What WordPress Plugins I Use and Why

Plugins are, in my opinion, the big reason why WordPress has become the juggernaut success story of content management systems. Plugins let you extend and enhance the functionality of your self-hosted WordPress-powered website. Anything from a simple contact form to full blown e-commerce functionality can be added to your WordPress site with plugins.

But because there are so many plugins, the question of which ones to use comes up for every WordPress site owner. There are often many plugins all trying to do the same thing. Some plugins cost money while most are free. The choice can be paralyzing, especially for someone who doesn’t feel terribly confident in their technical skills.

So I figured it would be helpful to you if I shared with you what plugins I was using and why I chose them over other similar plugins.

BackupBuddy

Backups for your WordPress site are a must. BackupBuddy (affiliate link) is a commercial plugin (in other words, it’s not free) and service that automates your WordPress file and database backups.

But it also does a lot more than that. For example, if you were to have your site redesigned or moved to a different web server, BackupBuddy will handle the exporting and importing of all the data and files for a smooth transition.

You can have your backups go into a DropBox folder or other online data storage service such as Amazon’s S3.

BulletProof Security

WordPress sites can be easily attacked and compromised even if you keep everything up-to-date. BulletProof Security does a number of things to protect your WordPress installation by rewriting your .htaccess file.

Fair warning: this plugin is pretty technical to set up and is not for the faint-hearted. You may want to search for something easier in the security department if you’re not up to it.

CommentLuv

CommentLuv (affiliate link) fetches a commentor’s recent blog post and creates a link to it below the comment. It’s a great way to encourage comments because it provides added incentive for people to visit your site if they’re curious about you. These links are not followed by Google (the case for all links in WordPress comments by default).

If you also use CommentLuv and you comment on another site using CommentLuv, you have your choice about which link out of your last ten posts.

Contact Form 7

Contact Form 7 is my contact form plugin. I chose this one over all the others I’ve looked at because it was the right mix of options without being too complicated to use. You create a form, add fields to it, and then the plugin generates a shortcode you can copy and paste into a page or a widget to place a contact form on the web page.

DiggDigg

The DiggDigg social sharing plugin has nothing to do with the site Digg. It creates a social media sharing bar that floats alongside your page as visitors scroll down. You can see my how to set up DiggDigg post for more information. I’ve tried many different social sharing plugins and nothing has worked as nicely or looks as nice as DiggDigg.

Google Sitemaps

Google Sitemaps plugin creates an XML sitemap for Google. What this means in plain English is that you can improve your site’s search engine optimization by suggesting to Google how often it should crawl your site for new URLs.

Links in Captions

Links in Captions is a gem of a plugin that lets you create hyperlinks in image captions, which currently is not possible otherwise in WordPress.

Pippity

Pippity (affiliate link) delivers an opt-in form for your email newsletter to first time visitors. What makes it different from other popup managers is that rather than trigger based on time, it triggers when the visitor reaches the bottom of the page… after the visitor has read the article.

Publish Confirmation

I am really bad at accidentally clicking the “Publish” button when I mean to click “Preview!” The Publish Confirmation plugin prevents these accidents by presenting a simple confirmation dialog box: Are you SURE you want to publish this post? This thing is a godsend: no more accidental post publishing!

Subscribe to Comments Reloaded

Subscribe to Comments Reloaded gives your commentors the chance to receive updates to a post’s comments via email. This greatly increases commenting and participation on your site. If you’re using a third-party commenting service like Disqus or Livefyre, you won’t need this plugin because that option is built into those services.

Tweet Old Post

The Tweet Old Post plugin does exactly what its name says: it tweets out links to older posts you’ve written. I have seen a lot more traffic and comments coming in to my older posts because of this plugin. You can set parameters for what will and will not get tweeted. For example you can tell it far back in your archives to go, or exclude certain categories.

