Ray Pigott My blogging platform of choice has always been WordPress. I prefer the self hosted version to the free, hosted version but both are great options when building your website and/or blog. WordPress is great as a stand alone content management system but the plugins make it an exceptional way to build a unique website.
Today I want to share with you some of the most helpful WordPress plugins that you should definitely not live without.
Monster Insights
If you’re looking for insights then look no further. Monster Insights is a Google Analytics plugin* which helps you to track your website stats and delve deeper into your analytics. Whether you are running a particular campaign or want to see what your audience are loving (or hating) then this plugin is an essential part of your WordPress build.
Yoast SEO for WordPress
This is a gamechanger if, like me, you don’t like to focus too much on SEO but know how important it is. I’m a creator, I like creating, I don’t love doing my SEO. Yoast helps you pick up what you need to do to make your content SEO friendly and how you can improve on what you’ve done. Follow the simple steps with every post and Yoast will work for you.
WordPress Editorial Calendar
If you like to batch create content and plan ahead in terms of your content strategy then you need the Editorial Calendar plugin in your life. You’ll be able to view your planned, scheduled and draft content at a glance, as well as move things around to suit your wider content strategy. It makes content planning so much easier.
Pretty Links
Pretty links is a great option if you want to divert people to external links outside of your website using a redirect, but want to keep a similar look. With Pretty Links you can input your link (maybe a link to a mailing list landing page) and convert it into a masked link, so it looks like your website, for example yourwebsite.com/mailinglist when really the mailing list domain is different. I find it great to keep everything cohesive. It also means people can find me at my normal Pinterest link or at amypigott.co.uk/pinterest.
There are so many plugins you can use to work on your WordPress site. These are some I have found almost essential across my fourteen years of blogging. What plugins could you not live without?
* Some links on this blog are affiliate links, meaning if you purchase through this link I receive payment, at no extra cost to you.
