What are your Top 5 'MUST-INSTALL' Wordpress plugins?

39 replies
I've just updated one of my WP blogs to the latest version and I'm seeing a lot of new plugins available for download in the dashboard.

Old ones that worked wonderfully, aren't functioning properly (all-in-one-seo pack is one of them ) I haven't got the time to test every plugin available so I'm looking for some help here.

Appreciate any recommendations of Wordpress plugins (paid or free) that are a MUST-HAVE and it would be great to hear your experience using it.

Thanks again!
#mustinstall #plugins #top #wordpress
  • Profile picture of the author JCamp
    Im starting to use Platinum SEO instead of all-in-one-seo, it seems to be the best alternative
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  • Profile picture of the author SwiftBlog
    all in one seo

    contact form 7

    seopressor

    google xml sitemaps

    wp cache plugin (forget name)
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    • Profile picture of the author joshcoffy
      Originally Posted by SwiftBlog View Post

      all in one seo

      contact form 7

      seopressor

      google xml sitemaps

      wp cache plugin (forget name)
      It's called WP supercache!
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    • Profile picture of the author philvandermeer
      I have been considering SEOPressor for awhile, but wonder how good it really is. If someone who uses it can say in a few words how good it is, I'd appreciate it very much.

      On another note about All-In-One_SEO-Pack, when I updated my WP theme my All-In-One_SEO-Pack stopped working (without knowing it) until I found in my theme admin area under "advanced options" then "site options" - under "SEO tags" there is a checkbox that I needed to check to allow All-In-One SEO to work. When I discovered it and checked it, my traffic almost doubled back within a day. My theme on that site is Weaver.

      I bet someone else has experienced this built-in stumbling block?

      Cheers,

      Philvandermeer
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  • Profile picture of the author Michael Meaney
    Akismet

    TDO Mini forms

    Cross linker

    Limit Login Attempts

    Security Scan

    Anti Virus

    Super Cache

    DBManager

    Uh did you say 5?
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    • Profile picture of the author Sherry Driedger
      Originally Posted by Mick Meaney View Post

      Akismet

      TDO Mini forms

      Cross linker

      Limit Login Attempts

      Security Scan

      Anti Virus

      Super Cache

      DBManager

      Uh did you say 5?
      The Limit Login Attempts plugin is a must on all of my WordPress blogs. Over the last few months I have seen two of my WordPress blogs receive numerous lockouts from the same IP addresses trying to force the admin login. I even blogged about it on one of the sites. Lol, just goes to show these folks don't read the site material. But seriously, start with changing the admin login id for a WordPress site and then use "admin" as its nickname, as this is the id that is most frequently attacked. I do this with all logins wherever possible. LLA can notify you of a failed login, which if you are the only person who should be logging in, raises a red flag. If you have members who are locked out, you will also have that notification so that you can help them out. Since I am the only one who should be logging into those sites and I never use the admin login, it is pretty obvious what is happening. I can then use the Deny IP option in my cPanel to block that IP on all of my hosted sites. It takes a while, but eventually they give up. Take care with blocking IPs though as it may block people you do want as visitors. I only block the single IP address for that reason.
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      • Profile picture of the author patricialin
        Hey Sherry,

        Yup, wordpress blog security is something that a lot of people overlook. I would definitely check out the plugin soon.

        Originally Posted by Sherry Driedger View Post

        The Limit Login Attempts plugin is a must on all of my WordPress blogs. Over the last few months I have seen two of my WordPress blogs receive numerous lockouts from the same IP addresses trying to force the admin login. I even blogged about it on one of the sites. Lol, just goes to show these folks don't read the site material. But seriously, start with changing the admin login id for a WordPress site and then use "admin" as its nickname, as this is the id that is most frequently attacked. I do this with all logins wherever possible. LLA can notify you of a failed login, which if you are the only person who should be logging in, raises a red flag. If you have members who are locked out, you will also have that notification so that you can help them out. Since I am the only one who should be logging into those sites and I never use the admin login, it is pretty obvious what is happening. I can then use the Deny IP option in my cPanel to block that IP on all of my hosted sites. It takes a while, but eventually they give up. Take care with blocking IPs though as it may block people you do want as visitors. I only block the single IP address for that reason.
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    • Profile picture of the author patricialin
      Hey Mick!

      Haha.. Yep, I said 5 but the more the merrier! Thanks for your input!

