Alright, so I have this awesome friend that is just about to start her own blog. And I’ve been trying to help her, feed her little bits of information here and there to keep from overwhelming her. That’s why you’ve seen those other bloggery-related posts, so that I can breakdown this business into bite-sizes not overwhelm people who want to grow-up and make their own little blogger-business. So, here’s installment 3…the 10 Plugins Every New Blog Needs. Because I use them every day and they’ll help your blog run smoother.
By the way, not all of these are free (though most are), but they’re worth every penny.
10 Plugins Every New Blog Needs
- Jetpack – Site Statistics – The name says it all. Up-to-date(ish) statistics for the site. Meaning you can obsess over how many people have been to your site so far today vs. yesterday. I love it.
- Lazy Load – I hate slow sites. They suck. So, don’t disappoint me. Have a site that loads all the crap last…but loads everything important (like your content) first. Smart stuff.
- Shareaholic – If you want your readers to share it, you need a way for them to share it that’s easy, fast, and reminds them to share it. Shareaholic does all that for you…and it’s handy for your own sharing, too.
- Theia Post Slider – This is the plugin that makes it so you can make multiple pages of one post. It’s brilliant and helps organize posts to make them easier for users. Plus, it makes your site uber-cool and very professional. Just sayin’. I use it a lot.
- Wordpress Editorial Calendar – The single most important plugin in my life–it literally saves my sanity. If you have a hardcopy editorial calendar, that’s great. But I don’t–this is it for me. And I can access it anywhere (even if I lose a paper copy).
- Yoast SEO – From what I can tell, it’s the most widely used plugin for search engine optimization. Basically, it’s a tool to help you make sure your pages are optimized for search engines to crawl. Saves a ton of time trying to do it by hand and remember all the rules.
- Google Analytics by Yoast – Helps to make it easier to install Google Analytics on your site–and keep it running smoothly.
- Favicon by RealFaviconGenerator – Makes that cute little icon in the tabs. Drives me nuts to see all those that aren’t done. It’s part of your branding. And totally worth it.
- AMP – Provides support for the Accelerated Mobile Project. Which is cool. Makes loading faster on mobile devices. Cutting-edge. And you need it.
So, would you add anything to this list of plugins for a new blog? Would you leave a comment and let me know? No one ever does, so I’m kind of wondering if this thing is on…and if it is–sorry for the pics this time. I’m kind of in love with that spoon and I couldn’t help myself.