When I first started blogging, I literally spent weeks and weeks trying to organize and structure my WordPress blog. It was mainly hit or a miss, as I swam my way through various plugins and gadgets to pimp up my not-so-slick blog (at the time). Considering my trial and errors, I know exactly how frustrating it can be for bloggers who are just soaking their feet in the water, trying to figure out what works.
BEHOLD!
I have compiled a list of useful and neat plugins and essentials (bonus: that happen to free!) to get you rolling with your WordPress blog.
Yoast SEO Plugin
If you have been around the whole blogging bluff talk, you’re probably adopting one mainly to boost your SEO. In that case, your very first plug in should be Yoast SEO. It is an incredibly simple, yet powerful, plugin to help you ramp up your Google rankings.
MailChimp
I guess this one is a no brainer. If you’re starting out your blog, it is extremely extremely vital for you to start a subscription list. MailChimp is an excellent tool that helps you construct email templates and mailing lists. From RSS, to campaign based emails, MailChimp is your one stop-shop for all your emailing needs!
Profitquery AIO
I came across this plugin recently, and my god am I glad! I had been looking for a nice and powerful pop-up sharing plugin that would have allow me to have sharing buttons, subscribe call-to-actions, and contact me prompt all in one tool. This plugin has amazed me! It is visually appealing and has allowed me to have various pop-hovers on my page that allows my viewers to subscribe to my blog and/or share my posts. All your email subscriptions can help linked to your MailChimp account. There is a paid version of this plugin in which you have more options to customize and then there is the basic free version, which is honestly perfect if you’re just starting out.
jQuery Pin It Buttons
Everybody knows that Pinterest is the Queen when it comes to sharing visually appealing blog posts. Hence, it is a must to have a pin it plugin that allows your viewers to pin your blog images on their Pinterest accounts. What I really love about this plugin is that it lets me upload a custom-designed pin it button so you align it with your blog’s theme.
Simple Side Bar
Simple Sidebar plugin allows you to have customize sidebars for different pages. This way you don’t have to compromise on having just one type of sidebar for each page or post. This helped me out a lot since I preferred to have different sidebars for each page depending on their category and type.
