there’s a

Plugin for that!Alex Ruaux

alex@molecularcodewebdesign.com @molecularcode | #wcottawa

There’s a Plugin for that!

•What is a plugin?

•Why would I use them?

•How do I choose a good plugin?

•Plugins to make WordPress more

awesome

•My top picks...

Plugins are self-contained bits

of code that can extend

WordPress to do almost

anything you can imagine.

Note: plugins are not available on wordpress.com

Why would I use a Plugin?

securitybackups

image galleries

contact forms calendar

fontswidgetsSEO

ecommerce

multilingual redirects

forums

socialmedia service

integration

spam

store locator

favicon

cache

clone

analytics

ads

newsletter

comments

countdown

... and over 30,000

other reasons

How to choose a good Plugin

Caveats!!!

Plugin bloat and security risk

Know what you want from the plugin

How to choose a good Plugin

Imagine we want to have greater control over our SEO (Search Engine Optimization)

We might want to edit how the page titles appear in Google, or change the meta description.

search engine optimization

Read the description- does it do what I need?

Read the FAQ- is there anything else I need to know?

Check the screenshots- does it look user friendly?

Browse the support and reviews- what are other users saying?

Warning!!!

Finding the perfect plugin is a

bit like online dating...

... you may have to kiss a few toads before you find the right one!

Install Plugins

Plugins to make WordPress more awesome

Plugins can extend either the frontend or

the backend of WordPress by adding

features and functionality

Popular Plugin Uses:

security

backups

image galleries

contact forms

SEOmultilingual

socialmedia

spam

cache

newsletter

Search Engine Optimization

Easy to use

Kept up-to-date

Compatible with other plugins e.g. WPML

Has advanced options beyond the essentials

Shows ‘Google search’ preview

Rates your SEO and suggests improvements

Multilingual Site

Well supported

Comprehensive

Supports many languages

Compatible with other plugins e.g.

Yoast SEO, wooCommerce, Events Calendar

Security

Comprehensive

Easy to use

Goes that bit further, with features such as:

change default wp_ DB table prefix

suggested file permissions

traffic light warning system

Security

Minimal config

Sends an email at a set interval with info about any files that have changed

Security

No setup

Customizable

Prevents brute force attacks

Whilst we’re on the topic of security:disable editors, strong passwords,auth keys, limit no. admins...

Jetpack

Social Media – sharing content

/

Many networks

Subtle appearance

Customizable

Auto-publish new content to social networks(jetpack-publicize)

Image galleries

/

Integrated with WordPress

A few gallery options

Clicking image brings up slideshow of full-size images

(jetpack-tiled galleries)

Caching

/

Minimal config

Advanced options

Compatible with other plugins

Backups

/

Free

Comprehensive

Variety of delivery methods - email, dropbox

Backs up files and database

Can set schedules

Contact Form

/

Customizable

Emails info

Build you own form and email

Compatible with Google Tag Manager

Well supported and translatable

Newsletter

/

Customizable

Stores signups

Easily include content from posts

Schedule repeating mailout with most recent content

My Top Picks

The plugins that make my life easier:

Multiple Post ThumbnailsFeatured image column

Duplicate postAll-in-One favicon

Intuitive custom post orderCollapse-O-Matic

Multiple Post Thumbnails

/

Enables 2 different featured images for posts and pages

Does require some php editing of files

Featured Image Column

/

Adds a thumbnail of the featured

image against the

post or page

Duplicate Post

/Clone a page or post.

All-in-One Favicon

/

Easily add favicon and iOS

icon

Intuituve Custom Post Order

/

Drag and drop pages or posts to re-order them

Collapse-O-Matic

/

Enables collapsible sections in a page or post, via a shortcode

Questions?

Alex Ruaux alex@molecularcodewebdesign.com @molecularcode | #wcottawa

Recommendations?