Three WordPress Plugins I can't live Without!

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Imagine WordPress without plugins for a second, no really. Imagine having to do all the work you have done or are doing without the use of plugins..........

OK enough, I know, that was scary and that brings me to my post about the Three Plugins for WordPress I can't live Without.

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My Favorite WordPress Image Plugin:

"Meteor Slides" is probably my favorite plugin for WordPress. I create a variety of images in different widths and heights, I need different size slides or sliders for different pages and Meteor Slides provides that ability for me. They also do it "responsively" to coin the phrase. Their image sliders are responsive and adjust to the different screen formats on all the popular devices. When I first started using WordPress, I downloaded, installed and used a plugin for my image sliders that was not responsive although my Theme was.

I didn't notice it right away but it was brought to my attention rather soon. this is when I really started to understand the whole "responsive" thing, the web design practice, not the responsiveness of the plugin I'm talking about or the "Responsive Theme from ThemeID that I happen to love and use, but the responsive design practice that involves coding a website to adjust within the  users browser and to the aspect ratio and size of the screen.

Once I made the connection I started making sure that my plugins were "responsive" and would not break the constraints of my responsive theme. So far I have created many slideshows of different sizes and features. It is great for the main slider or home page slider and I like the different navigation options it offers for the viewer to control the slideshow or not. Since images are so much a part of every website, I definitely install this plugin soon after my installation and setup of WordPress. Check out the developer of Meteor Slides Josh Leuze

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My Favorite WordPress Sidebar Plugins:

I have to say with out a doubt that the "Sidebars & Widgets Manager Plugin" for WordPress is among my favorite plugins that I use to enhance WordPress! I love how versatile it is and the fact that I can create as many widgets as I need to make developing more simple. For instance, I have a widget for my Google AdSense Skyscraper Ad, I have a widget for my Google 336x280 Ad etc.

The code for these ad's or anything else I frequently use is already inside these widgets and they are ready to go. Whenever I need an Ad placement I just paste in the shortcode for that widget and the ad is there! This is very convenient for me during layout and placement and I don't care what Theme I am working on I install this plugin for sure.

It was created by OTWthemes.com and they have put some good thought into this one. There is a free version to start with but you will want the full version once you see how powerful it is.  You can also create horizontal widgets and assign widgets within widgets on every page or posts or just a select few or one. I couldn't use WordPress without a widget tool of some sort.

All of the code, scripts, javascript, php and so on that we have to implement within the theme interface to enhance our pages requires some kind of container or method of controlling where the code shows up and that is where this plugin saves the day.

To take FULL control over my Sidebars and Widgets, I installed another plugin on top of the Sidebars & Widgets Manager called "Custom Sidebars". This gives me total control and manipulation of my sidebars and widgets. I can show whichever sidebar I want on whichever page and replace the default sidebars in the widget area.

If I want a sidebar to show up on just the contact page, no problem, on each page or post editor you have the added option of choosing your "sidebar" for that page or post! Together, both sidebar plugins give me the versatility I need when planning a layout and placement of content. For more on Custom Sidebars, click here Javier Marquez.

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My Favorite WordPress Tools Plugin:

To round off my top WordPress Plugins selection is the "Black Studio TinyMCE Widget". Without this plugin I would not be using WordPress. I would just go back to creating websites in Dreamweaver. This plugin gives me the same editing controls and tools I use when editing a page or post right in front of me while editing the contents of my widgets! . And it allows me to add or remove tools I don't use or need based on demand. It reminds me of the tool options in Dreamweaver or Microsoft Word. The icons are right there and easy to access.

I can't even mention how many times I've used this plugin. It gives me the option of adding images or video to widgets. I can add formatting and paste in html in the HTML editor of the Black Studio TinyMCE Widget. I can do everything I can do to a page or post inside my Widgets and this makes for endless possibilities for Widgets in essence.

It's not just a box anymore with the standard Arbitrary Text and HTML Widget that comes with most themes. I have used this plugin to add video and images inside any widget I want. These developers were inside the minds of the blogger when it all began. Adding the text editing and media options in a "ribbon" is what every web design software package has, why not WordPress?

Some plugins even install their quick launch button inside the Black Studio TinyMCE Widget to make access easy. I haven't had any problems with this or any of the plugins I have mentioned. I know their are some who experience issues with plugin compatibility and conflict. That it is all dependent on what setup a person has, what theme and plugin combination they are using etc. Therefore in my opinion it can't be blamed on any one plugin baring a defect in the plugin. More on Black Studio here Black Studio
We all have to find that right combination of themes and plugins to give us what we want. To me thats where the fun is!


Written by
Allan Whitney
Owner/Administrator
MindVisionMedia.net