WordPress Plugins for Content Management
Plugins are little snippets of code that add functionality to your site. WordPress has a very generous community of supporters that create these plugins and there are several that help WordPress function as a content management system. I am going to list the ones I found most useful.
Widget Logic – This plugin puts sidebar items on selected pages using WordPress conditional tags. I used this to add contact information, graphics in the sidebar, and links, all the while controlling which page the information appeared on.
My Page Order – Allows you to order the pages in your navigation bar using a drag and drop method – much easier than using the WordPress numbering system.
Page Links To – Great plugin that adds a page to your navigation bar and points to an external page. Before I added this plugin, I hard coded my navigation into the header file. Using this plugin, I can have users add pages to the website without giving them access to the header file. This plugin is also good if you want to have a page under more than one navigation heading. For example, I did a school site and wanted “Forms and Manuals” under several headings and was able to add it easily with this plugin.
WP Print – Plugin that adds a Print link to the bottom of each page. When selected, it shows a preview of the page to be printed.
WP Sticky – Keeps a sticky post at the top of your blog
Site Map Generator by Dagon – Site map generator that adds a site map of all my pages. I was able to add the code to a page and have a site map for my web site.
Next Gen Gallery – Added a slide show to the front page of my site. It is easy for users to add photos and keep the slide show updated. Next Gen also works with wp Paypal shopping cart plugin to add paypal buttons to your gallery – look at the tutorials at Tips and Tricks to see how to integrate the plugin. You can turn your WordPress site into a store!
Google Custom Search – I added this to my header file and it does a great job searching my site.
Askimet – No more SPAM!
