Too many plugins, what to cut?

29 replies
I'm getting started with WordPress plugins. Now I've got too many...

What would you remove - either because it is duplicate or unnecessary?

My goal is to built a lot of microsites into a network of sites that will rank well for SEO. Each will be on a different topic, with a few pages added each week. They're not going to be receiving comments - purely for content.

Google XML SitemapsPlatinum SEO PluginSEO Smart LinksSEO Friendly ImagesSEO SlugsHeadSpace: WordPress SEO Made SimpleAutomatic LinksSEO Title TagAll in One SEOPinglerShare ThisSimple TagsRobots MetaWP Cumulus - floating tagWP-DBManager Feedburner CirculationWidget ContextWP-StatsWP Page-NaviWP-Super-Cache Gravity Forms Akismet Simple AdSense Google Analytics fοr WordPressSociableContact Form 7 Max Blog Press Ping Optimizer


---- Thanks
#cut #plugins
  • Profile picture of the author A P Geofrey
    First of all I can see that you have a lot of SEO plugins. I don't think you need all of that. One or two will probably do the you are looking forward to. It is not by having a hundred same category plugins that makes your site efficient in that respect, but how good you use a given plugin is. So I would advice you to start by cutting on the SEO plugins you have a stick a with a few and optimize it.
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  • Profile picture of the author jasonmorgan
    Ditch all of 'em except maybe two or three. That is a load of plugin crap you'll never need and never use.
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  • Profile picture of the author Abledragon
    You need to use as few plugins as possible.

    If you're not using a Premium theme then you probably need 1 all round SEO plugin (all-in-one-SEO or Platinum SEO - and don't bother if your theme offers SEO settings), Google Sitemap Generator, a backup plugin (WP-DBManager or similar) and spam protection (Akismet and/or Bad Behaviour).

    Start with those and then only add plugins that bring a measurable benefit.

    The cost is always going to be reduced performance and higher potential for things to go wrong every time you add a plugin.

    Cheers,

    Martin.
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  • Profile picture of the author Istvan Horvath
    All of them.
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    • Profile picture of the author pokerdawg
      Originally Posted by Istvan Horvath View Post

      All of them.
      I know the list was too long, but why would you cut "all of them" - are you saying using plugins is a bad thing?
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    • Profile picture of the author jimotman
      Originally Posted by Istvan Horvath View Post

      All of them.
      hi Istvan, can you please give a little explanation why shouldn't we use plugins? thanks
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  • Profile picture of the author Bruce Smith
    I could keep this plugins in my site:
    - Google XML Sitemaps
    - All in One SEO
    - WP-Super-Cache
    - Akismet
    - Simple AdSense
    - Google Analytics fοr WordPress
    - Sociable
    - Contact Form 7
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    • Profile picture of the author pokerdawg
      Thank you - this helps me eliminate a lot of the dups

      Originally Posted by Bruce Smith View Post

      I could keep this plugins in my site:
      - Google XML Sitemaps
      - All in One SEO
      - WP-Super-Cache
      - Akismet
      - Simple AdSense
      - Google Analytics fοr WordPress
      - Sociable
      - Contact Form 7
      I am going to use WP Cumulus - just because I like the look & feel of it (a cool effect with tags).

      One thing that I don't see here is Pingler ... would you use or avoid services like these? I know there is a place in the settings to add sites to ping when a new post is made. I've also seen long lists of sites to include, many of which may be dead, and I would imagine this would really bog down the web server pinging hundreds of dead links...

      Thanks
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      • Profile picture of the author Bruce Smith
        The problem with the automatic pinging in Wordpress is that it's done everytime you post a blog post and every time you make a change and save it. If you do different litle things in a short amount of time the ping services will get notified every time and if that is too much in too short of time according to them they will blacklist you. Ping optimizer plugins will make sure that the ping services will only get notified once every so much time.

        Originally Posted by pokerdawg View Post

        Thank you - this helps me eliminate a lot of the dups



        I am going to use WP Cumulus - just because I like the look & feel of it (a cool effect with tags).

        One thing that I don't see here is Pingler ... would you use or avoid services like these? I know there is a place in the settings to add sites to ping when a new post is made. I've also seen long lists of sites to include, many of which may be dead, and I would imagine this would really bog down the web server pinging hundreds of dead links...

        Thanks
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        • Profile picture of the author A P Geofrey
          Originally Posted by Bruce Smith View Post

          The problem with the automatic pinging in Wordpress is that it's done everytime you post a blog post and every time you make a change and save it. If you do different litle things in a short amount of time the ping services will get notified every time and if that is too much in too short of time according to them they will blacklist you. Ping optimizer plugins will make sure that the ping services will only get notified once every so much time.
          Hey!! thanks for that explanation, didn't know that But I guess there should be a way to fix that right?
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        • Profile picture of the author Roaddog
          You can get rid of a few just by using wp seo by Yoast

          It does

          xml sitemap
          site verification
          install analytic s
          title tags... etc
          link in rss
          so much I forget half, it's free at WP site well worth a look

          For sure keep a caching plugin and a good security plugin and the ping optimiser (that one you can skip IF you remove the entire ping list every time you edit or update) but that's a pain, no?)

