WordPress.org currently
hosts 6,265 plugins,
which makes it kind of
hard to figure out which
ones are worth using.

I have been using
WordPress with a long
time now and have come across quite a few plugins that I consider to be invaluable. Whenever I install WordPress on a new site, I usually always
install the same plugins
right off the bat.

Here is a list of 10 plugins (in no particular order) I use on all the websites I create.

¤Akismet

It comes with WordPress
and if you plan on having comments, it is a great spam filter. You must sign up with to get an activation key to use it but it is well worth it.

¤Google XML Sitemaps

SEO is on everyone’s mind and this plugin helps generate a XML compliant sitemap that is supported by Ask.com, Google, YAHOO and MSN Search.

¤ Stats

There are a few stats
plugins out there but I
am a fan of using the
one developed by the
developers of WordPress. This one also requires an activation key from but if you are using Akistmet you already got one.

¤WordPress Database
Backup

I have said it before, and
I will say it again, “Backup, backup,
backup!” Don’t mess
around when it comes
to your database. Install
this plugin and set up an
automated backup just
to help you rest easy that all your hard work won’t get lost.

WordPress
Super Cache Load time is very important, and
sometimes, all those
server requests really
bog down a site. This
plugin generates HTML
files uses them instead
of processing PHP scripts every time someone visits your site. Theme Test
Drive This is a plugin for
developers. It allows you
to test a theme without
making it go live. This is
indispensable when creating a custom theme
or making a few tweaks.

¤Add to Any: Share/Bookmark/Email
button

Social networking is a
great way to help get
your site out there, so
why not give your
visitors the ability to support your site
through an easy to use
interface. This plugin
offers links to all the
major social networking
sites such as Facebook,
Twitter, Digg, MySpace
and Delicious.

¤Highslide Integration

Highslide is an amazing JavaScript thumbnail viewer and this plugin
makes it super easy to
use it with your
WordPress install.

¤More Fields

One of WordPress’
greatest and most
ignored feature is the
custom field. It offers the
ability to do almost
anything with a post and if you have ever used them, this plugin helps make it a little easier by allowing you to create permanent boxes
for the custom fields you
use most often.

¤Auto-tags

Tags are great to help
organize your posts
under similar topics or
“buzz” words. And if you
are using any of my
themes, tags are used as
keywords to help with
your site’s search engine
optimization. It is very
easy to create your own
tags but any form of
automation helps make
you work faster and
more efficiently.

Source: www.tipnaija.com/10-wordpress-plugins-you-should-use/