• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Daily Blog Tips

Daily Blog Tips

How to make money from your blog

  • Home
  • Popular
  • Contributors
  • About
  • Contact / Advertise
  • Blogging
  • Marketing
  • Design
  • Money
  • Reviews
  • Productivity
  • Software
  • Technology

What WordPress Plugins Do You Use?

By Daniel 50 Comments Reading Time: 3 minutes

questions and answersThis post is part of the weekly Q&A section. Just use the contact form if you want to submit a question.

Rajasekharan asked:

What are those minimal set of WordPress plugins that you would recommend any blogger to use and which are those plugins that you actually use?

This is a question I get asked quite often, so lets take it out of the way.

First of all I don’t think there is a minimal set of WordPress plugins that I would recommend to bloggers. It depends on the blog in question, and on what features the blogger requires for it. A simple photo blogger could get away with 4 or 5 plugins, while someone building a more complex website could need 15 plugins to make it run smoothly.

Now let’s cover the plugins I am using on Daily Blog Tips (notice that this list might be different for my other blogs):

1. Akismet: Probably the first plugin I activate on any blog. It already comes with WordPress after all, and I found it to be the most reliable anti-spam plugin around.

2. All in On SEO Pack: I resisted using this plugin for a couple of years, but late in 2023 I was having a problem with duplicate meta description tags on my main content pages (homepage, page 2, 3 and so on), therefore I decided to give it a shot. I am very pleased with it, and definitely recommend to other bloggers.

3. Chunck URLs: Ever had someone leaving a comment with a really long URL that broke your site design? To prevent this problem you can use this plugin. It will break down long URLs automatically.

4. Custom Query String: This plugin is a life saver for me. It allows me to specify how many posts I want displayed on every page type of my blog. For example, it allows me to display 8 posts on the homepage, 15 posts per page on search results, and all the posts ever published on category pages.

5. SGR Clean Archives: Personally I think that all websites and blogs should have one page where all the articles and posts ever published would be available. That is what this plugin does, it creates an Archives page for you with all your posts. As the name says, the style of that page is pretty clean too.

6. Feedburner FeedSmith: I am not sure how necessary this plugin is if you point all your RSS feeds manually to the Feedburner one. I guess I use it just to be 100% that all the subscribers will be redirected to it.

7. Related Posts: This is an old “Related Posts” plugin, but it gets the job done. To be frank, lately, I am finding that it lacks in some aspects, so when I get some free time I will make the switch to the Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

8. Robots Meta: A cool plugin by friend Joost de Valk that allows you to add all the appropriate robots meta tags to your pages and feeds, disable unused archives and nofollow unnecessary links.

9. RSS Footer: This plugin allows you to add a text message or some links to your RSS footer. Additionally, it also comes with a feature to automatically add a link to the original post on the feed, which is particularly useful to combat content scrapers.

10. WP-ContactForm: A very old and rustic contact form plugin, but I love its simplicity. Somehow I also don’t get spam even without a CAPTCHA on that form, and I have been using it for years.

11. WP-SuperCache: The best cache plugin available. It has a lot of advanced features, and it gets the job done when you have sudden burst of traffic from social media.

12. GoCodes: Very light yet useful plugin. It lets you create redirects on the fly, which is useful if you want to link to affiliate programs and advertisers while keep the links pointing to your own blog. It also allows you to track the clicks on those links.

13. Subscribe to Comments: The classic plugin that allows commentators to subscribe to the comment section and receive new comments via email. Lately I also started questioning how many people actually use this feature, but for now I will leave it live on my blogs.

As you can see I just use the plugins that are essential to the running of my website. Sometimes I install new ones to test them out, but if they are not essential, I remove them right after.

What WordPress Plugins Do You Use? Photo

About Daniel

Daniel Scocco is a programmer and entrepreneur located in São Paulo, Brazil. His first company, Online Profits, builds and manages websites in different niches. His second company, Kubic, specializes in developing mobile apps for the iOS and Android platforms.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Avatar of tech84tech84 says

    at

    I would not put up a blog without Akismet installed period.

    Reply
  2. Avatar of Tony B aka Mission0psTony B aka Mission0ps says

    at

    Hi Daniel,
    Good list and an addition for today’s world is tweet old posts 🙂

    PS struggling with SGR clean archives at the moment … I just have a “clean and empty” page showing 🙁

    Reply
  3. Avatar of georgegeorge says

    at

    Hi daniel! great website and info!
    btw, i use platinum seo pack plugin. please check it out. fyi, i have use all in one seo pack for several years, thanks for all-in-one seo 🙂 but for additional reason i change to platinum seo. its rocks!

