==== ==== Work From Home with this FREE WordPress Instructional Kit: It can be easy to work from home if you have the right tools. This FREE set of videos and pdf's will teach you how to install a blog on WordPress, which is typically the first step in setting up your home business. Once you learn the basics of WP, you can set up any type of web page you need for your work from home business. Sign up for your FREE copy of this instructional set and start to work from home within a few days. http://vur.me/s/workfromhomeWPVideo ==== ====
WordPress was designed to make creating a professional website a cinch for the novice, but it can be a challenge figuring out what your website really needs and things you can do without. Plugins are a great place to start when trying to give your website that WOW factor. By definition, a plugin is a program or set of functions, written in PHP scripting language that adds specific features or services to a Wordpress site or blog. Plug-ins can make your WordPress website do almost anything you can possibly imagine. There are tons of plugins out there and as a starting point, I thought I would share my top five favorite plugin types that every WordPress website or blog should have. Analytics - Are you tracking your website stats? Google Analytics is a great plug-in to start with. You should be tracking your site visits to see where your traffic is coming from, what are people reading on your site, how long they are staying on each page and what keywords they are using to find you. Staying on top of your traffic will help you uncover things like which marketing campaigns are working for you, which ones you need to scrap and even if you are reaching out to the right audience. Spam Filters - Everyone hates spam! Adding a spam blocker plug-in can help you eliminate unwanted comments and trackbacks. Some recommendations are Askimet and SI Captcha Antispam. Data Backup - I cannot stress enough the importance of backing up your website and blog content. Can you imagine how it would feel to lose all of your hard work and having to rebuild without a road map? The plugin I recommend for your data backup is called WordPress Data Backup. Sitemaps - Sitemaps are a great way to increase your search engine ranking. They easily list your pages making them accessible to crawlers. Be sure to check out Google XML Sitemaps and Sitemap. Bookmarks - With the tremendous growth of social media, you want to make it as easy as possible for your readers to share your message. Adding bookmarks makes content sharing as simple as the click of a button. My favorite bookmark plugins are SexyBookmarks and Simple Social Bookmarks.
The plugin information shared in this article are just a few of my personal preferences, there are many others that will get the job done. The important things to look for when choosing your plugins are: · How well is it rated among other WordPress users? · Is it compatible with your version of WordPress? · How many times has it been downloaded?
Trena Stubbs is the founder of Apex Virtual Academy. WordPress is a wonderful platform to use to build your small business website. AVA has tons of great free resources and courses for anyone looking to become a skilled WordPress user. http://www.thevirtualassistantschool.com
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==== ==== Work From Home with this FREE WordPress Instructional Kit: It can be easy to work from home if you have the right tools. This FREE set of videos and pdf's will teach you how to install a blog on WordPress, which is typically the first step in setting up your home business. Once you learn the basics of WP, you can set up any type of web page you need for your work from home business. Sign up for your FREE copy of this instructional set and start to work from home within a few days. http://vur.me/s/workfromhomeWPVideo ==== ====