WordPress plugins

Below is a list of plugins I use on the desktop version of this site, and a quick word from our sponsor.

Akismet

Used by millions, Akismet is a great way to protect your blog from comment and trackback spam.

All in One SEO Pack

Not perfect, but still one of the most used and easy to setup and maintain SEO plugins.

CloudFlare

If you’re using CloudFlare (and if you’re not, you should), this plugin simply provides diagnostic and settings from within WordPress, as well as reminding you to optimize your DB from time to time.

Google XML Sitemaps

The plugin generates an XML sitemap which you can then submit to Google’s Webmsater tools to keep track of crawl errors (broken links, mainly).

Infinite Scroll

Highly customizable, out of the box infinite scroll script.

Revision Diet

Removes post revisions beyond a specified limit. Useful to keep WordPress buzzing, especially if you only have a single author on your blog or keep your posts short.

W3 Total Cache

Some people hate it, some absolutely love it. It gets the job done and I’ve never had major issues with it. It also integrates with CloudFlare (and many other CDNs) easily, which is great.

WordPress Backup to Dropbox

Because you’ll be happy to have it when your site disappears, for whatever reason. Setup and forget makes this an absolute must-have.

WP Bit.ly

Automatically generates bit.ly links for all your posts using your own API number.

Yet Another Related Posts Plugin

Requires a bit of tweaking and updates tend to break things but still the best in its category. Completely customizable.

Hosting

Finally, if you’re looking for a good host, I can recommend the fine folks at DreamHost (affiliate link), who take care of this site. They provide great service, don’t cost a fortune, and most importantly communicate transparently about problems and issues when they occur (thankfully, not very often).

They also offset their carbon emissions, which, until we find a way to have servers run on wind power, is pretty much as green as you can get.

I hope these tips are helpful – get in touch should you have any great WordPress tips or plugins I should try.

Mobile

A mobile version of the site is available as a web app here, do give it a try and let me know what you think.