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WordPress Plugins for Beginners

I have been working with WordPress Websites for 2-3 years now, and can say without a doubt that Plugins are one of the “Must Have” items on your WordPress website! They can help you do everything from block spam comments (Akismet) to add the social networks you use on your homepage (Fixed Social Buttons)… and SO much more! Let me tell you about some of my favorites out there…

WP Shopp Plugin

Let’s say you have a business website, and you want to be able to sell things on your site. Then a plugin such as “WP Shopp“ would be great for you! This plugin allows you to add a Shopping Cart and Checkout Page to your website. It also makes adding your products to your site much easier and faster, saving you time and energy. It also allows people to pay for your products right from your site, which is something a lot of people are looking for.

Photo Gallery Plugin

On the other hand, if you want to show off your pictures or images, then the “NextGEN Gallery“ Plugin would be great for you! This amazing plugin allows you to show as many pictures as you want, on the posts or pages that you select. It also lets people enlarge them, to see your photos in better detail, with a “Cool Iris” effect… Meaning the picture will enlarge and black out the background, showing off your photos to the max! I have personally used this plugin for a couple different websites, and I’m a big fan. You can upload numerous photos at once, and they will automatically show up on the pages you select. This is one of my favorite plugins for showing off photos and pictures on your website.

Personal Blog Plugin

Now let’s say you have a personal blog, and you want it to be easy for people to “Share” and “ReTweet” your posts or pages… There are a couple ways you can do this. If you are new to WordPress, there are these things called “Short Codes“ which allow you to insert a small amount of code and the “ReTweet” button will show up in your post. I just recently learned about these and have been using them avidly ever since! It is the easiest way to insert the “Facebook Share” or “ReTweet” buttons on your blog.

If you don’t even want to try these Short Codes, there are a couple other options. The “Tweet MeMe“ plugin does the same thing without having to mess with code. You just install the plugin, adjust the settings, and your done. The “ReTweet” button will then show up on every post you do, and even the ones you’ve done in the past. If you want the “Facebook Share” button along side the “ReTweet” button, then you should look into the “Facebook Share Button“ plugin. This has the same setup as the Tweet MeMe plugin, only for Facebook. Just install, adjust the settings, and you will have a “Share” button on your blog posts. It is really that easy, and this is why I think Plugins are a MUST HAVE item for WordPress websites!

Final Thoughts…

If you have a WordPress website or blog, and you aren’t using Plugins, then you need to join the times! Plugins are a staple of WordPress sites now a days, and they will make your life a lot easier. Even if you think there isn’t a plugin for your problem, trust me when I say, THERE IS!! I am always finding new and exciting plugins that make doing tasks on your website SO much easier! Above I have talked about just a few of the ones I use, but there are so many more I couldn’t list here. Do some homework and find the one that will help you! You won’t regret it!