One of my recent goals was to create a ready-to-go installation of WordPress. Today it’s complete, and I’ve written to share a bit of it with you. Specifically, these are the plug-ins I include in any basic installation. Of course, not every project is the same, but this is always my starting point.
- Akismit eliminiates comment spam and trackback spam effectively. You’ll need a WordPress.com API key to enable it. I occasionally see something sneak through, but those occurences are the exception, not the rule. Akismit is the first plug-in I set up.
- Thank Me Later sends first-time commenters a single email thanking them for their participation. Customize the time delay between receipt of the comment and deployment of the email, the body of the message itself and more. It’s not essential, but a nice touch.
- WordPress.com stats provides real-time statistics in your dashboard. Again, you’ll need a WordPress.com API key to enable this one.
- WordPress Automatic Upgrade makes it very easy to apply updates. After some simple configuration, you can install WP updates from the dashboard. It’s a real time saver.
- WordPress Database Backps does just what the name implies — creates a backup for your blog’s (or WP-powered site’s) database files. For some real fun, check out my super-simple instructions for setting up automated, off-site backups.
- Share This lets visitors share your articles with their favorite social sites without having to leave your blog.
- All in One SEO Pack certainly isn’t a replacement for SEO best practices (see “WordPress and SEO“), but it makes certain aspects easy.
So there you have it, my basic WordPress starting point. What’s yours?
What about “Interesting Finds” in your sidebar? You are not going to tell those are regular links, updated manually, are you?
Luke,
The sidebar is done with Sidebar WordPress Plugin (http://katesgasis.com/2005/10/24/sideblog/). In fact, it’s giving me a little trouble with this theme.
However, I’m going to follow up this post with another about the plug-ins that aren’t a part of my standard installation, but I still like to use on occasion.
I use all of those! Well, except “Thank Me Later,” which I’ve never heard of, but now I’ll give it a try.
I also use a whole slew of other too, but my favorites are One-Click Plugin Updater, which allows you to add a plugin immediately, and WP Spam Free, which is the best WordPress spam catcher out there in my opinion. It has caught over five hundred spam comments since I re-opened my site three weeks ago and so far all good comments slip through undetected.
Nina
Great suggestions. I’m going to follow-up this post with another pointing out the plug-ins that aren’t a part of my basic install, but still terrific. I think I’ll have to add WP Spam Free to the list!
Sounds awesome! Thank you.
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