embedded in the cms itself. breadcrumb is not supported too. i personally use few plugins because they slow the blog down plus i dont want to spend a lot of time to update them and find out solutions when they start messing up among themselves. i just use plugins which improve seo and serp. I also use the rating plugin but nobody uses it.