Essential WordPress PluginsByte of Texas 2015 Austin Food Blogger AllianceMargaret Dornbusch MadSweetWorld.com

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Agenda About Me

What are plugins?

How to use plugins

Essential plugins

About MeAnd a Disclaimer

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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!

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Disclaimer I’m not an expert

We are merely scratching the surface

What are Plugins?

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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 communications

https://wordpress.org/plugins/buddypress/

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Plugin Example

How to Use Plugins

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How to Use Plugins Finding

Installing

Configuring

Adding code (if necessary)

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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 WordPress meetup

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Installing Plugins Installing plugins is easy

1. From the Plugins page, click Add New.

2. Search for the plugin you want to add.

3. Click Install Now.

4. Click Activate Plugin (or activate later if you want).

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Configuring Plugins Follow any directions

34 Settings!

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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

Installation Demo

Essential Plugins

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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

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Absolutely Essential (cont.) Backup

VaultPress (Automattic)subscription backup service

Security Wordfence Security

free security scans

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Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Yoast WordPress SEO

(requires verification from Google Webmaster Tools)

Google Analytics Google Analyticator Other analytics plug-ins

Share buttons (Pinterest/Facebook/Twitter, etc.) Simple Share Buttons

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Blogging Event Calendar

Google Blog-only

Editorial Calendar Editorial Calendar 3.3 – Manage posts from a calendar view

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Food Recipes

Easy printing Shopping lists Google Recipe Search format

(rich snippets) Example:

EasyRecipe

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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

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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

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Miscellaneous Contact Management

Contact forms Email subscriptions Bulletin boards

Donation Form

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Miscellaneous (cont.) Ecommerce

WooCommerce WP Customer Reviews

App Creators Wiziapp Mobiloud

Ebook Creators PressBooks Bookpress Client

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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

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Tips (cont.) Deleting plugins

Deactivate first

How to find out the name of a plugin Online tool

http://www.wpthemedetector.com/ View source code

Search for the word “plugin”

Examine <blogurl>/wp-content/plugins/ to view a list of plugins

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References Austin Food Blogger Alliance

http://austinfoodbloggers.org/

Austin Bloggers Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/groups/austinbloggers/

Austin WordPress meetup 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

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