Our Favorite WordPress Plugins – 32 Plugins for 2015

The International Bloggers Association is a group of bloggers from around the world. We all have a part in helping each other to make our blogs awesome. This is what Let’s Make Your Blog Awesome, A Learning Series for Bloggers is all about.

One of the reasons most bloggers use WordPress is because of the fantastic plugins that are available. Plugins can make blogging much easier if you are using the right ones. There are thousands of plugins out there. Which ones are right for your blog? These are my favorite plugins:

404 To Start – Use when switching from Blogger to WordPress. When people click on your old URLs this will direct them to your new blog.
Akismet – Spam protection
Better Click To Tweet – Allows you to insert an awesome tweet box in your posts that your readers can click to tweet 🙂
Blogger To WordPress – Move your blog from Blogger to WordPress. Not perfect but it works!
Broken Link Checker – Keeps your blog up-to-date and search engine ready
CommentLuv – Commenting system where others can share their latest posts
Duplicate Post – Use with “series” you run on your blog. Make posting so much easier!
Google Analytics by Yoast – Integrates with Google Analytics which you should be using with your blog.
Hello Bar – Ask your visitors for “likes” or to sign-up for your newsletter
Jetpack – Several different plug-ins in one
Nextscripts: Social Network-Auto Poster – Automatically shares your new posts across social media platforms
Revive Old Post – Keep those old posts alive via Twitter and Facebook
Shareaholic Best sharing plugin around, in my humble opinion
Simple Author Box – Love the author box under all my posts and pages. Doesn’t take up space in my sidebar!
Theme Check – Make sure your theme is working correctly
Top 10 – Keep track of your popular posts
UpDraftPlus – Backup/Restore – Don’t lose all your precious work!
Wordfence Security – Keep people from hijacking your blog
WordPress SEO by Yoast – Manage and optimize your SEO. Love this one!
WordPress Optimize – Clean up your database. Keep your blog neat, clean, and speedy!
WP Smush It – Optimize your images so that your site loads faster

I asked our Facebook group “What are your favorite WordPress Plugins?” Here is what my fellow IBA bloggers had to say:

• I use Revive Old Post which is fantastic plugin for sending out your old posts on twitter and getting them a little bit of love. The best part is it’s all automated and I don’t even have to think about it. Jonelle from Tyranny of Pink
• I recommend Black Studio TinyMCE Widget as a visual editor and Super Socializer for sharing because they both make your site beautiful and I cannot blog without them. Rachael from B is for Bookworm
• I love Jetpack – it has a bunch of wonderful plugins all-in-one. Just recently activated another of these cool plugins and my spam went from 50+ per day to 3. Sandy from Sandy’s P.O.V.
• I agree with Sandy about Jetpack. I like having an all-in-one so I don’t have to worry about compatibility and extra load time. I also use the following to cover the gaps in Jetpack (or I just like how they work better than JP’s version) Askimet, WordPress SEO, Related Posts by Zemantia, CommentLuv, Click to Tweet, jQuery Pin It, and W3 Total Cache. Audrey from That Recipe
• Jetpack, Shareaholic, Askimet, Comment Luv, Alpine Photo Tile for Instagram, Better Click to Tweet, Ninja Forms, Wordfence, and All in One SEO are my favorites. Haley from Haley’s Vintage
• Based on recent events WP ZERO SPAM!! Works better than anything else combined! Joanne from What’s on the List?

What are your favorite WordPress plugins? Leave me a comment below, and stay tuned for the next edition of Let’s Make Your Blog Awesome coming August 2nd.

Have a wonderful week wherever you are in the world! Signing off, Tina