These recommendations are plugins I would consider must-haves on your WordPress website, providing important functionality WordPress just doesn’t give you “out of the box”.

While I’m not a fan of installing plugins needlessly, these are plugins I often install on every WordPress powered project I’m involved with.

Let’s get started.

WordPress SEO

WordPress SEO made the list last year too, but it is still hugely important today. As the name suggests, WordPress SEO will completely optimise your website for SEO. While WordPress does a pretty good job on its own, WordPress SEO takes this a couple of steps further.

The plugin will handle technical optimisations on your behalf, such as XML sitemaps, Meta elements, RSS optimisations, Facebook Open Graph and much more.

If this doesn’t mean much to you then don’t worry as most of this will be taken care of the second you push ‘activate’. You’ll then be guided through the bits that need your attention by helpful and easy to follow tooltips.

What sets WordPress SEO apart though is it’s Page Analysis feature. This simple checks for things you’re “bound to forget”. Do you have images in your post? Do they have alt tags? Are the alt tags relevant to your focus keyword? Is the post long enough? What about the headings, are they as relevant as they could be? This is a great aid to have while writing your content.

Combined, WordPress SEO helps you create a website and content that search engines will love, and reward you for with rankings.

Download WordPress SEO plugin from WordPress’ Plugin Directory

W3 Total Cache

Like WordPress SEO, I listed W3 Total Cache in 2012’s list too, and its still very relevant in 2013.

In a nutshell, W3 Total Cache will speed up your WordPress website, which is great for both your visitor’s experience and your Google rankings.

If you know what you’re doing, W3 Total Cache allows you to fine-tune your website’s performance settings, offering suggestions and advice along the way. If you’re not technically orientated the default options will still make a noticeable difference to your site’s speed, just activate and let the W3 Total Cache take care of everything.

Download W3 Total Cache from WordPress’ Plugin Directory

Advanced Custom Fields

Created by Melbourne based web developer, Elliot Condon, Advanced Custom Fields is an invaluable plugin that helps you build much more flexible websites using WordPress.

Advanced Custom Fields is the perfect solution for any WordPress website which needs more flexible data like other Content Management Systems.

While WordPress gives you some pretty standard fields by default, such as Title, Content and so on, you can take this to a whole new level using Advanced Custom Fields. Add new text boxes, WYSIWYG editors, image uploaders and more at your leisure.

While this can be done manually using WordPress’ custom meta boxes, Advanced Custom Fields provides a beautifully simple interface, picking up the grunt work, allowing you to focus on your website’s content and not get bogged down with code. The interface is consistent with WordPress’ default admin interface too, which is always a bonus.

When combined with WordPress’ Custom Post Types, WordPress can be turned into a much more advanced CMS, enabling you to easily create a very flexible website for yourself or your clients.

Download Advanced Custom Fields from WordPress’ Plugin Directory

Posts 2 Posts

Posts 2 Posts is another invaluable plugin that allows you to turn WordPress into a much more advanced CMS.

The plugin allows you to create “many to many” relationships between different post types, such as ‘Pages’, ‘Posts’ or a Custom Post Types.

The author offers some examples of it’s usage:

• Manually chosen list of related posts
• Posts associated with a Post series
• Product post type associated with a Retailer post type

Such relationships are commonplace in other CMS, and a glaring omission in WordPress’ core features. Posts 2 Posts addresses this problem.

Download Posts 2 Posts from WordPress’ Plugin Directory

Better WP Security

With increased targeting of WordPress powered websites its more important than ever to make sure your website is secure. Better WP Security aims to keep your site secured and give you peace of mind.

Better WP Security takes the best WordPress security features and techniques and combines them in a single plugin thereby ensuring that as many security holes as possible are patched without having to worry about conflicting features or the possibility of missing anything on your site.

Better WP Security will analyse your site, and offer a checklist of suggestions to make sure it is as secure as possible.

Suggestions range from removing the default and therefore vulnerable admin user account, to scheduling regular database backups and scans to detect suspicious changes to your files.