      Originally Posted by Mick Meaney View Post

      Akismet

      TDO Mini forms

      Cross linker

      Limit Login Attempts

      Security Scan

      Anti Virus

      Super Cache

      DBManager

      Uh did you say 5?
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  • Profile picture of the author campers
    The first 5 I would have to go with
    Wordpress SEO
    SEO SearchTerms Tagging 2
    WordPress Hashcash
    BackupBuddy
    cforms
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  • Profile picture of the author Dustin Goode
    I like to use:

    Platinum SEO

    Contact form 7 widget

    wp cache plugin
    Signature

    -Dustin

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  • Profile picture of the author ~kev~
    I only use 2 wordpress plugins:

    Script enabler - to enable certain scripts in post.

    Light box effect for images
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  • Profile picture of the author mandom
    Auto SEO Tags
    SEO Smart Links
    Quick Adsense
    Yet Another Related Post

    These go on almost all sites I have. I use others, but they're generally mentioned by other people.
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  • Profile picture of the author Vlad Bacioiu
    a few of my "must have" plugins for most of my Wordpress installs are :

    WordPress › WordPress Plugins - stops your wordpress site from over pinging. Wordpress Default is to ping on new post or page AND when you edit a new post or page, not good if you edit a lot of past posts or pages so this plugin will only Ping on a new post or page.

    WordPress › Featured Content Gallery « WordPress Plugins plugin creates an automated, fully customizable rotating image gallery anywhere within your WordPress site. Choose your images and display categories, pages or posts with custom overlay text and a thumbnail carousel. This one makes any wordpress site look professional!

    Yea, more than top 5 must install !
    Thanks

    StatPress Reload - Shows real time stats about your blog: Dodge this! » WP Plugins

    another great list here :
    WordPress › All in One SEO Pack « WordPress Plugins
    WordPress › All in One Adsense and YPN « WordPress Plugins
    WordPress › StatCounter - Free Real Time Visitor Stats « WordPress Plugins
    WordPress › Easy Privacy Policy « WordPress Plugins
    WordPress › Akismet « WordPress Plugins
    WordPress › WP Security Scan « WordPress Plugins
    http://bloggingdiary.com/wordpress-popular-posts It's a sidebar widget
    Wordpress Plugin : Admin Drop Down Menu « planetOzh
    Signature
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  • Profile picture of the author joshcoffy
    plugins that I couldn't live without:

    1. Akismet

    If you have been blogging for a while, you should have realized by now, that the amount of spam you get on a daily basis is just RIDICULOUS! Akismet takes care of all those spammy comments that nobody likes!

    2. All-In-One SEO Pack

    Everybody knows that SEO will account for a large sum of your traffic if you do it right! This plugin allows you to choose the title, description, tags, and keywords that will show up in all the search engines and the links you post to it! (Great for trying to rank for certain keywords.)

    3. Broken-Links Remover

    I'm sure we have all had to deal with faulty links.. B.L.R. will immediately find all the broken links on your site so that you don't have to go through an manually click through them to see if they work. (The more time saved, the better!)

    4. Cbnet Ping Optimizer

    If you don't know what a "ping" is, it is simply an update or message that is sent to search engines so that they can send their "bots" to index your new content!

    As bloggers, we are constantly updating our blogs and changing things--which sends out TONS of pings to search engines. When too many are sent, search engines will see it as spamming just so you can get your site indexed. This handy tool monitors your pings and makes them appear not nearly as spammy to the search engines!

    Definitely a "must" to making your blog SEXY!

    5. Commentluv

    Enabling comments is something that EVERY blogger absolutely needs on their site. This nifty comment box uses one of the most attractive comment systems I have ever seen and also allows people to leave a link to their last post. (Which encourages people to comment even more on your posts!)

    Definitely something that every blogger should have to make their blog sexy!

    6. Comment Redirect

    Simply stated! This plugin will redirect everyone that leaves their FIRST comment on your site to a page of your choosing! Making it nice for a thank-you page.

    7. Exclude Pages From Navigation

    This tool often comes in handy when you want to create pages that you don't want the general visitors on your site to view! (Such as bootcamp video pages, trainings for people that have opted into your list, etc.)

    When using this, excluded pages will only be accessible through direct URL!

    Definitely sexy to have if you are looking to create your own boot-camp or trainings! (Like my Twitter Boot-camp above!)

    8. Facebook Share

    This plugin allows you to display a "share" button on every one of your posts and pages. This allows people to easily share your content or pages with all of their Facebook friends! (Helps get your stuff viral!)

    I absolutely cannot do without this sexy Facebook button!

    9. Fast Secure Contact Form

    If you ever want people to contact you directly with any questions, concerns, or anything of that matter, this is something you need to have. Not only does it allow them to contact you, but it gives them a sense of security to know that you have a contact page. (Don't ask me why, people just feel more secure when they see one!)

    Definitely essential to your plugins list!

