Although there are zillions of plugins that can add all sorts functions to WordPress, it’s best not to use too many, as each one uses up server resources and can break your blog if the developer does not keep it up to date.
Some of the extensions we mention here - such Google Webmaster Tools and Analytics are not strictly-speaking plugins - but they are extensions that we always add to a site we work on.
Here’s a shortish list:
XML Sitemap - to assist search engines
Google Webmaster Tools - to see how Google views site
Google Analytics - to give in-depth statistics about visitors
Cache - to speed up page views and reduce server load
Akismet -defense against comment spam (non-commercial version)
Ability for you to embed picture galleries, audio or video on your site, if required.
WordPress is blogging platform that can easily run ordinary website and media-rich sites such as podcasts. Why use WP and not some other platform? Here are some reasons.
- WordPress is a free - we can’t argue with that, but some actually consider that free is “disadvantage” - they tend to be people with more money than sense.
- Although WordPress is free, its development is overseen by a commercial company, Automattic, and they bring commercial savvy, financial resources, and slickness to the project
- WordPress has a huge community of developers and enthusiasts behind it - this means that there is a mass of online documentation and any number of plugins and themes.
- WordPress has a very rapid development cycle, which keeps it at the cutting edge as far as features are concerned, and any bugs or security holes are rapidly squashed.
- WordPress has a focus on usability and user-testing which many open source projects lack.
On the train back to Marlylebone from WordCamp UK, I’m mulling over what I’ve learned. There was a lot of technical stuff, but the over-arching impression is that blogging, and WordPress in particular, is coming of age.
It’s not just Number 10 Downing Street that’s on WordPress but the Royal Navy, tennis star Andy Roddick. and the BBC’s Top Gear programme.
Developers are saying that they are getting calls from marketing agencies desperate for WordPress blogs. Some were actually talking about how to cope with demand.
The Free aspect of WordPress has always been a negative in the past for business. Corporations like to spend money to feel safe. But now times are getting harder economically, and more importantly, people are cottoning on to the fact that the internet is a live place, where fast and nimble reactions are all important. They want to take control of their websites. They don’t want to be in hock to the IT Department or super-agency. WordPress is a fast, flexible, and user-friendly solution. The user interface is greatly improved in recent releases. It’s extremely well supported on the technical side- you can Google a solution for anything WordPress. It’s clean and elegant. It’s day has come.
I’ve been having a quick play around with the new WordPress 2.5 Release Candidate. It’s mainly if not all about the user-interface, which has long needed tarting up. And it’s been worth the wait because it really is like having a new WordPress. What I like best is the ability to toggle the Write Post window into full screen. Suddenly WordPress feels like a proper word processor. There’s also a wonderful media browser which enables you to quickly review your uploaded pictures etc and edit the titles and so forth. There’s loads more - but in general this is the upgrade that makes WordPress look and feel like an expensive piece of (free) software.
