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Our Essential WordPress Plugin Stack – WPCAST006

July 16, 2014

In this episode, we discuss some of the common plugins we install on new WordPress sites.

http://media.blubrry.com/wpcast/wpcast.fm/wp-content/blogs.dir/483/files/episodes/WPCAST006.mp3

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 20:45 — 19.1MB)

The Changelog

  • Doug:
    • Added SpeakPipe plugin to WPcast.fm
    • Please use this to leave us questions on our voicemail
  • David:
    • Easy Pricing Tables Premium 1.8 / Easy Pricing Tables Free 1.6
    • JavaScript fix for alignment issues
    • Working on Ninja Forms / Zapier and email marketing plugins
    • Contact if you are interested in being a beta tester for either plugin

The Core

  • Comments:
    • Disqus Comment System
      • Replaces default comments with Disqus commenting system
    • Antispam Bee
      • If you’re using default WordPress comments
      • Better at reducing spam than Akismet
  • Social Sharing:
    • Socialize
      • Gives you a lot of customization options
      • Can create call to action boxes
  • Contact Forms:
    • Ninja Forms
      • Free plugin, paid extensions
      • More cost effective if you only use a couple of extensions
    • Gravity Forms
      • Paid plugin
      • More cost effective if you use a lot of the add ons
  • Analytics:
    • Google Analytics for WordPress (by Yoast)
      • Adds your Google Analytics tracking code
      • Can exclude logged in users, use outbound tracking
  • SEO:
    • WordPress SEO (by Yoast)
      • Most popular SEO plugin, very powerful
  • Security:
    • Limit Login Attempts
    • Better WP Security (now iThemes Security)
    • WordFence Security
  • Backup (more detail in the next episode):
    • WordPress Backup to Dropbox
      • Easy, backs up your site to Dropbox
    • BackWPup
      • More options, other external destinations
  • Editing:
    • Black Studio TinyMCE Widget
      • Lets you use the Visual Editor in your widgets
    • TinyMCE Advanced
      • Adds buttons to your Visual Editor like tables, horizontal lines
    • Preserved HTML Editor Markup
      • Keeps line breaks and other spacing intact
  • Redirects:
    • Simple 301 Redirects
      • Easy URL redirects, allows for wildcards
      • Another plugin can be used for bulk adding redirects
  • Custom Styling and Functions
    • My Custom CSS
      • Apply custom CSS without modifying your theme files
    • Create a custom functions plugin instead of modifying the theme

Tips & Tricks

  • Mailgun (WordPress plugin)
    • Improves deliverability of WordPress-generated emails
    • Uses an external mail server
    • Free for up to 10,000 emails per month
  • Rapportive
    • Add-on for Gmail / Google Apps
    • Displays more information about your contact
http://media.blubrry.com/wpcast/wpcast.fm/wp-content/blogs.dir/483/files/episodes/WPCAST006.mp3

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 20:45 — 19.1MB)

Thanks for listening! If you liked this episode, please leave us a review in iTunes.

We’d love for you to comment below, or leave us a voicemail or message with your feedback.

Filed Under: Podcast • Tagged With: antispam bee, backwpup, better wp security, black studio tinymce widget, disqus, google analytics, gravity forms, ithemes security, limit login attempts, mailgun, my custom css, ninja forms, plugins, preserved html editor markup, rapportive, simple 301 redirects, socialize, speakpipe, tinymce advanced, wordfence security, wordpress backup to dropbox, wordpress seo

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