    10. Google XML Sitemaps

    This SEO tool will help Google, Yahoo, Bing, Etc. index your blog even quicker. (The faster the indexing, the better!)

    11. Related Posts Thumbnail

    Keeping people on your blog is a common goal of every successful blogger. This awesome tool will display other posts you have written below each article. (So below each article you will see a list of posts that are related to that article!) Therefore, keeping people surfing your site longer!

    12. Reply Me

    When somebody leaves a comment on one of your pages or posts, there will be a little box that they can "check" to keep them notified by email for whenever their comment is replied to. This will ONLY notify them when their comment is replied to. Not everyone else that comments AFTER them! (Like most notification boxes do!)

    This will contribute to your comment box's sexy look!

    13. Sexybookmarks (By Shareaholic)

    This lovely tool will enable a bar below all of your posts and pages for people for people to "share" on their social networking sites! (Such as Facebook, Twitter, Gmail, etc.)

    Like the name says! This is a very SEXY tool to use! It makes your blog look nicer and allows you to get more viral exposure!

    14. Thank Me Later

    This sends out an automated "thank you" message that you create to all the people that leave comments on your blog--ultimately bringing them back for more!

    15. Topsy Re-Tweet Button

    This button will allow people to re-tweet your content to their Twitter account. (Creating MORE syndication! Hurray!)

    This tool is absolutely something EVERY blogger should have to keep their content going viral! Sexy!

    There you go!

    These are 15 plugins that I use EVERY single day to drive traffic, generate leads, keep people on my site, and keep them coming back for more!

    Hope that helps!
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    • Profile picture of the author patricialin
      Wow!

      Thanks for such a comprehensive list! I asked for 5 and I got 15 from you!

      Definitely going to try out the list of plugins to make my blog real SEXY


      Originally Posted by joshcoffy View Post

      plugins that I couldn't live without:

      1. Akismet

      If you have been blogging for a while, you should have realized by now, that the amount of spam you get on a daily basis is just RIDICULOUS! Akismet takes care of all those spammy comments that nobody likes!

      2. All-In-One SEO Pack

      Everybody knows that SEO will account for a large sum of your traffic if you do it right! This plugin allows you to choose the title, description, tags, and keywords that will show up in all the search engines and the links you post to it! (Great for trying to rank for certain keywords.)

      3. Broken-Links Remover

      I'm sure we have all had to deal with faulty links.. B.L.R. will immediately find all the broken links on your site so that you don't have to go through an manually click through them to see if they work. (The more time saved, the better!)

      4. Cbnet Ping Optimizer

      If you don't know what a "ping" is, it is simply an update or message that is sent to search engines so that they can send their "bots" to index your new content!

      As bloggers, we are constantly updating our blogs and changing things--which sends out TONS of pings to search engines. When too many are sent, search engines will see it as spamming just so you can get your site indexed. This handy tool monitors your pings and makes them appear not nearly as spammy to the search engines!

      Definitely a "must" to making your blog SEXY!

      5. Commentluv

      Enabling comments is something that EVERY blogger absolutely needs on their site. This nifty comment box uses one of the most attractive comment systems I have ever seen and also allows people to leave a link to their last post. (Which encourages people to comment even more on your posts!)

      Definitely something that every blogger should have to make their blog sexy!

      6. Comment Redirect

      Simply stated! This plugin will redirect everyone that leaves their FIRST comment on your site to a page of your choosing! Making it nice for a thank-you page.

      7. Exclude Pages From Navigation

      This tool often comes in handy when you want to create pages that you don't want the general visitors on your site to view! (Such as bootcamp video pages, trainings for people that have opted into your list, etc.)

      When using this, excluded pages will only be accessible through direct URL!

      Definitely sexy to have if you are looking to create your own boot-camp or trainings! (Like my Twitter Boot-camp above!)

      8. Facebook Share

      This plugin allows you to display a "share" button on every one of your posts and pages. This allows people to easily share your content or pages with all of their Facebook friends! (Helps get your stuff viral!)

      I absolutely cannot do without this sexy Facebook button!

      9. Fast Secure Contact Form

      If you ever want people to contact you directly with any questions, concerns, or anything of that matter, this is something you need to have. Not only does it allow them to contact you, but it gives them a sense of security to know that you have a contact page. (Don't ask me why, people just feel more secure when they see one!)

      Definitely essential to your plugins list!

      10. Google XML Sitemaps

      This SEO tool will help Google, Yahoo, Bing, Etc. index your blog even quicker. (The faster the indexing, the better!)

