I am still really new to blogging and WordPress, but there are a few plugins that I really like and have found very useful that I would like to share with you.  If you are a seasoned blogger then you probably already know about these plugins.  I love plugins, they are my ‘best blogging friend’!  I don’t know anything about coding or HTML, but I am trying to learn…so until then, using plugins are lovely!  Here goes…

 

1.  Akismet is a pluggin that filters out spam comments and track-backs.  I am relatively new to blogging and sometimes it is a little confusing to tell which comments are spam.  Some comments that look legitimate are not, so you really have to pay attention.  With Akismet it basically does all the work for you.  I think there has been only one legitimate comment that it marked as spam.  It is pretty simple and straight forward to set up, and the best part it is FREE for personal blogs and non business sites.  You just set up your account and enter the code they give you during registration and input it in the plugin page on your site and your ready to go.

2.  Comment Luv is a plugin available for WordPress, Blogger & also Twitter Link Comments.  I absolutely LUV this plugin… it is by far my favorite one.  This plugin allows others to link to one of their blog post, when leaving a comment on your site.  You control the settings that allow them to link to their latest post or pick one of their past post to link to.  Comment LUV basically lets you say “thank you” to the person commenting on your blog by allowing a link back to their blog.   cute

                   

3.  Foter is a plugin that allows you to add free stock photos to your blog.  There are many photos to choose from and searching is easy.  You just type in what you looking for, like ‘Christmas lights’ and hit search, and just click on the photo of your choice, click ‘insert into post’ and there you go.

 

4.  Sexy Bookmarks (by Sharaholics) puts little share icons at the bottom of your post, at the top of the post or both.  Just a few are Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Digg, StumbleUpon, and Delicious.  There are many, many more to choose from.  You can also add the ‘Like’ button and ‘+1′ for Google plus at the top of your post, at the bottom or both.  This is a neat little plugin that adds a little style to your share buttons.  It is very easy to install and use and update settings.  Here is a screen shot below of the share icons.

5.  Simple Pull Quote allows you to easily insert pull quotes into your blog post. It is not too fancy or anything, and it gets the job done.  It is not too fancy or anything, but it gets the job done.  I just discovered this plugin and I am going to try to use it more in my post, whenever it is appropriate. [pullquote] I think it gives articles (post) a professional polished look.[/pullquote]

 

6.  WP Greeting Box is a plugin that can help with blog exposure.  This plugin shows a different message to new readers, depending on what referral URL they came from.  Say a reader comes to your blog from Stumble Upon they would see a message that said, “Hello fellow Stumbler, welcome!  Don’t forget to give me a thumbs up and subscribe to my RSS feed if you like this page.”  This little box could help you gain loyal readers for your blog.  If you know CSS code you could spruce it up a little bit.  I am still pretty new at this, so mine will have to stay a little plain for now.

 

7.  Amazon Reloaded is a plugin that allows users to put Amazon product text links and pictures into a post quick and easily.  In the settings screen of this plugin you can put in your Amazon Affiliate ID so that the links for the products are attached to your affiliate account.  The plugin is very easy to use.  The product search box is on the same screen as the post you are working on.  So you search for the product and click to add a text link or a photo to your post, and you can also link the photo to the Amazon product page.

WordPress plugins are great to use and especially if you don’t know CSS and HTML code.  You can also get a little excited installing them, but if you’re not careful they can conflict with each other.  Causing a big mess, then you will have to figure out which one is causing the issue and how to fix it.  I hope this list has been of use to you, and hopefully not to long winded.

What is your ‘Favorite Plugin’? 

 

Happy Uploading!