W3 Total Cache

A caching plugin speeds up your site dramatically by delivering cached versions of pages to visitors instead of forcing a zillion database queries in order to load a page. Sometimes caching plugins can cause problems due to conflicts with your theme or with other plugins, but W3 Total Cache works beautifully with Headway (affiliate link).

And there you have it: those are the plugins I use currently. I’ll be redesigning the site soon and will work in a few more. I’ll publish a new post about those when the time comes.

Filed Under: Blogging

http://cuberules.com Scot Herrick

I’m a big fan of security on WordPress sites. If you consider how standardized millions and millions of sites are set up, you have a great opportunity of automating hacking into your site because of the standardization. I use different security plugins than Bullet Proof Security (though I’m going to go look at it!), but using security plugins isn’t an option.

I get notices of attempts to get in my sites almost every single day. And the more traffic your site gets, the more likely it is that someone will try and hack you. Usually on the day one of the largest sites on the Internet links to an article of yours and you are getting a gazillion visitors because of it is the same day I get a gazillion attempts to hack my site. Sophisticated, they are.

Nope. Not an option. Need something for security.

Thanks for sharing these, Michael. Always interesting to see the stuff under the hood.
- http://remarkablogger.com Michael Martine
  
  You are correct it’s not really an option at all, but a must-have. Thanks for your comment, Scot!
http://www.bretlsimmons.com Bret Simmons

Very helpful, Michael, but I don’t see any social sharing buttons on this blog post. Am I missing the “retweet” and “like” buttons or is there a reason you don’t have a plugin for that? Bret
- http://remarkablogger.com Michael Martine
  
  They are floating to the left of the page, via the DiggDigg plugin mentioned in the post.
http://www.selaplana.com/ Sustines

Michael,

Actually, when I noticed that you are using the CommentLuv, I immediately became interested with. I then installed the free version of it into my blog.

Now, I am thinking of testing the diggdigg plugin that you are using.
- http://remarkablogger.com Michael Martine
  
  Glad you found it worth checking out.
http://exerciseandnutritiontips.com Mike

I am really liking the commentluv premium plugin. The many features of the plugin has been a great addition to my site.
- http://remarkablogger.com Michael Martine
  
  Great to hear that!
http://togetyourexbackfast.org Vince

The commentluv plugin is the best plugin I ever purchased in 2011.
- http://remarkablogger.com Michael Martine
  
  I was skeptical at first but it’s proven itself.
http://www.webuildyourblog.com/blog/ Andrew Rondeau

Michael

I do use most of the plugins you mention.

I also like Insights for easy internal linking and Pro Blog Stats (my own!) for monitoring a number of different stats.

Andrew
- http://remarkablogger.com Michael Martine
  
  Thanks, Andrew. I hope you don’t mind I edited your comment to put links in to the plugins you mentioned. Saves folks the trouble of looking them up.
Pingback: How to Install WordPress Plugins
Janice034

I love this commentluv plugin because of the features where the commentators can leave their links for the back links. Thank you for sharing your ideas, this is a helpful post to read and apply.
- http://remarkablogger.com Michael Martine
  
  You’re welcome, glad you think so.
http://golfingyourbest.com/ Mike

I will have to add Publish Verification to my blog. As a new blogger I accidentally hit publish when I meant to hit preview more than I’d like to admit.

Nice list of other plugins as well. I am slowly adding plugins I know will be helpful/useful.
Ellie

Hi Michael. My two favorite plugins are CommentLuv and BulletProof Security. I like BulletProof Security for the extra protection it gives me and CommentLuv is just plain fun

Ellie
- http://remarkablogger.com Michael Martine
  
  Thanks, Ellie! You’re right, CommentLuv is fun. It’s also good for traffic and more comments.
http://www.UrbanConnectionRealty.com Gene Urban

Thanks for the post, I’m always looking for ideas from other real estate bloggers about ways to make my WP site better. I’d add the Diverse Solutions IDX to the list. I will be adding BulletProof to my list after reading your post and the comments. Thanks, Gene
- http://remarkablogger.com Michael Martine
  
  Cool, glad you enjoyed it, Gene, and thanks for your comment and plugin suggestion!
http://www.healthytodayclub.com Sebastian

Does backup buddy do absolutely everything? I’ve found other plugins that backup almost everything but still have to customize the wordpress settings like the permalinks.

