Upon installing this new blog, We at Geeks and Phreaks came across quite a few great Wordpress Plugins. In this post, I’ll describe what plugins we have initially chosen to install and why. It should also be noted at the time of this post we have installed the most recent release of Wordpress, Wordpress 2.3.

Best Initial Install Wordpress Plugins

  1. All-in-one SEO Pack - This is a necessity. Any blog that stands of chance of making it needs to be SEO Optimized. SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization and allows the major search engines that crawl your blog to gain information from your sites that you specify. Download SEO Here
  2. Wordpress Database Backup - How does this sound: You install your wordpress blog and get it perfect except for that final plugin! You install the last plugin and BLAMO!, wordpress croaks and you don’t have a backup. Wordpress Database Backup makes backing up wordpress so simple that there is no excuse not to have it automatically back up every day. Download Wordpress Database Backup Here
  3. Google Sitemap Generator - Here we go again with this SEO rubbish. Wait!! It’s not rubbish, its important! This plugin will automatically update your blog’s sitemap after each post and notify Google and a few other top-notch search engines that your site needs re-crawled. Download Sitemap Generator Here
  4. Wordpress Landing Sites - Ok, so now that we’re sure we’ll get users from search engine, we need to ensure that they find something worth reading on our blog. Introducing Landing Sites! This plugin will detect what a user searched for and display relevant blog posts based on their search terms. Download Wordpress Landing Sites Here
  5. Wordpress Recommended Tags - In Wordpress 2.3, the author of a post has the option to enter Tags for the post. Since most blogs are at least somewhat niche related, it can be assumed many tags will be reused. This plugin makes the reuse and elimination of redundant tags easy. Download Wordpress Recommended Tags Here
  6. Wordpress Top Commentors - This plugin rewards your blog top commentors by displaying their username on your sidebar. The Widget is included. Download Top Commentors Here
  7. Wordpress Trackbacker - Reward those blogs that provide track backs by show casing them on your side bar! Download Wordpress Trackbacker Here
  8. Wordpress Polls - Continuing with the need for user interaction between their browser and our blog is an awesome plugin that provides advanced Wordpress Polls. It is an advanced plugin with a great interface that anyone could use. Download Wordpress Polls Here
  9. Adsense Deluxe - Ok, now the good part: Monetization!! We all want money for our hard work, and this neat plugin gives blog authors the ability to integrate Adsense Advertisements into their posts. Download Adsense Deluxe Here
  10. Buy Me Beer - If future users of this blog like our content so much that they want to ensure we can keep the lights on and still afford a Bawls Energy Drink to keep us awake, they can donate easily by utilizing this plugin. Instead of the generic “donate here” link, this let’s the user know that they’re keeping software geek’s awake at night due to caffeine overload (Oh yeah, it may be good to note that more people donate using this method). Download Buy Me Beer Here