      11. Related Posts Thumbnail

      Keeping people on your blog is a common goal of every successful blogger. This awesome tool will display other posts you have written below each article. (So below each article you will see a list of posts that are related to that article!) Therefore, keeping people surfing your site longer!

      12. Reply Me

      When somebody leaves a comment on one of your pages or posts, there will be a little box that they can "check" to keep them notified by email for whenever their comment is replied to. This will ONLY notify them when their comment is replied to. Not everyone else that comments AFTER them! (Like most notification boxes do!)

      This will contribute to your comment box's sexy look!

      13. Sexybookmarks (By Shareaholic)

      This lovely tool will enable a bar below all of your posts and pages for people for people to "share" on their social networking sites! (Such as Facebook, Twitter, Gmail, etc.)

      Like the name says! This is a very SEXY tool to use! It makes your blog look nicer and allows you to get more viral exposure!

      14. Thank Me Later

      This sends out an automated "thank you" message that you create to all the people that leave comments on your blog--ultimately bringing them back for more!

      15. Topsy Re-Tweet Button

      This button will allow people to re-tweet your content to their Twitter account. (Creating MORE syndication! Hurray!)

      This tool is absolutely something EVERY blogger should have to keep their content going viral! Sexy!

      There you go!

      These are 15 plugins that I use EVERY single day to drive traffic, generate leads, keep people on my site, and keep them coming back for more!

      Hope that helps!
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  • Profile picture of the author michaelcorvin
    1. SEO Pressor
    2. Easy Video Player
    3. Sexy Bookmarks
    4. Akismet
    5. Exit Viral

    Michael
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    • Profile picture of the author dshipman
      Why isn't the All in One SEO pack working correctly? I haven't noticed anything strange.
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  • Profile picture of the author imback
    All in one SEO


    CHAD
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  • Profile picture of the author Christian Little
    W3 Total Cache - stops wordpress from running a stupid amount of mysql queries (which can put a high load on a server and slow your site down if you have a lot of traffic). It's an extremely well done plugin.

    All in One SEO Pack - I think this is the best seo plugin. There are others, but I've been using this once for years and love it.

    Google XML Sitemaps - generates a google XML sitemap.

    Light Social - adds a small row of icons at the bottom of blog posts for people to social bookmark your posts on a dozen of the major social sites. Very small an unobtrusive.

    Revision Control - lets you force wordpress to only keep a small handful of revisions. In case you don't know, every time you update a page or post in wordpress, it creates a copy of it in the database. So if you update a post 10 times, it will create 10 copies of it in the database. This plugin stops your database from growing out of control.

    Search Meter - I just found this one a few weeks ago. It gives you a nice little report that shows you what people are searching for on your site. So every time somebody does a search on your site this plugin tracks it. Helps you identify if your visitors are looking for something specific.

    SEO Rank Reporter - Keeps a record of all organic search keywords used to reach your site, and you can specify additional keywords. It tracks them all over time as well. It's not great, but it's definately a handy little plugin.
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  • Profile picture of the author Lucas Adamski
    I would go with all in one seo, sexy bookmarks, seopressor, disqus
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  • Profile picture of the author SebastianJ
    I typically use:

    All in one SEO pack
    Google XML Sitemaps
    Yet Another Related Posts Plugin
    WP Super Cache
    ShareThis
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    • Profile picture of the author Mariahn99
      [DELETED]
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      • Profile picture of the author KellyG
        My favorites are:

        Akismet - though I don't tend to think of this one anymore because it comes auto-installed when I set up a new wp site w/Dreamhost

        WordPress-Database-BackUp (wp-db-bu) I'm surprised more people have mentioned db backup plug-ins. Usually one of the first plug-ins I install. It emails me a backup of each database weekly.

        cbnet Ping Optimizer

        Platinum SEO pack - I'm a recent convert from all-in-one SEO

        Google XML Sitemaps

        All of the above are old favorites that I've used in some form or another for years now. Recently I've also started using these 2 on all of my WP installations:

        + Easy Privacy Policy
        + Contact Form 7

        They not tried-and-true favorites yet, but they are working their way up the list.
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  • Profile picture of the author danoctav
    1.Platinum SEO
    2.XML-Sitemap
    3.Sexy Bookmarks
    4.Yet Another Related Posts Plugin
    5.cbnet Ping Optimizer
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  • Profile picture of the author Dee Odus
    ALL IN ONE SEO - to optimize your blog search engines

    CONTACT FORM 7 - Easiest way to add contact form to your blog, usually the first plugin i install

    SEOPRESSOR & Other variants - to optimize the post for better SEO

    SEXY BOOKMARKS - Makes it easy for other to share your blog posts

    GOOGLE ANALYTICS - Helps with important metrics...
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  • Profile picture of the author ladymd
    Great tips on this thread. Previously I only considered a few seo ones and add this. Now I have a lot of great options. Thanks!
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  • Profile picture of the author Kezz
    IMO the first plugins you install should always be about security, performance, spam blocking and SEO.

