WordPress is the most popular software for self hosted blogs and website.Most websites are running on WordPress and have their own theme and widgets to suit their needs.Here I have listed a few mandatory widgets which would benefit all kinds of blogs and websites. These widgets can help one in various ways,I have also listed that below.
SPAM Fighting
1.Akismet – is the most popular plugin on WordPress.org and is used in most of the blogs.It is the best plugin for detecting Spam and the only needed.Therefore I have only mentioned this one.It is currently on version 2.5.5 and works well with WordPress 3.3.1.To download the plugin go to Akismet on WordPress.org
Forms
1.Contact Form 7 – With this plugin you can create various types forms with many features.Really Simple CAPTCHA can be integrated easily.The format of the main form and the one sent to the chosen email can also be changed and the messages seen by the user can also be changed.Currently on version 3.0.2.1 and works well with WordPress 3.3.1.To get the plugin go to Contact Form 7 on WordPress.org
2.Fast Secure Contact Form – Very similar to the one above but this one has some different features.It has a feature which allows us to redirect the user after the message is sent.It also has the CAPTCHA feature like Contact Form 7 but this also includes Akismet support.Other fields are same as above.Latest version is 3.1.2 and works well with WordPress 3.3.1.To get the plugin go to Fast Secure Contact Form on WordPress.org
Complete SEO
1.WordPress SEO by Yoast – Complete SEO which covers most of the things.Once you get this you don’t need to use any other SEO plugin of this type.It suggest keywords which is very helpful and it also has the feature of getting a page analysis which tells whether all the basic things needed for the post are added.I can tell whether the meta description is too long or too short and gives a preview of how the link to the post look on search engines.Latest version is 1.1.5 and works well with WordPress 3.3.1.To get the plugin go to WordPress SEO by Yoast on WordPress.org
2.All in One SEO – Although old now,this plugin is still used by many.It may not have as many features to optimize our posts as Yoast SEO but it has many other features to the liking of many.It provides Google Analytics support and works better than any other SEO plugin of e-Commerce sites.Latest version is 1.6.13.8 and works well with WordPress 3.3.1.To get the plugin go to All in One SEO on WordPress.org
3.Google XML Sitemaps – Every blog and website need a sitemap for the search engines like Google,Yahoo and Bing.This plugins makes accurate sitemaps which make it easier for search engines to index the blog or website.It updates automatically when something is changed on the site like a post or page.This plugin is essential for any blog or website.Latest version is 3.2.6 and works well with WordPress 3.3.1.To get the plugin go to Google XML Sitemaps on WordPress.org
Mobile Converter
1.WP Touch – Detects if the site is being used on the mobile or tablet and then immediately changes into the mobile version of the site. The plugin has its own theme which display posts but if we buy the premium version the branding can be removed and advertisements can be added.Latest version is 3.2.6 and works well with WordPress 3.3.1.To get the plugin go to WP Touch on WordPress.org
2. WordPress Mobile Pack- Even this can switch from desktop version to mobile version and it has a basic mobile theme available designed by ribot.The color of the theme can be changed and widgets also can be added to this theme.It also a has control panel for the admin to manage the site and write posts on the move.It works well with Apple,Android and Nokia devices.Latest version is 1.2.4 and works well with WordPress 3.3.1. To get this plugin go to WordPress Mobile Pack on WordPress.org
Image Courtesy Jake Oliver
Social
1.Sociable – It has exactly 19 sites which it can link to and it includes the most popular social networking sites like Facebook,Twitter,StumbleUpon,Digg and LinkedIn.It features 6 icon styles and can be display either horizontal or vertical.These icons can be added in various locations which can be specified during or after installation.Latest version is 4.2.1 and works well with WordPress 3.3.1.To get this plugin go to Sociable on WordPress.org
2.Sexy Bookmarks – Can link to a total of 90 sites which are mostly social sites and email and RSS sites.It also displays the Facebook like button and Google 1+ button.It doesn’t even slow down the entire page’s loading speed and loads behind the scene.What I like most about this plugin is that it displays these logo in a very attractive way and gets viewers to be socially engaged.It also features GMail,Yahoo Mail and Hotmail now and supports Google URL shortener and Analytics.Latest version is 4.0.6.5 and works well with WordPress 3.3.1.To get this plugin go to Sexy Bookmarks on WordPress.org
Commenting
1.Disqus Comment System – Features a number login options,social buttons and changes the commenting system a bit.It also blocks all the comment spam possible.Another great feature is that we can link people either in the conversation or not in the conversation in the comment much like Facebook and Twitter.The comments are also SEO friendly and can be indexed by search engines.Latest version is 2.70 and works well with WordPress 3.3.1.To get this plugin go to Disqus Comment System on WordPress.org
2.CommentLuv – Many blogs and websites may have a whole of readers reading their posts but no one commenting.The CommentLuv plugin changes all of that because it offers free backlines to the linked address and features a post from that address in the comment for other users to see.A scheme can also be added that if a user registers to our site the user will be able to display ten of his latest posts in that comment.Latest version is 2.90.9.6 and works well with WordPress 3.3.1.To get this plugin go to CommentLuv on WordPress.org
CAPTCHA
1.Really Simple CAPTCHA – We don’t need the break our heads trying to figure out the text in the picture with this plugin.This plugin goes by its name and displays CAPTCHAs which can be easily identified and written by users but also remove SPAM.This plugin the mainly used for Contact Form 7 and can be easily integrated in the forms.Only problem with this plugin is that it does not have a control panel and if someone wanted to insert a CAPTCHA for commenting on the posts they would have to do it manually.Latest version is 1.4 and works well with WordPress 3.3.1.To get this plugin go to Really Simple CAPTCHA on WordPress.org
2.SI CAPTCHA Anti-Spam – It is easier to insert CAPTCHAs on posts with this plugin as we don’t need to do it manually.It also integrates itself in the forms but in that field it is also good as the plugin above.Even this CAPTCHA is easy to identify and enter in the box.It has a control panel which features options to insert the CAPTCHA in various places by just putting a tick in the check-boxes.Latest version is 2.7.5 and works well with WordPress 3.3.1.To get this plugin go to SI CAPTCHA Anti-Spam on WordPress.org .
