Enterprise Mastermind

Here’s my monthly roundup of the best new (or old!) plugins available for Wordpress. There will be some plugins the same as last month’s list, purely because they can’t be beaten and must remain as essential Wordpress add-ons. I would recommend that you try these plugins for yourselves but do emphasise that you read all documentation and that I take no responsibility for any problems caused by the installation or use of these plugins. For more great plugins please see Top 10 Wordpress Plugins - September 2008.

If you think there is a plugin worth a mention here or you have developed a plugin and would like it reviewed please comment or contact admin@enterprisemastermind.com.

1. All in One SEO Pack Plugin

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I found this plugin and found it so good I just had to write a review. Read all about this plugin here. This plugin will optimise your Wordpress blog so that your posts and pages are indexed more efficiently by the search engines. It is fully featured and lets you single out individual pages for optimisation. Great stuff. Read more here.

2. Wordpress Database Backup

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This one is a survivor from the last list because of its importance. As a Web Developer I have learned the hard way in the past of the importance of regular backups, not only of your website data itself but also the database. The plugin itself is easy to use with simple backup options including the ability to schedule an email that includes your database backup as an attachment. Genius.

3. Akismet

Bundled with Wordpress and for good reason. Without a spam blocker such as this your comment queue would be full of trash in no time at all. Requires a Wordpress API key to function. If you haven’t got this plugin activated already, do it now!

4. Subscribe to Comments

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Get more return visits to your blog posts by letting your users subscribe to the comments. Once subscribed the user will be notified via email each time anyone posts a further comment. This in turn encourages participation and a higher number of return visitors.

5. Google XML Sitemaps

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If you don’t know how beneficial Google Sitemaps can be to your blog then read my article on SEO. Once set up this plugin will inform Google of any changes or additions made to your site automatically.

6. Twitter Tools

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Complete integration of Twitter and your blog. Enables you to post Tweets directly from your blog page (once logged in) and also displays Tweets on your blog you have made elsewhere. A real time-saver.

7. Redirection

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Redirection is a WordPress plugin to manage 301 redirections, keep track of 404 errors, and generally tidy up any loose ends your site may have. This is particularly useful if you are migrating pages from an old website, or are changing the directory of your WordPress installation.

8. Business Directory

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One of the best plugins I have ever used ‘out of the box’. Set up your own business directory simply with the use of only 2 shortcode tags, one for the directory itself and one for the signup form. Its own control panel lets you approve, review or delete any entries made. I’m looking forward to the premium version (to be released shortly).

9. Event Calendar

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A highly configurable Event Calendar for your website. Allows you to place a large standalone calendar on page has sidebar widgets and also has the ability to make a post from an entry on the calendar.

10. RSS Includes Pages

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Still at number 10 because nothing else does this (as far as I’m aware). If like me you use Wordpress as a CMS to build websites as well as blogs you will no doubt have found that Pages are not included in the RSS feed. Well, with this plugin your problems are over. Simply install, activate and voila, your pages will appear within the feed.

Check back next month to see which plugins I’m recommending!