          If you use a theme with seo use one or the other, a plugin or the themes seo, not both, it can cause problems.
          I say that because you seem to have a few seo plugins.


          Jim
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        • Profile picture of the author pokerdawg
          Originally Posted by Bruce Smith View Post

          The problem with the automatic pinging in Wordpress is that it's done everytime you post a blog post and every time you make a change and save it. If you do different litle things in a short amount of time the ping services will get notified every time and if that is too much in too short of time according to them they will blacklist you. Ping optimizer plugins will make sure that the ping services will only get notified once every so much time.
          So are you saying Pingler helps you throttle and avoid this? Or is there a specific plugin that throttles?
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  • Profile picture of the author Lostgringo
    Google XML Sitemaps
    All in One SEO
    WP-Super-Cache
    Google Analytics fοr WordPress
    Contact Form 7

    You may want to include more if you are doing any blackhat seo.
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  • Profile picture of the author hilaryaustin
    try to see which is contributing more on your services. Cut the less that offers you less contribution.
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    • Profile picture of the author russjam
      This is standard plugin set for my blogs

      akismet - spam handling
      all-in-one-seo-pack - seo
      contact-form-7 - contact form
      google-analytics-for-wordpress - analytics
      google-sitemap-generator - XML sitemap
      hyper-cache - performance
      maintenance-mode - temporarily activate this when doing major maintenance
      really-simple-captcha - captcha for contact form
      revision-control - limit post and page revisions
      stats - wordpress traffic reporting
      ultimate-plugins-smart-update-pinger - ping only once and at the right time
      widget-logic - different widgets for different pages
      wptouch - for mobile presentation
      wp-db-backup - database backup
      wp-spamfree - spam handling - belt and braces with akismet
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  • Profile picture of the author Istvan Horvath
    I have explained it several times in different threads.

    First, because just like the OP, people go the wrong way about it: they install a zillion plugins and then they ask what to uninstall. The normal way to do it - think what additional features you need (that are not easily done without plugins) and find the right plugin for it. NOT the other way around...

    Next, not all the plugins are equal. Some are made by half-learned self-appointed coders with a lot of security risks; with too many open MySQL connections that are never closed; with their onw tables in the database that are not deleted during an uninstall. Some are simply obsolete... read: made for lazy people

    When thinking about what you need, you should also avoid installing two or three plugins doing the same, like several different SEO "improving" things; five spam protection gizmos... (Quiz: can you find in the posts above such repetitions?)

    I will give you 2 examples of totally unnecessary plugins:
    a) G. analytics - you can easily copy/paste the GA code into one of your template files in a simple text editor.
    b) revision control (I admit, it's an annoying feature introduced by WP developers) - put this line in your wp-config.php file:
    define('WP_POST_REVISIONS', false);
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    • Profile picture of the author russjam
      Originally Posted by Istvan Horvath View Post

      I have explained it several times in different threads.
      )
      ....

      I will give you 2 examples of totally unnecessary plugins:
      a) G. analytics - you can easily copy/paste the GA code into one of your template files in a simple text editor.
      b) revision control (I admit, it's an annoying feature introduced by WP developers) - put this line in your wp-config.php file:
      define('WP_POST_REVISIONS', false);
      Of course, I agree with the general thrust of your argument. However, I do like Revision Control.

      I set revisions at 2 , as it gives me a easy way to restore a post if I make a mistake

      Does WP_POST_REVISIONS = false give me a fallback position without having to go back to the last database backup? Also how does that setting interact with the autosave or is autosave disabled when you switch off revisions?
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  • Profile picture of the author Gren Bingham
    Have a look at Jeff Johnson's site. He offers a free, good package of the 6 key WP Plugins. It is a good place to start for the basic set. Then you can add as you need the function.

    Also, to ease the installation pain, look at making your own template installation and using something like WPCyteClone to clone your basic template as a working base for each new site.

    Best regards,

    Gren.
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  • Profile picture of the author WillR
    You should only add plugins that are needed - anything extra is overkill.

    I use:

    Google Sitemaps plugin
    All in One SEO or Platinum SEO
    Akismet Spam Protection
    Bulletproof Security

    What else do you really need? Just because the other plugins are there it does not mean you need to use them. If it isn't something that is critical to the success of your blog, get rid of it.
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  • Profile picture of the author Przemek Bloniarz
    I use - platinum seo, maxblogger ping optimizer, xml sitemap, pretty link, contact form and that is enough, my sites are ranking pretty well. I don't use cache plugins because always when I test them my sites are not ranking well.
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  • Profile picture of the author WillR
    Originally Posted by Chris Kent View Post

    Wordpress is great SEO-wise straight out of the blocks.
    Not really, not as good as it could be thus the need for some type of SEO plugin.
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  • Profile picture of the author Evan-M
    Originally Posted by Chris Kent View Post

    Get rid of all of them. Wordpress is great SEO-wise straight out of the blocks. I don't even use the AllinoneSEO plugin.

