If you’ve read my earlier post on WordPress plugins, you will already be familiar, but just ot be clear, I’m talking about plugins for self-hosted WordPress installations.  If you are a user of a MyName.WordPress.com account, these are not for you.

WordPress SEO – Yoast

If you don’t install any other WordPress plugin, install this one.  I don’t know why it doesn’t come packaged with the software.  A truly holistic search engine optimization package, incorporating meta-tags, robots/indexation, an XML sitemap, integration with various different webmaster services, page/post titles, permalinks, breadcrumbs and control of your .rss feeds.  Yoast (Joost de Valk) is one of the top WordPress plugin developers right now, and aside from making incredibly handy plugins, his code is elegant and clean, and his support is amazing.  Get rid of whatever SEO package you are using at the moment, and install this one.

http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/wordpress-seo/

http://www.Yoast.com/

W3 Total Cache – Frederick Townes

A fairly technical WordPress plugin, but a hugely important one.  W3 Total Cache provides a variety of different caching options, as well as support for content delivery networks, to improve the speed of delivery for your WordPress site.  As Google is starting to give weight to load speeds, caching is hugely important, and W3 Total Cache is the best plugin out there.  It’s worth the bit of time you’ll spend on the web learning how and why to use the plugin to it’s fullest.

http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/w3-total-cache/

http://www.w3-edge.com/

BackWPup – Daniel Hüskin

So, you’ve got your WordPress self-hosted site set up, and you’ve installed the most excellent SEO Plugin by Yoast.  Now what?  Well, it would be a heart-break to loose all the information you’re about to put in there.  So how best to protect your precious blog content and site files?  BackWPup has got you covered.  Many WordPress plugins offer a few different ways to back up your files.  Some save a copy of your database in a folder on your server (helpful if your DB dies, not so much if your whole server goes).  Some will email you a DB dump.  But I like one WordPress plugin per need.  If I need to back things up, I would rather do it all in one go.  BackWPup backs up your information in more ways than I even really understand.  It will do email back-ups, as well as FTP back-ups to other servers, and integration with a variety of cloud-based online file back-up systems.  You can choose to back up your DB, files, or both.  You can also opt not to back-up elements of both.  So, for instance, on this blog, I run two different "jobs" (or back-up tasks).  I get a DB dump emailed to my gmail every morning.  Using filters there, I manage where they go and what happens to them.  I also get a file system back-up sent to my Dropbox account daily, without plugin files (to save on time/space).  The plugin checks how many back-ups there are, and deletes the oldest back-up file before copying the new one if there is seven.  Brilliant.  Daniel is active on the WordPress support forums, and is quick to update his plugin.  The only one criticism I have, is the admin part of the plug-in is fairly technical.  You need to have a decent understanding of how WordPress works to really utilize the strengths of the plugin.

http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/backwpup/

http://danielhuesken.de/ (Site in German)

Google Analytics for WordPress – Yoast

An immensely powerful WordPress plugin for managing your connection to Google Analytics. Again, Yoast’s coding is amazing, as is his ability to produce useful, usable WordPress plugins.  Use it.

http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/google-analytics-for-wordpress/

http://www.Yoast.com/

Clicky – Yoast

Similar to above but for Clicky web metrics.  I like to use both GA and Clicky, it’s interesting to compare.

http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/clicky/

http://www.Yoast.com/

Relevanssi – Mikko Saari

An excellent replacement for the standard WordPress search function.  It uses an algorithm to search, not just for keyword matching, but for relevance within the content.  There are configurable options to make your searches even better.  Please note, the free version of this is excellent and what I use.  The developer does offer a paid version with more options available.

http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/relevanssi/

http://www.mikkosaari.fi/

Contact Form 7 – Takayuki Miyoshi

I mentioned this in my original post, but it’s certainly worth mentioning again.  Easy highly configurable forms, for any use (not just contact forms).  If you’re looking for the best free solution, Contact Form 7 is the one.

http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/contact-form-7/

http://contactform7.com

*** A contact form side note

You will note in the above I say, “If you’re looking for the best free solution, Contact Form 7 is the one.”  This is the case.  And I nearly always suggest using a free solution.  Make a donation as to the developer as you see fit, but opt for freely available WordPress plugins as  a rule.  One definite exception to this rule, is Gravity Forms.  A more robust solution, but you will have to pay for it.  Is ti worth it?  By all accounts, yes.  If you have need for many forms, or very complicated forms, this is the way forward.  If you want integration with a variety of e-mail campaign packages (MailChimp, iContact, etc), this is the one.  I’m about to set up my first site using it, and will report back.

WP reCAPTCHA – Jorge Peña

Probably the best reCAPTCHA WordPress plugin I’ve yet found, it can add a reCAPTCHA box to your user subscribe form, and also to your comment forms.  You can also block it for logged-in users of various levels of permission.  It also incorporates MailHide, which can be a wonderfully helpful feature.  You will need to register for reCAPTCHA keys (for free).  Very useful.

http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/wp-recaptcha/

http://www.blaenkdenum.com/

*** A reCAPTCHA side note

If you, like me, mainly use Contact Form 7, you will be stuck on a reCAPTCHA challenge for the forms.  Gravity Forms has reCAPTCHA incorporated, but not Contact Form 7.  There is an optional CAPTCHA addition, which I would highly recommend, but no reCAPTCHA.  I’m still looking to either find or make a solution to this problem, but life is busy.