Many other security-focused plugins exists, but Better WP Security is a great ‘all-in-one’ option that I have found very effective on my WordPress driven websites.

As a sidenote, you should also check out the Hardening WordPress on the WordPress Codex for tips on securing your WordPress website.

Download Better WP Security from WordPress’ Plugin Directory

The post WordPress Plugins for 2013 appeared first on Proudly Powered.

Markdown is a very popular text-to-html formatting syntax developed by John Gruber.

It is a way for web writers to quickly write content in plain text, without worrying about the HTML syntax that could be going wild in the background.

Why use Markdown?

• Being in plain text means you can see every bit of your syntax. No more worrying about rogue spans appearing in the HTML editor.
• You’re focusing on the content, not writing HTML.
• Produced HTML is W3C valid.
• Syntax is clear and easy to read.
• Can be easily picked up by content editors who aren’t familiar with HTML.
• Can be written offline in any text editor. Markdown editors are also available (see below).

Using Markdown

Markdown syntax is very simple, and so easy to remember. If you’re familiar with say writing BBcode on an online forum, this is a similar idea, only better. If we wanted to write a title, a paragraph and bulleted list we would write:

## This is a H2 tag above our list

This is a paragraph

* And here is a bulleted list
* It's as easy as using asterisk

We can also do numbered lists

1. It's as simple as this
2. Just put the number instead of an asterisk
3. Really, it's this simple!

When published, this would create:

<h2>This is a H2 tag above our list</h2>
<p>This is a paragraph</p>
<ul>
    <li>And here is a bulleted list</li>
    <li>Its as easy as using asterix</li>
</ul>
<p>We can also do numbered lists</p>
<ol>
    <li>Its as simple as this</li>
    <li>Just put the number instead of an asterix</li>
    <li>Really, its this simple!</li>
</ol>

How great is that? You see much more information on the Markdown syntax page, such as addingblockquotes, hyperlinks, code blocks, basically everything you would normally use in the WordPress editor.

WordPress plugins for Markdown

As usual, ‘theres a plugin for that’, and two that I would recommend.

1. Markdown on Save by Mark Jaquith
2. Markdown on Save Improved by Matt Wiebe

The fundamental difference between these plugins is that Markdown on Save requires you specify you’ll be using Markdown in the Post Editor, where as Markdown on Save Improved assumes that you will be using Markdown, and offers the option to disable Markdown.

A little Metabox appears in your Post Editor, effortlessly write your content in Markdown, publish, and your content appears in lovely valid HTML. The two plugins also save your Markdown content separately to your  content, so if in the future you disable the plugins you wont lose your content, or display raw Markdown syntax in your pages.

Markdown Editors

If you’re thinking of using Markdown, I would recommend using a Markdown Editor application, depending on your operating system.

These editors are all free to use, and I use all 4 of them depending on my working environment.

• Mou (OSX)
• MarkdownPad (Windows)
• WritingKit (iPad)
• Dillinger (Web App) 

All 4 of these apps work in much the same way, and are better than writing straight into the visual editor or a simple text editor. They provide real-time previews of your content as well shortcut keys for Markdown syntax.

Try Markdown

Give Markdown a go, it’s as easy as installing a plugin. Be sure to check out the Markdown syntax page to really get the most out of it. I’ve personally I’m able to write faster much faster in Markdown, and will only use the Visual editor in WordPress for posts that I know will be featuring a lot of images. Do you write your content Markdown? Does it work for you?

The post Markdown in WordPress appeared first on Proudly Powered.

Lapses in concentration to tinker with options, follow advice from your WordPress plugins, or simply deciding how to categorise your post can really slow down your writing.

If ‘content is king’ then it’s very important to give it your full attention.

The WordPress Post UI is very nice of course, and WordPress’ UI is a major selling point to using WordPress as your CMS platform, but sometimes being left with just your writing is nice. Back to basics.

The difference here is night and day. There is absolutely nothing to distract your writing. All of the WordPress slowly fades and all that remains is your content.

Using the WordPress Distraction Free Editor

Activating the distraction free editor is as simple as pressing a button in your post editor toolbox.

