Five WordPress Plugins I Can’t Do Without

There are a lot of long…yawn…lists out there that I sort of get bored with before I ever get to the bottom. Sorry, short attention span.

So instead of torturing you folks by listing ALL of my installed plugins, I’ve decided to list only five. These are the ones that, if limited to five, I simply can’t do without. They aren’t regurgitations of the ones that come with WordPress so have a look, and see if they’ll work for you too.

• Optimal Title – This little plugin makes those Google search results for you blog look a little bit more tempting to click on. So instead of…

  Stephen Fung DOT NET | This Is The Post Title

  With Optimal Title it becomes…

  This is The Post Title | Stephen Fung DOT NET

  Pretty cool huh? No more cut off titles! You can grab that right here.

• Related Posts – This plugin is a real time saver for me and helps my readers easily access…well… related posts!
  
  
  

  Whenever I blog, I always try to link my archived posts whenever possible, but sometimes even I don’t remember that far back. The related posts function is a blast from the past for me, and an excellent way for readers to keep on reading. Grab that plugin right here.

• Top Commentators (AKA Top Comment Whores) – This plugin has proven itself valuable beyond my expectations. It has spawned my “Stephen Fung’s Top Comment Whore Contest” and has literally transformed my blog into a flurry of activity. Definitely install this one.
• Subscribe to Comments – I installed this one mainly because I know that if I go to a blog, and make a comment, if I don’t get a reminder about a reply to that comment, it’s likely I’ll never return again.
  
  
  

  This plugin adds an email subscription system to all your posts. Whenever anyone comments on one of your posts, they have the option to unsubscribe or subscribe to email notifications, letting them know that someone has commented. This keeps the conversation going and lets your readers know that there is indeed a party at your blog. Grab that one right here.

• Bad Behaviour – Since installing this plugin, it has stopped over 3000 illegal access attempts. In the last 7 days, it has stopped 1174. When coupled with the built in AKISMET Spam Blocker that comes stock with WordPress, or the excellent SPAM KARMA 2, it becomes an unstoppable SPAM force. The software doesn’t work like the regular SPAM blockers. It actually analyzes the software used to SPAM and the patterns that SPAMMERS take so it doesn’t need to rely on actually seeing the SPAM before it kicks them.
  
  
  

  Since installing this plugin, I get maybe 1 or 2 SPAMS every couple of days while before I’d get 10 – 20…daily. Though its not perfect and sometimes catches the occasional legit comment, I think it’s worth it. You can grab Bad Behavior right here.

Although there’s a few more plugins that I have installed on top of these five, these are the ones that get downloaded and installed on every blog that I setup or will setup. Give them a try, and let me know how they work out for you.