If your blog is on the WordPress platform you’re probably already at least somewhat familiar with WordPress plug-ins. If you’re new to WordPress or have been considering a move to WordPress, plug-ins are basically apps for your blog that are helpful in different ways. Some keep spam away, some make it easy for your readers to share your content, others are to see how much traffic you’re getting, etc. All of these things and more are important for bloggers.

The list of WordPress plug-ins I have created below is my personal opinion of my top plug-ins that I currently use on this blog.

10 Must-Have WordPress Plug-Ins for Bloggers

10 Must Have WordPress Plug-Ins for Bloggers - via LiftingMakesMeHappy.com

To find each of these plug-ins simply visit the plugins area of your WordPress dashboard, enter the name or type of plugin you’d like to find and click search.

1. Akismet.

This is an essential anti-spam plug-in that keeps the icky spammers away. I’ve had this installed since I moved to WordPress and I can’t tell you how helpful it is. It’s blocked hundreds of thousands of spammy comments. It is a free app but the free part is a bit tricky. After you install the Akismet plug-in, you’ll be asked to sign up for a plan through the Akismet website. (It wasn’t this way when I started). The reason you need to sign up is because you need to obtain an API key in order for the plug-in to work.

How to get the Akismet WordPress Plugin Free

To choose the free option, select “Get Started” under the Basic Plan (pictured above). It’ll ask you how much you think Akismet is worth. Simply enter $0. Obviously you can choose to pay if you’d like to and definitely choose the plan that works best for you. It wasn’t this complicated when I signed up way back in 2008!

2. Comment Luv.

This is a really great plugin for your readers who are also bloggers. When they leave a comment they can also easily link to their latest blog post making it easier for you to visit their blog. I love this plug-in because it allows me to find new-to-me blogs and I’ve found some of my favorites this way.

3. WP Smush.

It took me several years of blogging before I realized that I needed to compress my images. My image files were huge which of course takes more time to load on your site and uses more resources. The WP Smush plug-in is able to compress images as you upload them and you can also “smush” all of the images already on your blog. It’s super easy, and free. They also have a paid version but the basic one works just fine for what I need.

4. Google Analytics.

I’m hoping you have setup Google Analytics on your blog already. If you haven’t, you need to. Once you’ve set that up you can download the plug-in to see your traffic stats. It’s important to analyze your traffic stats every now and then so you know where you’re readers are coming from, what they’ve searched for, your reader demographics and more. The more information you know the easier it will be to figure out how to make your blog better for your readers.

5. Shareaholic.

This is a plug-in that makes it easy for your readers to share your content. You can set it to be at the bottom of a post or top of a post and you can also choose which pages or posts shouldn’t use it.

Shareaholic WordPress Plug-in

I find it really user-friendly and I just love their cute designs – they have several styles to choose from.

6. SumoMe.

SumoMe is something I’ve just started using and I’m already in love. To get started you just visit their website and create a free account. Then you’re able to add your website and choose which apps within the program you’d like to use. The first thing I added was the share bar you see to the left of this blog post. I’ve already noticed an increase in shares over the Shareaholic bar I also use on the bottom of posts, but I plan to keep both for now because I just find the Shareaholic bar so darn cute.

SumoMe

With SumoMe you can also use it to help build your email list, integrate Google Analytics and more. I’m relatively new to this one but I can already see the impact it’s having and how powerful it can be. They also have paid plans which include more features.

7. Fancier Author Box.

When I visit blogs I always enjoy a photo and a backstory of the blogger behind the scenes. It gives you a peek into what they’re all about. Fancier Author Box WordPress Plug-in

I have my author box at the bottom of each blog post so that when somebody has finished reading, they will learn a little bit more about me. There’s even a section that allows you to add links to your favorite social media accounts so your readers can find and follow you if they wish.

8. Yoast SEO.

An SEO (search engine optimization) plug-in will help you prepare each blog post for internet searches. The stronger your SEO is, the better position you’ll probably have in search results from the big search engines like Google, Bing and Yahoo which means the more traffic your blog will receive. Organic traffic (or traffic from searches) is currently my #1 highest traffic source. Don’t underestimate the importance of SEO! With so many millions of other blogs out there, this plug-in makes it easy to have great SEO.

9. jQuery Pin It Button For Images.

If you add photos to your blog this is a must-have! This plug-in shows a “pin it” button if a user hovers over the photo which then allows them to easily pin it to their Pinterest account. Pinterest is currently my #2 highest traffic source so having really nice, easily-pinnable images can help you get more traffic from Pinterest too.

10. CoSchedule Calendar.

I took advantage of a 14 day free trial from CoSchedule and it took me about a year (and 2 free trials) before I fell in love with this plug-in. I’m more of a notebook and pen kinda girl. I’d always keep a list of blog ideas in a notebook but one day it just clicked. CoSchedule allows me to look at the next six weeks to plan blog posts. As soon as I get an idea I create a blog post title and stick it in the calendar. I also color code by subject matter of each post. It’s a nice at-a-glance look at my blogging calendar and I’m completely in love. If you’re serious about your blog I think you’ll find that this plug-in makes the blog post planning process and social media sharing almost effortless.

Specific aspects I love about CoSchedule:

Seeing up to six weeks at a glance
Color coding
Headline helper – analyzes your headline and gives you a numbered “score”
Social media sharing – and the fact that you can create a template for your blog posts so you don’t have to add entries in every time you blog
You can use the plug-in in your web browser either on your website or you can access it right from your WordPress dashboard

After the two week trial this plug-in runs $39/month but I think it’s worth every penny. It makes blog post planning and social media updates SO easy. If you’d like to test out CoSchedule for free, click here. (No credit card required)

*BONUS PLUG-IN:

11. WordPress Popular Posts.

A great way to be sure your readers are seeing some of your best content you can feature that content easily on your sidebar using the WordPress Popular Posts plug-in. This makes it easy to link to a number of posts that are getting a lot of traffic and/or comments. You can choose the number of posts you’d like to show and you can also choose to include a featured photo. Having this little gem of a list on your sidebar will help your blog readers find more content that interests them and keeps them browsing your blog longer. Win-win for you and them!

Here’s what mine currently looks like:

Wordpress Popular Posts Plug-in