    Reply
  4. Avatar of Munawar AMMunawar AM says

    at

    Hi Daniel,

    Thanks for email me about SGR Clean Archives.
    I have to learn more about this plugin before I use it.

    But how about this : SRG Clean Archives or SGR Clean Archives?
    Geekwithlaptop said : SRG Clean Archives

    Best Regards,
    Munawar AM

    Reply
  5. Avatar of medyummedyum says

    at

    Great Post! I use WP-Cache and It really improves the speed of the site – thanks for sharing Daniel!

    Medyum

    Reply
  6. Avatar of Charlotte Web DesignCharlotte Web Design says

    at

    Thanks for this. Somehow sometimes I find it hard to understand robot tags cause somehow some are similar with each other. But thanks for this.

    Reply
  7. Avatar of rudyrudy says

    at

    I also did it like you, Akismet for the first time. Now i realized how useful it is 😀

    Reply
  8. Avatar of SEO GeniusSEO Genius says

    at

    I use All in one SEO, Similiar Post, Homepage excerpt, Google Analytics, Google Sitemaps and another which I seem to have forgotten

    Reply
  9. Avatar of JenniferJennifer says

    at

    Excellent list! I love the subscribe to comments option. First of all, you can always check/uncheck the box so you do not have to subscribe. Secondly, the user is allowed to unsubscribe at a later date when they no longer wish to follow.

    It’s a great opt-in feature reminding the user about your site, which can only help.

    Reply
  10. Avatar of Monty - Sensonize.comMonty - Sensonize.com says

    at

    Nice list of plugins, I think you should also use Top Commentators Widget 🙂

    Reply
  11. Avatar of Laurence FlynnLaurence Flynn says

    at

    Simple but excellent post. All blogs should post what plugins they use. I never thought about using some of these but I definitely am going to try some like the Archive and Robots plugins. Thank you!

    Reply
  12. Avatar of RajasekharanRajasekharan says

    at

    One more aspect that I noticed:

    You have taken care to put noindex on datewise archives and categories but couldn’t do that on subpages of homepage! I could help you with just a php code to avoid the usage of Robots meta plugin and put noindex to subpages too. Similarly All in SEO is not perfect in all ways and you can bypass All in one SEO’s certain results with this code. Should I help you?

    Reply
  13. Avatar of izumouizumou says

    at

    Thanks for the articles,but I dont think Askimet works well agin,spammers have ther treicks of breaking it.

    Reply
  14. Avatar of HediyeHediye says

    at

    Good stuff, thank you!

    Reply
  15. Avatar of Daniel ScoccoDaniel Scocco says

    at

    @Rajasekharan,

    there is one thing that the SEO pack does not do, which is to exclude search results from indexation by search engines. At least I believe so. That is the main reason why I also use the Robots Meta.

    Reply
  16. Avatar of PhunchuPhunchu says

    at

    Just the time when i was looking for WordPress Plugins.. I have just used All in One SEO pack and I think it is high time i shud use other plugins. These seem pretty useful!!

    Reply
  17. Avatar of Derrick SiuDerrick Siu says

    at

    Hi Daniel,

    thanks for the list, been looking for a contact form but haven’t gotten round to it, but now I know 🙂

    by the way, i’m curious why you don’t have gravatars enabled on your site? do you feel they don’t add value to a site, or you just haven’t bothered yet?

    Cheers,

    Derrick
    One Month Blogging Newbie
    http://www.TheNetExperiment.com

    Reply
  18. Avatar of NickNick says

    at

    Wow, these are some wicked great plugins since I use most of them, I use too many plugins, But I can’t help me self! there so many useful plugins out there!

    Great post!

    Reply
  19. Avatar of GoldieGoldie says

    at

    can anyone suggest a good plugin that will automatically insert a flickr image into a post?

    Thanks in advance

    Reply
  20. Avatar of RajasekharanRajasekharan says

    at

    Thanks Daniel for answering this query on plugins.

    You mightn’t have noticed the overlap of robots meta tag by All In One SEO and Robots Meta! Check the source code of your categories.

    Doing it purposefully to remind/stress the spiders about robots meta tag?

    Reply
  21. Avatar of Hugo SantosHugo Santos says

    at

    Well, i use 29 plugins on my blog… is this too much? lol

    Reply
  22. Avatar of Bill M - Personal Finance BlogBill M - Personal Finance Blog says

    at

    I use WPtouch which makes your wordpress blog mobile compatible without redirecting into a diff web site. Looks very slick.

