Bonestructure

Well I’m about to wrap my first Wordpress website. I wanted to create a web site my client could update themselves. They weren’t keen on the blog software idea but after reading too much before I actually did any of the work, I took the leap to figure out WP and it’s abilities as a CMS.

I think it was a wise choice for the needs of this client. The client didn’t want to have anything to do with a blog per say but so far they like what they see and they haven’t seen the backend yet. I’m happy with the choice because it’s very easy to get around the blog feel and easy to turn “off” most of it’s abilities to keep it simple and just for the client to use.

I have a long way to go to learn all the ways of Wordpress manipulation but I’m totally game to all the possibilities and just can’t wait for the next WP site I develop.

Without further ado, this is the list of plugin’s I ended up with when selfdiscover.org went live. All these developers totally deserve a piece of the measly little paycheck I will receive.

!Wartungsmodus (Maintenance Mode)

• WordPress Plugin Page
• The German author’s plugin page

I don’t know why it was so hard for me to find a good maintenace mode plugin but this was the gem when I did find it at the eleventh hour. All the logged in top level admins can see the site but for the rest it’s a simple maintenance mode screen. I used Google Translate to update the files as I need it to be in English.

Wordpress Attachment Extender

• Wordpress plugin page
• The author’s page

Half way through this project I realized there was no way to overwrite what has been uploaded to the Media Library. I thought, “what happens to all the links I’ve created when the file get’s updated. There is no way the client will fix all of them correctly.” Well this plugin seems to be the answer for now. There seems to be something fishy about this one but it works in WP 2.6.

cForms

• Wordpress plugin page
• Author’s plugin page

If this plugin was an engine it would be a V8 hands down. I still need to read the manual on this one but what grabbed me is the ability for more than one custom form. I know it can do a bunch more but I’m happy with that for starters. If all you are needing is one contact form, I would find something a whole lot simpler but for a new WP user I was able to use this right out of the box.

Events Calendar

• Wordpress plugin page
• Author’s plugin page

I’m guessing this is a standard for those out there if they don’t want the kitchen sink of calendars. I’m digging it without having purchased PHP Calendar. In would have to go back to my searches though because I vaguely remember calendars more specific to gigs. Anyhow, this one works like a charm.

Lighter Menus

• Wordpress plugin page
• Author’s plugin page
• This plugin was based off of Admin Drop Down Menu

Okay I installed this and I asked myself why doesn’t this come with the WP install. It saves so many clicks it’s stupid smart. I thought I would install this first thing on all my WP endeavors but to my surprise it didn’t work on this particular site’s theme. When the smoke clears I’m going to take the time to see if the plugin it was based off of works better. Anyhow, either one should be a base install in my book.

pageMash

• Wordpress plugin page
• Author’s plugin page

I’m not sure why I settled on this particular version of a page management plugin but when it came time to get all the pages in order as the client saw fit, PageMash came to the rescue. I wasn’t about to go through all those pages and change the order. Actually I started to but then realized I had to be crazy. I think the research to find this, install it and use it took less time that it would have to perform this in the basic out of box WP.

ShareThis

• Wordpress plugin page
• Author’s plugin page

If you are reading this list I’m sure you have to know about this plugin. I messed with a couple of personal WP install and sharing plugins on those but finally settle in on ShareThis. I’m not one for the long line of icons but I wanted something more than just a link since that can be overlooked too easily. The only issue I have with this plugin is how it is translated on the summary category or tag pages. I just haven’t looked into a solution yet but I’m sure there is one because this is an amazing plugin that has committed developers.

Post Template

• Wordpress plugin page - didn’t find one
• Author’s plugin page

I was delighted when I found this outside of the WP extend site. I use this for my daily declarations on nycbone.com. It’s just awesome in the way it saves time. I’ve been using it for so long I don’t have much to say but USE IT. Amazing find in the beginners tool box.

Quotes Collection

• Wordpress plugin page
• Author’s plugin page

Okay at this point I realize there are many randomizers of sorts out there and I’ll blog an entry about what I’ve found but for the clients needs in displaying quotes this was a gem of a find.

The Miscellaneous Others

A couple more that were perhaps too easy to use or implement but was greatful I found them:

• WPCandy’s Login Logo Plugin
• Breadcrumb NavXT (in development so soon to be a new version)

Finally, if you are still there, I have messed with a bunch of media related plugins for photos, video and the like but I haven’t slimmed my research down on those yet.

If you have any suggestions or feedback related to this list I would be delighted to hear about it since I’m a total newbie to the Wordpress game.