One of the things that first attracted me to WordPress was the fact that I could use plugins. It’s pretty awesome that even if you don’t know anything about jQuery, JavaScript, or other fancy coding languages, you can still use professional features on your blog. When used thoughtfully, WordPress plugins can make a website extremely user friendly and generate a bunch of traffic as well.
1. Font Awesome Icons. These are icons that you can use on websites or in Photoshop that are actually font-based. While you can use them on any platform, WordPress has a plugin that makes it really easy to display these icons throughout your site. I love having font-based icons because they’re super clean, never fuzzy, and you can change up their colors on a whim without uploading images. Check out the Font Awesome Cheatsheet here.
2. Sharing Plugin from Jetpack. This is an option that you can find within the Jetpack plugin (which I highly recommend exploring). We finally added these share buttons to our posts this week! I think this is the best sharing plugin because it includes several social options and with a little CSS, it can blend in perfectly with your brand.
3. Pinterest RSS Widget. This is the cleanest Pinterest widget I’ve come across yet. I appreciate how it can blend in with almost any brand without looking out of place or distracting. Formatting this widget requires a little CSS sometimes, but not much. Take a look at our sidebar to see how we use this plugin!
4. jQuery Pin It Button for Images. This plugin allows you to add and customize a Pin It button that will appear when people hover over your images. You can keep it simple with a text-only style or you can get more decorative and upload a graphic. It’s an amazing way to get your photos pinned and it also adds something interesting to your design.
5. Recent Tweets Widget. We don’t currently use this plugin but love how simple it is! It displays your tweets in a list with that little bird icon and no extra frills (unless you want them). If we end up using a Twitter plugin in the future, it’ll probably be this one.
6. Instafeed. Here is another plugin that we don’t currently use but have tested and really like! The photos link directly to Instagram which is a great alternative to Snapwidget (although their layout options are amazing). The thumbnails on Instafeed will automatically appear in a vertical list, but you can use a little CSS float:left; action to get them to into a grid.
Let’s keep this list growing! Add any of your favorite WordPress social media plugins in the comments. :)
Maritza says
Thank you so much for these, Jennifer! I’m particularly interested in the Jetpack Sharing buttons… Can you write a post on this and show us how to customize it with css? Thanks again!
Jennifer says
That’s a great idea! I’ll totally write a post on how to customize them. :)
Gina says
These are so helpful! I’m slowly building up my knowledge of WP plugins, so these will definitely come in handy!
Natalie says
Try Alpine grid for Instagram and Pinterest. Those plugins are pretty awesome!
Jennifer says
Thanks Natalie! We’ll definitely try them out. :)
Taylr J says
This was so helpful! Thanks for sharing x
Lola Noir says
Thanks for this post! I’m always looking for ways to make my blog prettier and more accessible so these suggestions help!
Tash Thomas says
This was a really useful post! I’m going to check some of these out later today!
Saurabh says
Hi,
Thanks for introducing these awesome plugins for WordPress, will surely try these plugin on my blog
Great Post Indeed, Thank you
Heathers Heaven says
thanks im totally going to check out the last one!
Jeff Daigle says
I use WordPress Social Sharing Optimization (WPSSO) on all my client’s sites and on my own as well, along with their sharing buttons add-on, WPSSO Ridiculously Responsive Social Sharing Buttons (WPSSO RRSSB). Together they let you optimize your content for sharing on every social network. The Pro version lets you set a special image for Pinterest so you don’t have to include a giant pinnable image on every page. I also like NextScript’s Social Network Auto Poster (SNAP) that lets you automatically share your posts on social media. The Pro version will even auto-post to Instagram.