First 5 WordPress Fresh Install Changes Plus Plugins

If you’re new to WordPress and you’ve just setup a fresh WordPress install, you might be wondering if you should do anything else. The answer is yes. WordPress is an amazing piece of software but without plugins and other changes in settings, it’s not quite all there.

So, first thing’s first. Here are 5 things I would do right after getting WordPress installed.

1. Change the default theme (you can find tons at themes.wordpress.net and how to use/install them here)
2. Change the default permalink structure to something like “Date and name based”
3. Setup WordPress with a statistics tracker like Google Analytics - Use a plugin or install the code yourself by putting the block of code provided by Google Analytics into your footer.php file.
   
4. Make sure you have a good setup for your feeds (I use FeedBurner - Plugin provided below)
5. Make sure your ping settings are setup right (I use PingShot with FeedBurner)

Ok, so you have WordPress installed and the basics configured. You might want to add a few plugins to WordPress for added functionality. Here are the plugins I use and would recommend:

• Akismet Comment Spam Blocker - Pre-installed, just activate. (Some prefer other plugins instead of Akismet but it works for me and newbies)
• Install FeedBurner FeedSmith to redirect/manage all your feeds at FeedBurner
  
• Setup Google XML Sitemaps
• I use the All in One SEO Pack but it’s probably not a really important one if you aren’t concerned about traffic.
• Setup a way for people to share your blog posts with others. I use AddThis.com but will probably be switching to ShareThis.com which includes an option in the button to email as a way of sharing.

These are additional plugins I use but aren’t necessary unless you need them or want them on your blog.

• CformsII - Makes it easy to add a way for people to contact you through your blog.
• Commentluv - I especially like this one because I like it when other people have it on blogs I comment on. It adds a link to the last blog post the commenter had in their comment.
• Subscribe to comments - keeps you informed of comments posted after yours.
  
• WP AJAX Edit Comments - makes it quick and easy to edit comments should that ever be necessary.
• WP Grins - Now this one I love! It adds the little smiley faces to your blog which I think are great.
• WP Super Cache - this one will save you lots of bandwidth and help pages load faster.
• XHTML Video Embed - this makes it easy to embed videos into your blog.

Thats all the plugins i’m using right now but I have a few other in mind that I might be adding soon. If you’re new to WordPress these plugins can really help bring some added functionality to your blog but beware, they can also slow things down a bit if you are using far too many!

It’s a good idea to get all the little bits of your blog setup and configured before you start posting away. It could save you from having to do much more work in the future and you’ll have a better functioning website/blog.