    Reply
  23. Avatar of VijayVijay says

    at

    No doubt these are all essential plugins I will say.

    The only pluging I have not yet used and tested is wp-super cache. 😉

    Here is my top 10 plugins list prepared and using since long:

    Reply
  24. Avatar of redwall_hpredwall_hp says

    at

    W00t, GoCodes! 🙂

    I use quite a few of those plugins myself, including Related Posts. I’ve found that I like it better than the newer “Similar Posts” plugin that a lot of bloggers are using now. I haven’t tried the Yet Another Related Posts Plugin yet, but I may get around to it sometime.

    By the way, have you seen my latest plugin yet? It allows you to customize the contents of the Favorite Actions menu introduced in WordPress 2.7:

    Reply
  25. Avatar of SE7ENSE7EN says

    at

    I want ALL WordPress blogs to use subscribe to comment plugin
    so I can keep tracking of my comments 😛
    I use HeasSpace2 instead of All in one SEO

    Reply
  26. Avatar of Dan SchulzDan Schulz says

    at

    I for one happen to use the comment notification (via email) feature. One thing you could do though is move the form field above the submit button, since many people probably don’t even click on it due to the fact that the submit button comes first. (Simple Usability 101 here.)

    @Mindy, it’ll work just fine with WP 2.7.

    Reply
  27. Avatar of Make Money Online with a 17 year old kidMake Money Online with a 17 year old kid says

    at

    Hey Daniel,
    How are you doing. You know what, I like to read more about making money online blogs. And your blog comes in that niche to a great extent.
    But amhy of your recent posts are not directly connected to this niche.
    However, Thank you very much for this post. Although, I use blogger, But I am starting o use WordPress on a regular basis for my new blogs soon. I liked Akismet and Chunk URLs the most. Huge UrLs really destroy the look.

    Regards
    Laksh

    Reply
  28. Avatar of Daniel ScoccoDaniel Scocco says

    at

    @Rarst, I will check to see if there are any problems.

    @Rick, there is one thing that the SEO pack does not do, which is to exclude search results from indexation by search engines. At least I believe so. That is the main reason why I also use the Robots Meta.

    @Mindy, I believe it will work fine on WP 2.7.

    Reply
  29. Avatar of Enduring WanderlustEnduring Wanderlust says

    at

    I’m light on plug-ins. Perhaps it’s time to examine a few more. Thanks for sharing.

    Reply
  30. Avatar of Blog ExpertBlog Expert says

    at

    There are way too many plugins I use. I am kind of on overload when it comes to plugins. It is okay, they are put to use and I just don’t have them sit there.

    Reply
  31. Avatar of Smart BoySmart Boy says

    at

    Thank you for your list of Plugins. There are a few in there I’m definately going to have to try.

    As of now I use Akismet, All in One SEO Pack, flickrRSS, Global Translator, ShareThis, Twitter Tools, and WordPress Related Posts.

    Reply
  32. Avatar of AndyAndy says

    at

    Have no fear Mindy, I have Subscribe to Comments running on my WP 2.7 blog.

    Reply
  33. Avatar of MindyMindy says

    at

    I want to install Subscribe to Comments, but its download page says it’s only compatible up to WP 2.3.1. I have WP 2.7 so I’m afraid to get it. :/ Do you have any similar recommendations?

    Reply
  34. Avatar of KellyKelly says

    at

    Great list! Be careful, though, when looking at Yet Another Related Posts Plugin… I had read some of the feedback about it that indicated that there were issues on sites with a lot of content. I decided to give it a whirl anyhow – brought down my site. Just a cautionary tale. 😉

    Reply
  35. Avatar of Ruben RicartRuben Ricart says

    at

    Great Post! I use WP-Cache and It really improves the speed of the site – thanks for sharing Daniel!

    Reply
  36. Avatar of Rick ReganRick Regan says

    at

    “All in One SEO Pack” and “Robots Meta” seem to overlap. I guess you’re able to use them both without conflicts?

    Reply
  37. Avatar of USVI BeachesUSVI Beaches says

    at

    No automatic database backup plugins? Do you backup manually or use another service/feature?

    And yes, I am subscribing to comments. But – on that note – sometimes all the emails you can get from the subscribe (on a popular post) seem to be a hassle to the recipient.

