sprixelcast

When I first started with WordPress it was inspiring because there is such a rich community surrounding the platform, with support forums and plugins galore, but it was also a little overwhelming. There are SO many plugins I had no idea where to start. Here are a few that I found that I liked for various things, but really I suggest you just start blogging and whenever you need some functionality go search for a plugin to help – I bet there will be a few to choose from.

1. Add to Any: Subscribe Button

Great subscription button with options for all major subscription and bookmarking sites, services and programs. Also customizable to match your theme.

2. Clean Archives Reloaded

I like the way this cleans up your archive lists with a bit of Javascript code. Very easy to use.

3. DashBar

Great for working on your blog. allows you access to most admin panel functions from a menu bar added to the top of your page when you are logged in.

4. G4B Photo Gallery

Great little gallery option for sets of photos. If you’re not into the lightbox type gallery then this is a great plugin for you.

5. Google Analyticator

Adds Google Analytics capabilities to your wordpress blog. It’s good to check your stats and see how you’re doing from time to time.

6. Google XML Sitemaps

Helps google index your page and boosts your site ranking.

7. Plugin Central

This plugin helps you manage your plugins and keep them up to date. When you have updates you can install them all with one click from the dashboard instead of having to update each individually which can be time consuming.

8. Podcasting

If you’re blog is the host of a podcast, I recommend this plugin over all the rest. It has the best features and is the easiest to use from what I could see.

9. Donate Plus

If you are trying to raise money with your blog this is a great plugin that links to your paypal account and keeps track of donations and has a recognition wall to thank the people in support of you.

10. WPtouch iPhone Theme

This is a great plugin that automatically formats your wordpress blog into a very pleasing format when viewed on an iPhone. very cool for showing people your blog when away from your computer, or reading posts on the go.

bonus: Firefox Plugin for WordPress – Zemanta

Zemanta is a firefox plugin that works along with wordpress and suggests tags and images culled from the internet based on the words you type in your posts. It allows you to add tags with and images without having to manually search for them. Great tool!