Definitely great recommendations. My blog got hacked a month ago, wish I had the bulletproof security then.
- http://remarkablogger.com Michael Martine
  
  BackupBuddy allows for full site migration, which is as close to “everything” as you can get as far as I can tell.
  
  Sorry to hear you got hacked, I hope you’ve taken steps to prevent it from happening in the future.
  - http://www.webuildyourblog.com/blog/ Andrew Rondeau
    
    I’ve completed many migrations with BackupBuddy and it does copy everything across – nothing to change afterwards.
    
    Andrew
http://www.writeabio.com Daly

Publish vs Preview! The constant war in my head and on my screen!
- http://remarkablogger.com Michael Martine
  
  YOU ARE NOT ALONE.
http://www.tsmethod.com/blog/ Mark’s Fat Burning Food and Fitness Blog

Wow this is great!

I will install tweet old posts right now!

How about google analytics, do you also use the one by Joost de Valk?
- http://remarkablogger.com Michael Martine
  
  I don’t use it, Mark, but it’s probably the best one of its kind out there. Glad you enjoyed the Tweet Old Post plugin. That thing is a traffic machine.
http://hotsaucedaily.com Brian Meagher

Great list. Thanks Michael.
I installed the Digg Digg and am very happy with it. Helped me get rid of the sloppy array of different buttons I was using.

I’m looking at the Subscribe to Comments Reloaded plugin now, but I’m not sure why it’s better than Mark Jaquith’s version, or why I’d want to use it? What say you?
- http://remarkablogger.com Michael Martine
  
  From the plugin’s page:
  
  It solves most of the issues that affect Mark Jaquith’s version, using the latest WordPress features and functionality. Plus, allows administrators to enable a double opt-in mechanism, requiring users to confirm their subscription clicking on a link they will receive via email.
  - http://hotsaucedaily.com Brian Meagher
    
    Yes, of course I saw that text / quote from the plugin’s page.
    
    I was hoping for YOUR opinion of why it’s better. Thanks!
    Brian.
    - http://remarkablogger.com Michael Martine
      
      The quote really says it all for me. It just has the features I wanted: easy and effective and problem-free.
http://www.tsmethod.com/blog/ Mark

Grand, thanks Michael! I got installed and rolling, see what we can see!Thanks again for the tip,Mark
- http://remarkablogger.com Michael Martine
  
  You’re welcome, glad you liked it.
http://www.thegirlieblog.com Girlie Blogger

This article really makes me want to convert to wordpress.
- http://remarkablogger.com Michael Martine
  
  Most people who switch from Blogger to WordPress wish they had done it sooner rather than later.
http://sarkari-rojgar.com/ Brad

Hi Michael,
nice list, infact I’m already using some of these plugins on my wordpress blog.

And one important thing about the “Links in Captions” which you’ve mentioned above, the link mentioned there redirects to the “Lottery” plugin of Seodenver instead of the “Links in Captions” plugin, please correct the link.

BTW thanks for this great info
- http://remarkablogger.com Michael Martine
  
  Thanks for letting me know about the link.
Ben Winters

Sick post! I’m always down to try new plugins on my blog. W3 Cache sped up my site tonss! Keep up the good work brochacho!
http://www.imagefilm-industriefilm.de Coco

Thank you so much for that great list. I just started to work with WP and now I’m very thankful for those advises. Especially the Bullet Proof and W3 Total Cache plugins sound very interesting.
http://bandtherapy.net Tim McSeifert

I’m a big fan of Yoast’s SEO toolbar, not because I know much about SEO, but because I like controlling the title tag and how it shows up in Google.
http://www.cordlessimpactdriverhq.com Nat

Thanks for the tip on Bulletproof Security – I’m going to check that one out. You can’t be too careful!

