Carol’s Vault
Best Freeware, Open Source Software
Wordpress tools
10 WordPress plugins for a better blogging experience
Nov 6th
Sure, there are thousands of WP plugins out there, one better than another, but Wordpress has been improving a lot and most of the available plugins are not needed.
You can very well use shortcodes to spare your database from errors and slowdowns.
See some examples at the bottom of this article.
But, we still need a few plugins to manage our visitors, the search engines, the communication with our readers, the sharing and so on….. and here’s my list of plugins that makes my blogging experience easier and more effective:
1. All in One SEO Pack
Automatic Search Engine Optimization (SEO) out of the box for your wordpress blog…
2. Antispam Bee
Protects blogs from spam offenders…
3. Contact Form DISQUS Comment System
A comment system and moderation tool for your site. This service lets you add next-gen community management and social web integrations to any site on any platform.
4. FireStats
Track your website’s visitors…
5. Google XML Sitemaps
Generates a XML-Sitemap compliant sitemap of your WordPress blog. This format is supported by Ask.com, Google, YAHOO and MSN Search.
6. SexyBookmarks
Tool in getting your readers to actually submit your articles to numerous social bookmarking sites.
7. Similarity
Display similar posts on your pages.
8. Shorten2Ping
Sends status updates to Ping.fm or Twitter every time you publish a post.
9. Redirection
Manage 301 redirections, keep track of 404 errors…..
10. WordPress Database Backup
Easily backup your core WordPress database tables. You may also backup other tables in the same database.
Extra:
Wordpress shortcodes and hacks:
10 incredibly cool WordPress shortcodes
Mastering Wordpress shortcodes
WordPress blank screen after upgrade to 2.8
Jul 20th
Yesterday evening i decided that it was about time to upgrade my Wordpress from 2.7 to 2.8 and after successfully backing up all my files, i ran the upgrade.
It went smooth. I upgraded the database, activated my plugins, got on the admin and then…bam! A white screen suddenly greeted me.
I thought it was just a temporary issue until i realized i can’t get into the admin area. Like the blue screen of death in Windows….except it was all white and no error. Read the rest of this entry »
Google Analytics Plugin for Wordpress from MailChimp
Jul 18th
From the web site:
MailChimp’s Analytics360 plugin for Worpress allows you to pull Google Analytics and MailChimp data directly into your dashboard, so you can access robust analytics tools without leaving WordPress.
In order to get this up and running, you need to create an account with MailChimp ( you don’t need to actually use it) and get an API key. With that you can then access the analytics. It looks pretty neat and clean.
This plugin is also available for Movable Type, Expression Engine and Drupal.
To download it for Wordpress, follow the link below.
Insert flash into WordPress with Kimili Flash Embed
Jun 16th
Mini post – Utilities : Kimili Flash Embed
On my previous post i was trying to insert a flash. The code didn’t work and the direct link to the .swf file was useless…till i found Kimili Flash Embed.
From the developer’s page:
“Built upon the SWFObject javascript code, it is standards compliant, search engine friendly, highly flexible and full featured, as well as easy to use.”
For more information about this plugin or download, visit Kimili Flash Embed page.
DISQUS | Turn Blog Comments a Powerful Comment System
Jul 18th
Posted by Carol in Wordpress tools
Comments
Plug in the DISQUS comment system and bring out the best discussion on your website.
Okay, this is really cool! I found this plugin by mistake while looking for a twitter one. Really excited about it.
Basically, you turn the boring commenting system of WP into a really cool and pleasant one.
The look gets a 10. The set up gets a 10. The overall usefulness gets a 20.
It works like this: you download and install the plugin. Create an account with Disqus. Set up the plugin from your dashboard. Read the rest of this entry »