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Home » Blogging

My Top 12 WordPress Plugins + Free Plugins Tracking Printable

Published: Apr 30, 2015 · Modified: Nov 7, 2015 by Jessica Dimas · This post may contain affiliate links · 24 Comments

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My Top 12 WordPress Plugins

[Tweet "12 favorite WordPress plugins + free tracking printable #blogging "]

1. Akismet

When I first transferred over to WordPress from Blogger and didn't have anything set up, it felt like I got 2,000 spam comments in one hour. Akismet is a must for any WordPress blog.

2. Comment Email Reply

I prefer using the WordPress commenting system, but my dilemma was that I wanted my commenters to get my reply through email and also be able to respond through their own email if they wanted to. I tried one or two other plugins that were supposed to send my reply through email, but when I tested them with a friend, she never got the emails. This plugin though, worked beautifully! Now my commenters receive an email with my response and they can respond from their emails if they want.

3. Content Views

Ahhh, LOVE this one! I searched FOREVER trying to find something that would organize my posts in my categories section. The reason I love Content Views the most is because it automatically loads my posts when I publish them, so I don't have to go in with each new post and add them. Also, it has tons of options to customize everything to your liking. One day I may get the pro version (it's $29 a year) but seriously I love the way it looks now.

4. Google Analytics by Yoast

Really easy plugin to track Google Analytics stats on your WordPress blog.

5. Jetpack by WordPress.com

This plugin has SO MUCH. It's like a one stop shop for tons of things your blog needs, a must in my opinion.

6. Magic Action Box

I love this plugin because at the end of all of my posts, I can choose an action box that invites readers to sign up for my newsletter. It's all set up to go through my MailChimp account and I can make multiple boxes for different types of posts. I REALLY want to upgrade to the pro version so that I can match the design to my blog.

7. Mailchimp for WordPress

Adding this to my blog has helped me tremendously in easily connecting my MailChimp account to my signup boxes. And my subscriber list is EVERYTHING.

8. Related Posts by Zemanta

My favorite plugin for sharing related posts beneath my...posts. I like that I can pick which posts are shared and also I like that it's responsive. Also FYI, apparently nRelate is going to be discontinuing their plugin, so definitely check out this one if you're in the market for a new related posts plugin.

9. WP-Insert

This is my plugin that helps me monitor my Google Adsense ads. And unfortunately, they are temporarily removed from WordPress while they fix a licensing issue. Similar plugins with good reviews are Ad Inserter, Google Adsense, and Quick Adsense.

10. Wordfence Security

This was not the first security plugin I installed. My first one locked me out of my blog completely and for some reason I just didn't reinstall it. I went with this one instead. It has over 800,000 downloads and is rated 5 stars. I haven't had any security threats since installing it and I also love that it makes your site faster.

11. WordPress SEO by Yoast

A must have!!!! I use this plugin with every single post I write. It helps me set up keywords and descriptions for search engines.

12. WP Super Cache

I'm not super technical, so I can't explain this plugin in detail, but it makes my blog faster and that's always a good thing.

Free Plugin Tracking Printable

One thing I learned early on was that plugins can crash your blog if you aren't careful. And sometimes even when you are careful, things can turn sour quickly! My friend Jennifer over at The Deliberate Mom told me she keeps track of the date, time, and plugin that she either installed or updated. That way, if her blog were to crash, she would have her list ready for her web host so that they could easily figure out which plugin was the issue. Genius! This is a great tracking sheet to add to a blogging binder.

So...I could talk blogging all day...what are some of your favorite-must-have plugins?

« 23 Tips for Creating the Life You Want
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About Jessica Dimas

Jessica is the author of the book "Sacred Self-Care for the Highly Sensitive Mom". She is a Huffington Post contributor and has been featured on sites such as Scary Mommy, FamilyShare, and BlogHer. She has a BA degree in psychology and lives in NC with her husband and two sons.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Chelsea

    April 30, 2015 at 12:43 pm

    You are seriously the best. This is so helpful! I had a lot of these already, but I just downloaded Wordfence Security and WP Super Cache. And what a great idea to keep track of updates! Having a crashed site is no fun for anyone, so keeping track of what updated last is a great idea!

    Reply
    • Jessica Dimas

      April 30, 2015 at 1:11 pm

      Thanks Chelsea! I'm so glad you found this helpful, I know I love reading other bloggers favorite plugins too, I always find at least a couple I hadn't heard of!

