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Essential WordPress Plugins

Essential WordPress Plugins. Byte of Texas 2015 Austin Food Blogger Alliance Margaret Dornbusch MadSweetWorld.com. Agenda. About Me What are plugins? How to use plugins Essential plugins. About Me. And a Disclaimer. About Me. Started with hand-coding in 1990s

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Essential WordPress Plugins

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  1. Essential WordPress Plugins Byte of Texas 2015 Austin Food Blogger Alliance Margaret Dornbusch MadSweetWorld.com

  2. Agenda • About Me • What are plugins? • How to use plugins • Essential plugins

  3. About Me And a Disclaimer

  4. About Me • Started with hand-coding in 1990s • Didn’t really know I was blogging • Used free Greymatter • Database not required, output HTML • Couldn’t afford other blogging solutions • WordPress in 2003 – free, barebones, no plugins • WordPress in 2014 – Wow! Still free! Lots of plugins!

  5. Disclaimer • I’m not an expert • We are merely scratching the surface

  6. What are Plugins?

  7. What are Plugins? • Dependent component • Adds features to an existing applications • Enables customization • Some plug-ins have plugins • BuddyPress – Provides an entire ecosystem for groups communicationshttps://wordpress.org/plugins/buddypress/

  8. Plugin Example

  9. How to Use Plugins

  10. How to Use Plugins • Finding • Installing • Configuring • Adding code (if necessary)

  11. Finding Plugins • 33,485 plugins available • WordPress plugin search • Star ratings in search results • Popular or Favorites tabs • Google • “best plugins for food bloggers” • “best seo plugins” • Recommendations from other bloggers • Austin Food Blogger Alliance • Austin Bloggers Facebook page • Austin WordPressmeetup

  12. Installing Plugins • Installing plugins is easy • From the Plugins page, click Add New. • Search for the plugin you want to add. • Click Install Now. • Click Activate Plugin (or activate later if you want).

  13. Configuring Plugins • Follow any directions 34 Settings!

  14. Configuring Plugins (cont.) • Some plugins require adding a bit of code to your template or uploading a file to your website • Some require adding short codes to your template • Bits of code that represent longer sections of code • Example: [donate] adds a Donate button

  15. Installation Demo

  16. Essential Plugins

  17. Absolutely Essential • Comment Spam • Sign up with Akismet (Automattic)http://akismet.com/ • Activate the plugin • Click Get your API key or enter your API key manually

  18. Absolutely Essential (cont.) • Backup • VaultPress(Automattic)subscription backup service • Security • Wordfence Securityfree security scans

  19. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) • YoastWordPress SEO (requires verification from Google Webmaster Tools) • Google Analytics • Google Analyticator • Other analytics plug-ins • Share buttons (Pinterest/Facebook/Twitter, etc.) • Simple Share Buttons

  20. Blogging • Event Calendar • Google • Blog-only • Editorial Calendar • Editorial Calendar 3.3 – Manage posts from a calendar view

  21. Food • Recipes • Easy printing • Shopping lists • Google Recipe Search format (rich snippets) • Example: • EasyRecipe

  22. Food • Nutrition • Enter all data; doesn’t calculate it • http://caloriecount.about.com/cc/recipe_analysis.php • No Follow for Sponsored Posts • Example:Ultimate Nofollow

  23. Administration • Speed Enhancers • WP SuperCache(Automattic)Generates static html files • Multifunction • JetPack (Automattic) • Importers and Cross-posters • Import from other WP installations or other blogs • Cross post to other blogs/social media

  24. Miscellaneous • Contact Management • Contact forms • Email subscriptions • Bulletin boards • Donation Form

  25. Miscellaneous (cont.) • Ecommerce • WooCommerce • WP Customer Reviews • App Creators • Wiziapp • Mobiloud • Ebook Creators • PressBooks • Bookpress Client

  26. Tips • (Recommended) Set up a test installation of WordPress to test plug-ins before you add them to your blog • Backup your WordPress installation before you activate a plugin • Keep WordPress and any plugins current • Use plugins tested with the version of WordPress you are using • Recovering from the White Screen of Death

  27. Tips (cont.) • Deleting plugins • Deactivate first • How to find out the name of a plugin • Online toolhttp://www.wpthemedetector.com/ • View source code • Search for the word “plugin” • Examine <blogurl>/wp-content/plugins/ to view a list of plugins

  28. References • Austin Food Blogger Alliancehttp://austinfoodbloggers.org/ • Austin Bloggers Facebook page • https://www.facebook.com/groups/austinbloggers/ • Austin WordPressmeetup • http://www.meetup.com/austinwordpress/ • How to use shortcodes • http://wplifeguard.com/how-to-use-wordpress-shortcode/ • http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2012/05/01/wordpress-shortcodes-complete-guide/ • Google Rich Snippets and Google Recipe View • http://www.google.com/insidesearch/features/recipes/ • https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/173379?hl=en • Margaret Dornbusch • madsweetworld@gmail.com

  29. Questions? http://madsweetworld.com/byteoftexas/plugins.pptx

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