7 WordPress plug-ins you shouldn’t be without

WordPress is one of the most popular blogging platforms in the world. It is a great application, but in my opinion, what makes it stand out from the rest is the amount of fan-made plug-ins that have enhanced its original toolset.

While there are literally thousands of WordPress plug-ins out there, there are seven particular ones that I wouldn’t dare starting a blog without. I know that I left out a lot of good plug-ins, but the idea here is to make a list of only 7 plug-ins for new bloggers to start out with. If you know of a particular plug-in that *should* be on this list, please add it on the comments section.

Here we go… the list of 7 WordPress plug-ins you can’t live without:

Akismet
One of the biggest problems you’ll face as a blogger is the immeasurable amount of spam that piles up in the comments section of your blog. And that’s precisely why Akismet is a true life-saver. It is a complex plug-in that automatically detects and flags spam comments, trackbanks and pingbacks for you – all without the hassles of having to maintain or upgrade it. Click here to get Akismet.

Enforce “www” preference
Did you know that for Google (and a couple of other search engines) an URL with the “www” and an URL without it are seen as different pages? This fact could potentially get you penalized in the search results for having duplicate content in your website. For that reason, it is a good idea to install this plug-in that lets you force all visitors, human and robots, to see your blog the same way - with our without the “www” in front of your domain, it’s your call. Click here to get it.

SEO title tag
The title tag of a page is one of the on-page factors that carry the most weight for search engine optimization. The “SEO title tag” plug-in lets you set the title tag of your posts (and any other blog pages) to whatever you want them to be. Not being restricted by a fixed title structure on all your pages gives you a great advantage… Grab it now.

Another WordPress meta-plugin
Keyword and Description meta tags are also very important for search engine optimization. This powerful plug-in let’s you set them separately for each page and post in your blog. It also lets you add Technorati-style tags after each post to let your visitors search your blog by tag quickly and easily without having to type in anything into your blog’s search box. Get it here.

WordPress database backup
What would happen if your web host had server problems and blog suddenly disappeared due to a corrupt database? It’s a serious problem that could happen any minute, and while most hosts have reliable backup systems, it’s always a good idea to add an extra layer of security and peace of mind. This great plug-in schedules automatic backups of your WordPress database and send them to you via e-mail for safe-keeping. Get it here.

Google Analytics
If you’re planning to become a serious blogger, you’ll want to know all the details about your web traffic. Where did it come from? What pages did they visit? Where and how did they leave? All these statistics are revealed by the Google Analytics program and this plug-in let’s you integrate this powerful reporting package into your blog. Get this plugin now.

AdSense Deluxe
If you want to run any sort of advertising on your blog, this plug-in is a must. Despite the name, the plug-in lets you run any type of ads (Google AdSense, Yahoo Publisher’s Network, affiliate banners, etc) – all without having to add them manually to each blog post. The script also gives you the ability to change a certain type of ad site-wide just by editing a few simple lines of code (instead of editing each post individually). Get AdSense Deluxe here.