      Reply
  2. Tawnya

    April 30, 2015 at 1:39 pm

    These are so helpful!! Pinning 🙂

    Reply
    • Jessica Dimas

      April 30, 2015 at 1:43 pm

      Thanks Tawnya!

      Reply
  3. Jennifer | The Deliberate Mom

    April 30, 2015 at 4:37 pm

    Awww, thanks for the mention friend! You know me... I'm a spreadsheet and tracking nerd genius! Any reason to make a spreadsheet and I'm golden! LOL

    I think I have 3/4 of the plugins you've listed here. I love Zementa and Content Views... such awesome plugins.

    Thanks for sharing.
    xoxo

    Reply
    • Jessica Dimas

      April 30, 2015 at 4:42 pm

      LOL me too!!! Content views, which you found for us, is seriously the best find ever. I searched for so long to find something like it and nothing came close.

      Reply
  4. Emily @ Words I Wheel By

    April 30, 2015 at 8:10 pm

    Just started using Magic Action Box and Wordfence thanks to you!

    Reply
    • Jessica Dimas

      April 30, 2015 at 8:31 pm

      Woot woot! You picked two really good ones!

      Reply
  5. Keri

    May 01, 2015 at 3:12 am

    I had no idea on Magic Action Box- cannot wait to check that out. I have MailChimp so am so excited to connect these things. The tracking sheet is brilliant!

    Reply
    • Jessica Dimas

      May 04, 2015 at 9:21 pm

      Oh yes, I love that one! Magic Action Box has brought me so many subscribers!

      Reply
  6. Meg O.

    May 01, 2015 at 3:08 pm

    I need to get content views! I am HORRIBLE at updating my category pages.

    Reply
    • Jessica Dimas

      May 04, 2015 at 9:19 pm

      Yes, it will make your life so much easier!

      Reply
  7. Jennie @ The Diary of a Real Housewife

    May 04, 2015 at 7:03 pm

    Thanks!! Since I am still new to the whole wordpress thing I love finding wonderful new plugins!

    Reply
    • Jessica Dimas

      May 04, 2015 at 9:19 pm

      Yay! Me too, I'm seriously obsessed with awesome plugins lol. Life is so much better over here!

      Reply
  8. Tiffany

    May 06, 2015 at 12:25 pm

    Girl you have really done wonders since switching to WP! I admire you. I seriously need like a weekend to myself to make changes. Pinning for sure! 🙂

    Reply
    • Jessica Dimas

      May 06, 2015 at 2:09 pm

      Thanks girl!! So have you, I'm in love with your blog and all the upgrades it got with the switch to WP. Why didn't we do this sooner?!

      Reply
  9. mel

    January 06, 2016 at 3:46 pm

    Some one I haven't heard of! Thanks for the great list!

    Reply
  10. Tessa

    February 06, 2016 at 11:11 pm

    Just switched from WP.com to self-hosted .org, so I'm needing awesome plugins. Great post!

    Reply
    • Jessica Dimas

      February 16, 2016 at 1:07 am

      Thanks Tessa, glad you found it helpful!

      Reply
  11. Mark Henry

    March 09, 2017 at 4:04 am

    I have never heard of some but curious to try in my clients' websites. I used Jetpack & WordPress SEO so far. Both of them are really fine & easy. Also I want to recommend a plugin called Blog Designer for designing a blog. It is very easy to implement & delivers attractive looking blog. Thanks for writing...

    Reply
  12. Emma

    May 01, 2019 at 5:08 pm

    Nice! Thanks for sharing this post. I did not know about some of these.

    Reply
  13. The British Blogger

    August 08, 2019 at 12:32 am

    These are great suggestions. Nice post.

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. It's Time to Clean Your Blog + Free Printable Checklist says:
    May 9, 2015 at 3:40 am

    […] I would also recommend that you document the plugin that was updated as well as the date of when you updated it. Jessica from Pig & Dac developed a great little tracking sheet to record your plugin updates. You can get her free tracking sheet HERE. […]

    Reply
  2. Top Wordpress Plugins (the not so obvious list) says:
    August 13, 2015 at 6:22 am

    […] Views – I love this plugin! Thanks to Jessica for the recommendation. For my menu at the top, you can find posts within categories. I used to […]

    Reply

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