Dave Caolo

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.

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. WordPress.com stats provides real-time statistics in your dashboard. Again, you’ll need a WordPress.com API key to enable this one.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. Share This lets visitors share your articles with their favorite social sites without having to leave your blog.
7. 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?

I manage 8 WordPress blogs. Creating timely backups for all of them is a pain. So, today I put an automatic solution in place that results in hands-free, off-site storage of weekly backups. Here’s how.

You’ll need a paid Backpack account (the free account does not offer file storage) and the WP-DB-Backup plugin. First, we’ll set up Backpack.

One of the cool features of Backpack is that each page has a unique email address. Anything sent to it gets posted to that page. We’re going to take advantage of that feature. First, create a new Backpack page with a name like “WP Databse Backups.” Note the email address in the page’s footer. That’s the address we’re after.

Now it’s time to install the WP-DB-Backup plugin. As usual, just drop it in /wp-content/plugins on your server. Next, activate it via the “Plugins” page of your WordPress control panel. After that, click “Manage” and then “Backup.”

There are several options for you to fiddle with. For our purposes, look at “Scheduled backup.” Select “Once Weekly” (or whatever schedule you like) and place the email address you got from the Backpack page in the field labeled “Email backup to.” Finally, click “Schedule backup” and you’re done.

There you have it! Automatic, off-site backups of your WordPress database. Since each backup has a unique name based on its creation date, you needn’t worry about overwriting anything. Have fun!