Sharedaddy – Automattic

Hands-down the best social-share WordPress plugin.  I am still a fan of Sociable, especially if you are looking for either a lot of options, or very niche-specific options in your share bar.  But for most people, Sharedaddy is the choice.  Once you install it, you will recognize it.  It is the standard twitter-Facebook-”share” bar you see on the bottom of so many posts and pages these days.  Easily configured, and with the options for “smart buttons”, which show the count for tweets/shares, the only complaint I have it it only supports “like” and “share” for Facebook; it is lacking the slick “recommend” which is effectively “like” with the ability to add a comment in-line.

http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/sharedaddy/

http://automattic.com/

Jetpack – Automattic

An impressive WordPress plugins, packed with features that used to only be available on wordpress.com blogs.  Included are a great spelling/grammar checker, url shortening, sharedaddy (mentioned above), basic statistics, a twitter feed, better media attaching in posts, and a lot more.  Check it out.

http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/jetpack/

http://automattic.com/

Widget Context – Kaspars Dambis

Another WordPress plugin that should just come with the software.  It allows you to define what pages a widget should be displayed on.  Crazy handy.  The only complaint is the admin panel is a bit cumbersome.  That being said, I can’t really think of a better way to run it, so I guess I shouldn’t complain too loudly.  Excellent.

http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/widget-context/

http://konstruktors.com/

A grouping of  “Does what it says on the box” WordPress plugins you should probably use:

• FD Feedburner Plugin – John Watson. Redirects your feeds to a Feedburner feed. http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/feedburner-plugin/
• Subscribe to Comments – Mark Jaquith. Adds a check box to your comment form to subscribe users to follow-up comments. http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/subscribe-to-comments/
• wp-jquery-lightbox – Ulf Benjaminsson. Adds a lightbox function for images, using jQuery for cleaner code. http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/wp-jquery-lightbox/
• MobilePress – Aduity. Adds a fully customizable mobile version of your site for mobile browsers. http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/mobilepress/
• Enhanced Recent Posts – Vincent Prat. A better widget for displaying recent posts. http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/enhanced-recent-posts/

Without a doubt, these WordPress plugins will take your site from excellent to awesome.  From better usability for your end-users, to better management for clients you build sites for, to better ways to track your success. It’s simple: use these plugins.

16 Best Free WordPress Plugins is a post from Chris Schryer Designs - Web sites, hand-crafted in Toronto

Kensington Brewing Company

Proposal: Create online presence for new Microbrewery in Toronto’s Kensington Market. Design must be consistent with existing branding. Site to encourage community involvment through blogged content, interaction, twitter feeds and local events calendar.

http://www.KensingtonBrewingCompany.com/

Kensington Brewing Company is a post from Chris Schryer Designs - Web sites, hand-crafted in Toronto

Toronto Beer Week

Proposal: Create online identity for Toronto’s premiere craft beer event.  Site design must be consistent with current brand.  Highly interactive site that draws on locally generated content, Twitter and Untappd feeds, uses advanced calendar/events categorizing.  Matching e-mail campaign with integration to MailChimp.com.

http://www.TorontoBeerWeek.com/

Toronto Beer Week is a post from Chris Schryer Designs - Web sites, hand-crafted in Toronto

CastrosLounge.com

Proposal: Create a new website for a local boutique beer bar, in Toronto.  Design consistent with current brand.  Must be manageable by a variety of staff with a range of computer skills.  Include connections to Twitter, Facebook.  Contact form as well as online reservation form.  (Site not yet live).

CastrosLounge.com is a post from Chris Schryer Designs - Web sites, hand-crafted in Toronto

Toronto Beer Week

Proposal: Create a fairly standard WordPress blog template for a handsome, witty beer educator in Toronto (okay, it was for me). Integration with Google Calendar, WordPress for iPhone, and an advanced contact form; mobile version required; back up to Drop-Box and e-mail; SEO and Ananlytics; usual social sharing connections.

http://www.TorontoBeerBlog.com/

TorontoBeerBlog.com is a post from Chris Schryer Designs - Web sites, hand-crafted in Toronto

Castro's Lounge E-Mail Campaign

Proposal: Create an e-mail campaign for local bar to promote a variety of events including beer tastings, live music, and DJs. Template created to match brand/vibe of the bar and clientele. Executed using popular MailChimp distribution software to ensure maximum deliverablitiy.

Castro’s Lounge E-Mails – Publicity E-Mail Campaign is a post from Chris Schryer Designs - Web sites, hand-crafted in Toronto

Positive Living Newsletter

Proposal: Create an attractive e-mail campaign for Meaning.ca. Used to promote articles and issues addressed by the organization. Also share news and engage users in a two-way conversation. Executed using popular iContact distribution software to ensure maximum deliverablility/cost-effectivness.

Positive Living Newsletter – E-Mail campaign is a post from Chris Schryer Designs - Web sites, hand-crafted in Toronto

DPW/DLW.com

Proposal: Re-skin existing Joomla! templates to provide a pair of professional websites for two psychologist/researchers. Integrate WordPress blogs, easy contact forms, and social networking/bookmarking.

DrPaulWong.com/DrLilianWong.com – Professional Websites is a post from Chris Schryer Designs - Web sites, hand-crafted in Toronto

ExistentialPsychology.org

Proposal: Convert frame-based html site to Joomla!/OJS driven academic journal publication site. Create matching templates for two different CMS softwares, allowing for seemless integration. Customise OJS for publishing IJEPP. Integrate a professional registration directory for information sharing. Provide an online store (VirtueMart) capable of selling both physical and digital items, as well as subscriptions.

ExistentialPsychology.org is a post from Chris Schryer Designs - Web sites, hand-crafted in Toronto

ORoseND.com

Proposal: Redesign/rebuild an existing website into a Joomla!/Wordpress combo site. Provide continuity between templates, have blog posting fed into Joomla!, connect to Twitter, Facebook, and provide an .RSS feed using feedburner. Optimize for SEO and provide monitoring of success via Google Analytics.

Olivia Rose ND is a post from Chris Schryer Designs - Web sites, hand-crafted in Toronto