Simply press the button shown above and enjoy no distractions while writing content.

Using Distraction Free Editor Shortcuts

If you’d like to add some lists, emphasise content with bolds and italics, or simply add a link, you can show the distraction free editor toolbox by hovering towards the top of your browser’s window.

I would recommend getting to grips with the keyboard shortcuts for editing your content.

Using the shortcuts will really speed up your writing, while using the distraction free editor allows you to easily put your thoughts into words.

It’s a great combination. After using the shortcuts for a single post they will start to become second nature. Adding more links to your posts will enhance your content, while also feeling less of a chore, and most importantly not distracting you from your writing.

Use the distraction free editor

Give it a go! If you find sometimes that you can’t write your content as quickly or easily as you may like, then WordPress’ distraction free editor is definitely worth a look.

If you’d like to take it one step further, the WordPress team also recommend using white noise to really focus your concentration.

Has WordPress’ distraction free editor helped you write better? Do you use the editor regularly or is there a method of writing or application you prefer to use? Let us know by commenting below.

The post WordPress Distraction Free Editor Overview appeared first on Proudly Powered.

Code highlighting WordPress plugins and scripts bring your <code> blocks to life, adding many features such as line-numbering, syntax highlighting, and line highlighting.

Line numbering and line highlighting allow you to reference sections of the <code> in your article text, while syntax highlighting makes your code much more legible, especially to novices.

This makes your WordPress posts much more visually appealing, and aids your readers in understanding your code.

Which code highlighting WordPress plugin or method

As I often write about Web Design, not just here but on a few other WordPress websites, I often have to include snippets of code in my posts or tutorials. There are many code highlighting WordPress plugins available, I’ve tried pretty much all of them, but I’d like to recommend two different methods I use. One is a WordPress plugin, the other is a JavaScript library.

WordPress plugin: CodeColorer

I know there’s many different code highlighting WordPress plugins available, but my personal favourite is CodeColorer.

CodeColorer is a syntax highlighting plugin which allows to insert code snippets into blog posts. Supports color themes, code in RSS, comments.

CodeColorer offers syntax highlighting, line-numbering, single line highlighting and much more.

You can add your code snippets to both the visual editor, and HTML editor, using [cc][/cc] or <code lang=”lang”></code>.

Why CodeColorer?

The reason for my preference to CodeColorer over other code highlighting WordPress plugins such as Syntax Highlighter for WordPress is basically that it has annoyed me the least. I spent a lot of time with other code highlighting WordPress plugins while writing PrestaShop tutorials untangling a mess of shortcodes, escaped characters and failed indenting. I very rarely have these problems with CodeColorer.

Shortcodes

The CodeColorer shortcodes are also cleverly designed.

To insert code snippet into your post (or comment) you should use [cc lang=”lang”]code[/cc] or <code lang=”lang”></code> syntax. Starting from version 0.6.0 you could specify additional CodeColorer options inside [cc]tag.

Rather than using lengthy shortcode syntax such as [cc lang=”php” escaped=”true” inline=”true”], CodeColorer can use single letters to enable options, so the shortcode would become [ccie_php][/ccie_php], keeping your shortcodes short. You can see full examples of shortcodes in action on the WordPress Plugins repository. Download WordPress Plugin: CodeColorer

JavaScript & CSS: Prettify

If you’d like to avoid WordPress plugins and shortcodes as much as possible, and would prefer your basic <code> blocks automatically highlighted, then Prettify is your answer.

I use Pretiffy on my portfolio, as it is not actually WordPress driven, so the automatic highlighting is very useful.

Using Prettify

Simply download the JavaScript and CSS files from the Google Code website, and include them in your theme as so:

<link href="prettify.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" />
<script type="text/javascript" src="prettify.js"></script>

You will need to adjust the CSS and JavaScript file’s paths as required. Next, add the following to your WordPress theme’s <body>tag:

onload="prettyPrint()"

That’s it. Now simply use class=”prettyprint” on the <pre> and <code> elements you’d like the code highlighted automatically. If you need any further details you can refer to the full documentation. You can then change your prettify.css accordingly, or download a Prettify theme.