    Without a plugin WordPress provides no way to add a meta title, keywords or description, it instead uses your page title or headline as the title, and does not have a description or keywords. That is poor SEO and will really hurt your rankings. I love Allinoneseo, and its one of the only plugins I use, besides some i have custom written.
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    • Profile picture of the author Flamboyantegg
      Originally Posted by Evan-M View Post

      Without a plugin WordPress provides no way to add a meta title, keywords or description, it instead uses your page title or headline as the title, and does not have a description or keywords. That is poor SEO and will really hurt your rankings. I love Allinoneseo, and its one of the only plugins I use, besides some i have custom written.
      Well, there is a way, it just isn't automatic...

      It's not THAT hard to do the editing necessary to have setup meta-desc etc, but with a few low-overhead (resource-wise) plugins that do it automatically, I don't see why not.

      It's a factor of necessity in my eyes - If your blog can't handle the traffic it's getting (slow load times etc) maybe it's time to think about optimizing it a little. But that's the name of MOST of the IM game;

      Create, review, optimize...
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      • Profile picture of the author Evan-M
        Originally Posted by Flamboyantegg View Post

        Well, there is a way, it just isn't automatic...

        It's not THAT hard to do the editing necessary to have setup meta-desc etc, but with a few low-overhead (resource-wise) plugins that do it automatically, I don't see why not.

        It's a factor of necessity in my eyes - If your blog can't handle the traffic it's getting (slow load times etc) maybe it's time to think about optimizing it a little. But that's the name of MOST of the IM game;

        Create, review, optimize...
        all the ways of doing it on a per post basis tho, do it the same way the all in one seo pack would.

        like

        function myseometa() {
        global $post;
        $thePostID = $post->ID;
        global $wpdb;
        $post_meta=$wpdb->prefix . "postmeta";
        $result5 = mysql_query("SELECT * FROM $post_meta WHERE post_id = '$thePostID' AND meta_key='myseometa'");
        $num_rows5 = mysql_num_rows($result5);

        if ($num_rows5 > '0'){

        then explode the value of myseometa to get title des and keywords and
        echo your meta values that you stored manually.

        }
        }

        but it would add the same overhead that a allinoneseo will add. so really it would be a waste of time and energy, unlike most plugins that add overhead to the front end of the site , for no real gain. like the calender plugin...lol
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  • Profile picture of the author GeorgR.
    Google XML Sitemaps: YES
    Platinum SEO Plugin : NOPE
    (you have AiO)
    SEO Smart Links: WHY
    ?
    SEO Friendly Images: I do that manually, dont need a plugin for proper ALT tags

    SEO Slugs
    : WHY? I choose the slugs myself (i know the keywords, dont let a plugin decide)
    HeadSpace: WordPress
    SEO Made Simple
    : WHAT?
    Automatic Links: WHAT?

    SEO Title Tag: WHY?

    All in One SEO: YES

    Pingler: WHY?

    Share This: YES (I like it better than other similar plugins)

    Simple Tags: WHY?

    Robots Meta: WHY?

    WP Cumulus - floating tag

    WP-DBManager: ?
    Feedburner: YES
    Circulation
    Widget Context
    WP-Stats
    : SITECOUNTER STATS IS BETTER
    WP Page-Navi
    : ?
    WP-Super-Cache: YES, BUT W3 Total Cache is better
    Gravity Forms: Never needed this
    Akismet: YES
    Simple AdSense : I USE EZ-ADSENSER
    Google Analytics fοr WordPress: I USE G. ANALYTICATOR
    Sociable

    Contact Form 7: YES

    Max Blog Press Ping Optimizer: NO (NONSENSE PLUGIN WITH BUGS)


    Way too many SEO related plugins, to be honest AiO is enough
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    • Profile picture of the author rgoutal
      Originally Posted by GeorgR. View Post


      Max Blog Press Ping Optimizer: NO (NONSENSE PLUGIN WITH BUGS)



      I have been hunting for info on this. The problem explanation and solution all seem based on the plugin creator's pitch.

      Is it true that WP (today- November 2011) pings every time you make a re-publish correction?

      Is it true that Max Blog Press Ping Optimizer solves this problem. GeorgR says No.

      As a WP user with no coding knowledge at all, this is one of those plugins that require me to go on faith - I can't see any difference one way or the other. So when I stumbled on this observation, I wonder.

      Anyone else want to support GeorgR? Any evidence or research I could see?
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  • Profile picture of the author RobKonrad
    Pokerdawg -

    before you install all these plugins, make sure that you really understand WHAT they do and use them to their full extent.

    "more SEO plugins" is NOT "more SEO benefit". If you'd had a closer look at your plugins, you would see that some of them do the exact same stuff - so ask youself - "if I got three plugins that optimize my [titles, metatags, whaterver..] - does that really make sense?"

    What you're most likely creating is conflicts and problems...

    So as suggested, start small, think first what you need, look out for what a single tool that fulfills that and then tweak it.

    Cheers,
    Rob Konrad
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