Shameless Plugin
Over the past few weeks, I have been working with WordPress to create a new website for a client. As you may know, WordPress is an open-source Content Management System used to create and manage websites. Having a little experience with HTML and CSS, I was looking forward to getting my hands on the website.One of the most attractive features of WordPress is the expansive library of plugins that are available to users. By using plugins, users can add impressive features to their website without having to write intensive code. In my short time working with WordPress, I have found a few plugins to be particularly helpful.
Most websites will need to have simple contact forms at a minimum. When you add in memberships and donations, you can find yourself creating many forms. Luckily the popular Contact Form 7 came to the rescue. I was able to create a number of contact forms which could then be customised and placed on various pages. In conjunction with the Conditional Fields for Contact Form 7 plugin, I was able to add conditional fields to my forms. For example, a few fields would appear only if the contact was from a business.
Slider Revolution allowed me to add a snazzy carousel to the home page. However, the plugin can also add sliders and hero pages, all by dragging and dropping images. Slider Revolution helped to create an eye-catching experience for visitors to the website without much effort. To create such an effect with my current web design knowledge would have been a stretch to say the least.
As someone who wouldn't consider themselves to be much of a writer, Yoast offers help when writing posts such as this. Yoast offers guidance for Search Engine Optimisation, i.e. how to improve the visibility of your posts on search engines. You may need to use more complex sentences, or you may need to stop repeating yourself! Yoast offers clear help on how to make your posts more attractive to search engine results. This post is over the recommended minimum word count of 300, but not by much!
Default Featured Image is an excellent example of how a plugin can solve a specific problem that you need to solve. I had been asked to add a default image for every post that did not have an accompanying image. Without having to write code, I found the above plugin which did exactly that. While it may not offer many features, it does exactly what I need it to do.
As helpful as all of the previous plugins have been, they did not offer a level of control that was necessary to meet our client's specification. WP Add Custom CSS has been invaluable in creating the website. It allows users to add custom CSS across the entire site from one place. You can still use your CSS knowledge to create a consistent and responsive website.With over 50,000 plugins out there, I'm looking forward to seeing what new feature I add use next.