Or use the Prettify WordPress Plugin

Alternatively of course, you can use the Prettify for WordPress plugin, which will do all of this for you. Visit the Google Code Prettify Download Page

Conclusion

These are the two methods of code highlighting in WordPress I use on my websites, depending on the situation. Do you have another preference you’d recommend for code highlighting in WordPress? Let us know below.

The post Code Highlighting WordPress Plugins and Methods appeared first on Proudly Powered.

As of course this is a WordPress powered website being built-in 2012, I thought I’d take this opportunity to create a quick run down of recommended WordPress plugins to be used.

This list is by no means complete, you may have your preferences, but they come highly recommended as I use them on my other WordPress driven websites as well as here on Proudly Powered.

Akismet

Akismet is a very smart comment and trackback spam filtering WordPress plugin developed by the folks at Automattic.

It is very likely you will recognise the name, or even be actively using this plugin as it comes pre-installed (but not activated) with your WordPress installation.

Akismet intelligently recognises spam based on knowledge gathered from millions of websites. This means that you don’t have to bother your real visitors with CAPTCHA boxes and such.

Detected spam is flagged in your WordPress Admin, and can be removed or approved as you see fit.

Download WordPress Plugin: Akismet

W3 Total Cache

A must install WordPress plugin in my humble opinion.

Developed by Frederick Townes, W3 Total Cache is built to speed up your WordPress website.

W3 Total Cache includes Page / Database / Object Caching, Minifying, CDN Support, CloudFlare integration and much more.

If all of that doesn’t mean anything to you, rest assured that just using the default settings will dramatically improve the speed of your website. Install and see the benefits.

Page speed is important for your visitor’s user experience, but if that’s not enough for you it’s widely known that Google likes a fast websites, and will repay you with better rankings.

Download WordPress Plugin: W3 Total Cache

WordPress SEO

WordPress SEO does ‘exactly what it says on the tin’.

The WordPress SEO plugin will handle nearly all aspects of your WordPress website’s SEO, from your XML sitemaps to analysing your content and offering suggestions regarding your targeted keywords.

Developed by SEO and WordPress expert Joost de Valk aka Yoast, Joost has included much of his experience in his plugin. As Akismet and W3 Total Cache, in my opinion WordPress SEO is invaluable to your WordPress website and should be one of the first WordPress plugins installed.

Download WordPress Plugin: WordPress SEO by Yoast

Adminimize

The Adminimize WordPress plugin lets you hide ‘unnecessary’ items from the WordPress admin area for certain users.

“Adminimize is a WordPress plugin that lets you hide ‘unnecessary’ items from the WordPress backend and many more …”

If you’re like me and worry a user or client may have too much access to certain areas of the websites administration, such as ‘Editors’ being able to change themes then this plugin is for you.

You can also customise the WordPress admin dashboard, removing certain blocks to specific users, and even easily adding your own which could be particularly instructions when giving instructions to your authors or clients.

Other WordPress plugins such as White Label CMS have similar functionality, and you could also do this through your functions.php if you preferred, but Adminimize can be considered as an ‘all-in-one’ WordPress plugin, allowing you to hide pretty much everything in the WordPress admin from a single interface.

Download WordPress Plugin: Adminimize

After the Deadline

As a Web Designer & Developer, writing doesn’t come as naturally to me as it would say a real copywriter.

After the Deadline uses artificial intelligence to check spelling, style, and grammar in WordPress.

Luckily, the After the Deadline WordPress plugin is here to help. The plugin will ‘read’ your posts before submitting them for publish, offering suggestions and improvements.

It’s a great way of proofreading your work and I’ve found it to be very useful. The suggestions are often quite insightful, and 9 times out of 10 allows me to craft a better sentence.

Additionally, After the Deadline teaches me to write better. By taking on the WordPress plugin’s suggestions I find that it finds less and less wrong with my posts as my writing style improves over time through its criticism.