    From there you can enhance usability and personalize your site setup, but the really important thing is a solid foundation.

    So to that end, my top 5 are:


    Secure WordPress

    http://downloads.wordpress.org/plugi...-wordpress.zip

    Automatically takes care of plugging a range of security holes in WP.


    BulletProof Security

    http://downloads.wordpress.org/plugi...ity.0.46.3.zip

    Automatically takes care of even more security hole plugging. Between this plugin and the one above you've already zipped up security quite tightly.


    Semisecure Login

    http://downloads.wordpress.org/plugi...reimagined.zip

    Protects against hackers getting in via your login form.


    Bad Behaviour

    http://downloads.wordpress.org/plugi...ior.2.0.43.zip

    Protects against spammers and hence keeps your site running clean and fast.


    PC Robots.txt

    http://downloads.wordpress.org/plugin/pc-robotstxt.zip

    Protects against spammers even further by blacklisting a stack of known spambots. Also gets most of your robots.txt file written automatically.



    So those five are brilliant for enhancing security, spam blocking and performance.

    But there's still a few more essentials for SEO and to take performance to an even higher level. So also on the "MUST" list for me are:


    Robots Meta

    http://downloads.wordpress.org/plugi...meta.3.3.1.zip

    Handles creation of robots meta tags throughout your site.


    Quick Cache

    http://downloads.wordpress.org/plugi...che.110523.zip

    My choice of caching plugin. Works out of the box with multisite / networks. Works with s2member. Has a handy "Clear cache" button.


    Google Sitemap Generator

    http://downloads.wordpress.org/plugi...ator.3.2.4.zip

    Generates your Google ready XML sitemap - a must have. You need the multisite version if you run a network.


    All-In-One SEO

    http://downloads.wordpress.org/plugi...e-seo-pack.zip

    I try other SEO plugins now and then but I just keep coming back to this one every time.



    And then finally, I also always install TinyMCE Advanced and set it to stop WordPress from messing up my page breaks all the time. I also set it to allow iframes in posts so I can embed videos easily.

    http://downloads.wordpress.org/plugi...ed.3.3.9.2.zip


    There's other steps you have to take to really make sure your site is as watertight as possible, but those plugins are a significant part of the whole process.
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  • Profile picture of the author gtlovesellipsis
    1. piwik plugin for my own analytics
    2. ad manager to manage my own ads
    3. column plugin to create column functionality
    4. poll plugin for adding polls
    5. captcha plugin to trap bot submissions
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  • Profile picture of the author BlairBarnes
    All in one SEO (mine is working fine)
    Share this
    XML Sitemaps
    Dragon Design Sitemap Generator ( I put the XML sitemap into this)
    ad manager (for selling adspace)
    tweetable (auto posts your posts to your twitter)

    A Note On Sexy Bookmarks (this was my personal experience) I found that my page rank increased when I switched from sexy bookmarks to Share This(its the little green box that has all the sharing options). What I found was that the sexy bookmarks was transferring a lot of my link juice off of my home page. I used the free SEO Doctor plugin on firefox to determine this. SEO Doctor is great and I would recommend it to everybody if you don't have it. It will evaluate any page you look at for SEO purposes.
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    • Profile picture of the author jlandells
      Originally Posted by BlairBarnes View Post

      A Note On Sexy Bookmarks (this was my personal experience) I found that my page rank increased when I switched from sexy bookmarks to Share This(its the little green box that has all the sharing options).
      Thanks for the great tip - ShareThis looks cleaner, too!

      -John.
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      • Profile picture of the author BlairBarnes
        Originally Posted by jlandells View Post

        Thanks for the great tip - ShareThis looks cleaner, too!

        -John.
        No Problem! Yah I really like the look of Share This, Sexy Bookmarks is really cool looking too though...but for reasons only google knows, my rankings are better without em..
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  • Profile picture of the author joekoffi
    If you think of generating more income from your blog, I recommend CashDonator Generate more income from your blog with CashDonator!
    Signature
    Affiliate Marketing For Bloggers, Revealing unknown killer Affiliate Marketing tricks for Bloggers. Special Discount: WF17
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  • Profile picture of the author nawshale
    Quick Cache

    POll Plugin

    Contact Form 7

    Facebook Share

    Google Analytics

    Tweet Meme

    Captcha

    Secure Wordpress

    C:
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