source:http://wpmu.org/
When it comes to blogging, WordPress is probably the most powerful and easy to use content management system that is available to create and maintain your business blog.
WordPress’ excellence comes not only because it is free but also because of the large number of themes and plugins available out there which add greatly to the look and functionality of WordPress powered websites and blogs.
There are literally hundreds of fantastic plugins – snippets of codes – that are available – a great number of them being free of cost – and can be downloaded from the WordPress website.
These plugins have an extensive usefulness because they fill in the gaps of both styling and functionality in WordPress. The great thing about using plugins is you need very little knowledge of coding or web development to turn your business website or blog into anything from a superbly designed, functional website through to a supercharged e-commerce store!
Below is a list of 7 highly useful plugins for your business blog:
1. Yoast SEO
The current hot topic for every business owner when discussing their website is “SEO” – search engine optimization. Yoast lets you optimize your page titles, images, meta descriptions etc. very easily. Every small business that is running a WordPress powered website should install an SEO plugin, and ensure they are optimizing posts and articles from day one, helping increase their search engine visibility.
2. Akismet
Spam is everybody’s enemy. If you have enabled comments on your blog there is every possibility you will be getting hundreds of spam comments. Akismet provides a simple and easy solution to filter out all those unwanted spam comments.
3. Gravity Forms
WordPress falls behind on its functionality to create and manage forms easily. Although it is paid, the Gravity Forms plugin enables you to start creating forms instantly from scratch, it is well worth the price. Gravity Forms lets you create great-looking forms in a matter of seconds after which you which you can start emailing your customers, and collecting their details.
4. NextGen Gallery Plugin
NextGen Gallery Plugin is the most popular gallery plugin, according to WordPress. It provides a powerful solution for uploading and managing galleries of images as well as single images. The plugin comes with a wide array of options for setting up and maintaining image galleries on your site easily.
5. BackupBuddy
This plugin is one of high importance. You should be backing up your site on a regular basis, especially so if your site undergoes regular changes. In order to avoid losing your entire site unexpectedly it is important to have control over your backups. The BackupBuddy plugin lets you create a backup of your entire site – widgets, themes, plugins, files and databases.
6. ShareBar
With the ShareBar Plugin you can easily integrate social media functionality into your content. It adds a vertical box to posts which contains links/buttons to different social media sites. It’s very easy to set up and it enhances your sites ‘share-ability’ factor for visitors.
7. Google Analytics for WordPress
The Google Analytics plugin enables you to track incoming traffic and links your WordPress site easily. It provides a powerful solution for monitoring your site’s visitors and will give you statistics to assist you with targeting your audience. It also helps you find out popular pages, performance of your landing pages and conversions.
These plugins will add great functionality to any WordPress site. There are thousands of other plugins that can assist you with setting up your website. Of course, some plugins are paid but when compared with the additional functionality they bring to your site they are definitley worth the cost. Do you think these plugins are useful for your blog? Do you know of any other useful plugins? Please share below.