Download WordPress Plugin: After the Deadline

FeedBurner FeedSmith Extend

FeedBurner is a service provided by Google, it basically provides an external URL to host your feed as well as providing other useful gadgets such as subscriber tracking.

FeedBurner FeedSmith Extend is a simple plugin that will change all WordPress’ references to your RSS feed to an external FeedBurner feed that you’ve set up.

Download WordPress Plugin: FeedBurner FeedSmith Extend

Google Analytics for WordPress

A self-explantory title, but Google Analytics for WordPress is a simple plugin created by WordPress SEO author Yoast to add the asynchronous Google Analytics snippet to your website.

The plugin is very simple, and will even connect straight to your Analytics account where you can select your website’s profile rather than remembering your UA-XXXXXX-X ID numbers.

This WordPress plugin is particularly useful as it means you needn’t worry about remembering to include the snippet in your WordPress theme’s footer.php, and so will remain active if you switch themes.

Download WordPress Plugin: Google Analytics for WordPress

Secure WordPress

Created by WordPress Defender, Secure WordPress allows you an easy way to secure your WordPress website.

Secure WordPress beefs up the security of your WordPress installation by removing error information on login pages, adds index.html to plugin directories, hides the WordPress version and much more.

Everything is possible through a simple interface in the WordPress Plugin settings, just install the plugin, check your options and you’re done.

Download WordPress Plugin: Secure WordPress

SSH SFTP Updater Support

By default, WordPress provides functionality to upload and update your WordPress plugins and core WordPress files via FTP and FTPS in the admin.

If however you don’t connect to your web server via FTP and instead use SFTP a nice option is to use SSH SFTP Updater Support.

“SSH SFTP Updater Support” is the easiest way to keep your WordPress installation up-to-date with SFTP.

As the quote suggests, this is a simple solution. You’ll be a given a third option of SFTP when updating your WordPress plugins etc.

Just provide your login information and updates and installs will be carried out in exactly the same way as they would via the FTP options.

Download WordPress Plugin: SSH SFTP Updater Support

White Label CMS

White Label CMS allows you to customise little sections of your authors / clients WordPress admin experience.

You can edit the WordPress login screen and WordPress admin logos, as well as remove various areas of WordPress admin menu.

If you wish, you can also customise snippets of text in the admin area, such as the footer area where you could place a little link back to your agency for example.

White Label CMS is a simple plugin that allows you to quickly tailor the WordPress Admin to your client’s / agency’s brand.

Download WordPress Plugin: White Label CMS

WordPress Editorial Calendar

If you run a WordPress website with multiple authors, or like to keep a tight schedule on your posts, then the Editorial Calendar WordPress plugin gives you a calendar visual to plan all your posts

The calendar interface lets you clearly see when posts are scheduled to be posted and plan accordingly and you can easily reschedule posts by dragging them between dates on the calendar.

I personally use the calendar to not only plan the scheduling of posts, but to also keep a track of drafts that are to be written.

This is helpful as it means your drafted posts, and the post scheduled is seen by all your authors too.

Download WordPress Plugin: WordPress Editorial Calendar

WP Smush.it

Smush.it uses optimization techniques specific to image format to remove unnecessary bytes from image files. It is a “lossless” tool, which means it optimizes the images without changing their look or visual quality. After Smush.it runs on a web page it reports how many bytes would be saved by optimizing the page’s images and provides a downloadable zip file with the minimized image files.

The WP Smush.it WordPress plugin is an easy way to use Yahoo!’s useful Smush.it service on the fly.

Your images will be optimised on upload, but you can also ‘smush’ any of your previously uploaded images from older posts too.

Smush.it is highly recommended to keep your image file sizes down, and your web pages fast, and the WP Smush.it WordPress plugin offers a really easy way to achieve this on your site.

Download WordPress plugin: WP Smush.it

Any more WordPress plugins we’ve missed?

That’s my roundup list for now. Do you use any of these plugins? Would you also recommended them?

Or maybe you have an alternative or a plugin not featured at all that you regard as invaluable on your WordPress powered website? Please let us know in the comments below.

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