– nat
http://www.innovationitsupport.com James Matthws

Thanks for your post, I am fairly new to WordPress so it’s great to git some advice on the best widgets to use.
- http://remarkablogger.com Michael Martine
  
  Cool man, glad to help.
http://foxyreign.com FoxyReign

I didn’t know about CommenLuv until I commented on your blog. I am going to install this on mine.
http://cloudblog.dk Rasmus

Thanks for a great post. Grabbed the DiggDigg pluging – been searching for this!
http://www.sonomacountymortgages.com/ Scott Sheldon

Here are some other plugins I use on my site.
These make things way easier. Following are the ones i link:

Google Site Maps For sure!
Custom Posts Per Page
Email Shroud
Google Analytics for Word Press
Gravity Forms
Popular Posts
Youtube sidebar widget
The popular posts widget gave me this visual which isn’t OMG awesome, but visually it works.
http://www.tirelessmedia.com Philadelphia Branding

Great Call on some of these.. there are some great plugins and some not so great.
http://www.tsmethod.com/blog/ Mark

Heay Michael,

I just upped the diggdigg plugin, I used Getsocial, very similar.
As of now diggdigg is not showing the Google+1…
And how do you make it float lower on your site, same hight vertically as yours?

Much appreciate your time man,

Thanks,

Mark
- http://remarkablogger.com Michael Martine
  
  Dude you gotta read the instructions for how to configure it.
http://localseoireland.ie/ Sean

Nice list Michael, I’ve been looking for something like “links in captions” for a while now. I agree about DiggDigg as well by the way…it’s slick
- http://remarkablogger.com Michael Martine
  
  Yeah me too, which is why I felt like I’d found the Holy Grail when I saw it.
Harrison

Hey Michael,

Thanks for the awesome list of plugins. I’ve seen quite a few of these plugins on others sites as well especially bulletproof. Although it can be a little techie, Bulletproof does a great job at trying to prevent wordpress sites from hackers. There are so many plugins out there to choose from it can be hard to narrow down.

Thanks again man,
Harrison
http://forrosaceatreatment.com.au/ Jacob

I can see some similarities and differences with the plugins that we use… I won’t go into all of them, but W3 cache seems to “play up” quiet a bit with specific plugins, for this reason and for the fact that I am not too technical, I use quickcache as it does the job and I don’t have to change any settings to make it work properly… I’ll be checking out some of your other recommendations though like commentluv
http://www.bloggingjunction.com/ Saksham Talwar

I used Contact Forms 7 in the past, but now I’m a Gravity Forms user. I know Gravity Forms costs me some $$, but I think it’s totally worth it. No doubt, CF rocks too!
http://techcreak.com TechCreak

Very Nice list. I think BulletProof Security is the must have wordpress plugin for any wordpress blog to protect it against the hackers. Thanks to share such a valuable plugins with readers.
http://www.blogging24h.com Trung Nguyen

I also do use most of these plugins you listed above, I’ll give a try to use some new plugins, thanks for share the awesome plugins to us, Michael.
http://www.funtober.com Rob

Thanks for the plugin suggestions. I use quite a few of them but I’m going to try my hand at Bulletproof Security soon.
http://www.promo-code.com Coupon Queen

These are all great plugins. There are a few good SEO plugins available that I’ve used in the past that can really help boost Google SERP rankings.

Thanks for the great list!
http://hotphotosportal.blogspot.com Parvinder

I like the most W3 Total Cache plugin. This plugin increased my blog loading speed amazingly.
http://www.soluciono.com Soluciono

I am another big enthusiast of Yoast SEO Plugin because apart from allowing me to edit the different metadata and canonical URLs on each page it has an inbuilt XML sitemap so no need for Google XML sitemap.