One of the biggest advantages of using a Content Management System like WordPress is that there are many Plug-ins available. What are Plug-ins? They are downloadable, usually free, pieces of computer code that change how WordPress works. They are easy to install and do not require you to know how to program computers. What can they do? Almost anything. Currently, there are over 4,200 of them available at WordPress.org.

Here are some of our Favorites:

#1. SpamFree. As the name might imply, this is an anti-spam feature. Whenever a new WordPress blog is created, it will eventually be found by automated tools (called “bots”) that want to fill your comments full of spam and links to the bot owner’s web site. So you end up deleting hundreds of spam comments every day. The nice thing about this Plug-in is that it just works. You install it, and the spam stops.

#2. LightBox. This Plug-in give some nice visual effects for images. If you have a lot of images on a page but are having a hard time fitting them within the main content area of the screen, this could be your answer. For an example of what this does, you can take a look at our WordPress Themes page. We’re using this plug in to show larger sized images of some of the available WordPress themes.

#3. Backup. As everyone knows, doing backups are an important part of operating a computer. If you’re using WordPress to promote your business or products, this is even more important. But how many people actually do their backups? This tool makes it easy.

#4. Twitter Tools. Twitter has been in the news a lot lately. It’s a great social networking tool and can help you in promoting your blog. This plug-in allows you to add a sidebar widget to your blog that shows your latest tweets as well as a link to your Twitter profile.

#5. Popularity Contest. This Plug-in tracks how people view your blog. It looks at how many people are reading your posts and how many comments are being written about them. Knowing what is popular on your site allows you to create more content that your readers want to see.

Obviously the list could go on a while. But these five WordPress Plug-ins are useful for just about any blog, whether it’s personal or corporate. If you have a favorite Plug-in, feel free to tell us about it. If we haven’t see it, we’ll take a look and maybe it’ll make the list next time.