    Tom

    Reply
  38. Avatar of Writer DadWriter Dad says

    at

    Yet another related posts plugin is awesome. I couldn’t be happier with it.

    Reply
  39. Avatar of TechieProjectsTechieProjects says

    at

    thanks for this list of useful plugins, this is what i was looking for my blog.

    Reply
  40. Avatar of RarstRarst says

    at

    Most I know but will check out remaining ones. btw I know I had mentioned this in the past but I hadn’t ever got a single “subscribe to comments” email from DailyBlogTips. 🙁 Only blog that seems to ignore my mailbox in such way. 🙂

    PS checking option now (wasn’t doing this lately), maybe it got somehow resolved

    Reply
  41. Avatar of Donny GambleDonny Gamble says

    at

    I think you should have Top Commentators and CommentLuv on the list. These two plugins are becoming vital to the level of user participation on your blog.

    Reply
  42. Avatar of Scott WilliamsScott Williams says

    at

    Twitter Tools and Intense Debate (It’s a neat blog comment tool)

    Reply
  43. Avatar of AndyAndy says

    at

    I’ve been using the same Contact Form plugin for about 3 years, and it’s only been in the past few weeks that I’ve started getting some spam from it, maybe you’ve just been lucky?

    Reply
  44. Avatar of Melodee Patterson | Virtual AssistantMelodee Patterson | Virtual Assistant says

    at

    Please don’t remove your Subscribe to Comments plug-in. As a reader, I wish everyone used this!

    Reply
  45. Avatar of SATISH -- Technotip.orgSATISH -- Technotip.org says

    at

    @Vygantas, thanks for the link

    Reply
  46. Avatar of VygantasVygantas says

    at

    Reply
  47. Avatar of VygantasVygantas says

    at

    Clean archives link leads to page with

    “Why are you here? Nothing to see here! 0_o”

    Reply
  48. Avatar of Muzi MohaleMuzi Mohale says

    at

    i find the ‘Subscribe to Comments’ really great for following a thread where i participated…

    Reply
  49. Avatar of SATISH -- Technotip.orgSATISH -- Technotip.org says

    at

    hmm…when I visited SGR Clean Archives, it showed this message -> “Why are you here? Nothing to see here! 0_o”</b

    Reply
  50. Avatar of PBPB says

    at

    Ooh! Thanks for this. The custom query plugin might be just what I’m looking for 🙂

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Trending Today

Popular

  • 28 Ways to Make Money with Your Website 514 Comments
  • 43 Web Design Mistakes You Should Avoid 474 Comments
  • 4 Steps to Increase Your Blog Traffic 188 Comments
  • How to Find Advertisers for Your Website 126 Comments
  • Top 25 SEO Blogs 243 Comments
  • 101 Blog Tips I learned 177 Comments
  • 30 Traffic Generation Tips 351 Comments
  • 6 Ways to Speed Up Your Site 51 Comments
  • 9 Hacks to Show Readers Your Best Stuff 21 Comments
  • 50 Simple Ways to Gain RSS Subscribers 145 Comments
  • The Best Website Taglines 127 Comments
  • What Is Success? 57 Comments
  • How to setup a 301 Redirect 52 Comments
  • The 7 Characteristics of Good Domains 76 Comments
  • 7 Ways to Promote your Site 133 Comments
  • Top 25 Celebrity Blogs 44 Comments
  • What Is A Blog? 81 Comments
  • Blog Setup: 40 Practical Tips 57 Comments
  • 10 Tips To Write Your Most Popular Post 79 Comments
  • The Blog Post Checklist 75 Comments
  • Interview: 12 Top Online Entrepreneurs 98 Comments
  • What Is Bounce Rate? 42 Comments
  • 20 SEO Terms You Should Know 28 Comments
  • How To Choose A Blog Name 15 Comments
  • 10 Tips to Sell Your Website on Flippa 37 Comments
  • Top 25 Web Design Blogs 80 Comments

Online business done right. Take your marketing efforts to the next level with tips and resources to get visitors to your website.
As featured
CNBC copyblogger problogger Entrepreneur Lifehacker Hubspot Business Insider Wordpress Showcase
Privacy Policy| Terms of Service | About | Contact

777 Brickell Ave #500-14648, Miami, FL, 33131, US
DBT Logo
DBT is an independent website. The views expressed on this site may come from individual contributors and do not necessarily reflect the view of DBT or any other organization. All Content Copyright ©2006-2023. Daily Blog Tips unless otherwise noted or credited.