We design a lot of web sites using WordPress so our clients can update content of the site without calling us. Just like any other website, though, one WordPress site might require different features than another. Often, you’ll luck out and find a WordPress Plugin that is free and has already been programmed to function the way you want it to. This might include installing a contact form for web visitors to fill out, or adding a slideshow of photos to a page.

There are a lot of WordPress Plugins we love and use frequently. Here are 5:

1. Contact From 7: Studies show 50% of web users like to actively use contact info on a page (to call or find you), and 50% of users are more passive and prefer to fill out a contact form. Unless you know how to code using PHP, and install a PHP plugin, it might be difficult to allow users to fill out a form on your site. Contact Form 7 solves this problem! It’s a contact form that is simple but flexible. Other programmers have added plugins to expand this plugin, making it even more robust.

2. Link Within: This plugin does not work with all themes, but when it does it keeps readers engaged and increases traffic by putting links to additional posts from your blog’s archives under a post. It’s a great way to expose new readers to old posts they might not otherwise read.

3. Add to Any: Lets readers share, bookmark, and email your posts and pages using  Facebook, Twitter, Google Buzz, Digg, Delicious, and well over 100 more sharing and social bookmarking sites. Also includes a Facebook Like Button and Twitter Tweet Button. You need to test this out though, and make sure it plays nice with your theme on both Posts and Pages before using it.

4. Content Slide Plugin: Create a customizable slideshow anywhere on your WordPress site with rotating images.

5. Embed iFrame: Easily embed bits of code that is typically shared within an iframe, such as a Google Map or Youtube video. WordPress can’t handle these items correctly without a plugin. They might seem like they are working at first, but when you go back to edit the post or page they disappear. This plugin helps you avoid that with one tiny line of code.

If you are looking to solve a functionality problem of your WordPress site, contact us – we might just know about the plugin you don’t even know you’re missing! We’ve also designed custom plugins to manage databases of baseball players, price items in a shopping cart based on dimensions, and track which shoes a runner wore for how much mileage… Every website we create opens up a new world to us, and we’re ready to use our skills to help you today!