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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.
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
