11 · 29 · 2009

Blogging with WordPress

It seems that lots of my Blogger friends are taking the leap into WordPress these days. My move was almost a year ago, and I am finally feeling at home in this little WordPress world. Since every week I am telling somebody else what theme or plug-ins I use, I thought it easiest to just dedicate a post to it all. I’ll be back to kids and snot tomorrow…

My theme is Thesis. Apparently, it’s search engine friendly, SEO optimized and all that, but I just like how clean and simple it is. What makes WordPress really fun are the endless plug-ins. I frequently add and remove them, because I’m crazy like that, but have some favorites that always stay put:

• CommentLuv: Links to a commenter’s last blog post. It’s a nice little bonus for commenting and I always appreciate it on other people’s sites.

• What Would Seth Godin Do: I love this one because it allows you to post a welcome message for two audiences– new visitors and return visitors. It’s great to be able to tell new people to subscribe or some basic info without bugging people who know you well.

• Sexy Bookmarks: I recently removed this, because it seemed like Twitter was the only option people ever used, but I do love this social bookmarking plug-in. It’s discreet and pretty and I always got compliments on it. Now I use Tweet This, but I’m sure I’ll go back to the other soon. You know, bring sexy back and all.

• Askiment: For decreasing spam comments, it’s a must. It’s a default in later versions of WP, but make sure to activate it. Also be sure to remove some of the standard spam words. I once wrote a post on potty training and had 20 comments that contained the word “penis” end up in spam. Whoops.

• Ozh’ Better Feed: Let’s you leave a message at the bottom of your feed. It could be anything from a copyright blurb to a secret message for a subscriber only contest entry.

Have I missed any of your favorite plug-ins? Please let me know. And, after blabbing on and on about WordPress, I would like to note that Blogger is perfectly fine. There are many fantastic templates to play around with and really make your blog unique. You can absolutely live a long and happy bloggy life over there. And it’s free! It just may not be quite as much fun.

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{ 82 comments }

1 Melodramommy March 17, 2010 at 4:04 pm

Thanks for the helpful tips on wordpress. I have been using blogger and debating if I should switch over, and you may have convinced me. Also, I love the feature you recommended on linking guest’s comments to their last post. I do think that’s a great incentive to get people to interact more.

2 Amy Mayfield May 1, 2010 at 2:50 pm

My site is on wordpress and I have not been able to figure out how to add comment luv-any tips for a place I can go with easy instructions on how to make this work?
Thank you!
.-= Amy Mayfield´s last blog ..No, I’ve never hired a hitman-shockingly. =-.

3 Scary Mommy May 1, 2010 at 4:40 pm

Can you add other plugins? The guy would created commentluv is actually super nice and helpful– you could just leave a question on his blog and he’ll totally get back to you!
.-= Scary Mommy´s last blog ..Desperately Seeking… Something =-.

4 Enya May 18, 2010 at 8:32 am

Thanks for the post! So helpful. I’ve been going plug-in crazy lately. I really need to edit it down. I got sexybookmars because if you and now you ditched it. Still love it though. I love your blog’s new look too.
.-= Enya´s last blog ..Make Your Own Gummies Kit =-.

5 cara mamma May 22, 2010 at 10:29 am

I made the move from blogger a few months back and am now trying to figure out how to move to wordpress.org so that I can use all the great plugins…but I am relatively clueless and need to start researching web hosts. I appreciate all your ideas!

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