7 WordPress Plugins that Make Your Client’s Life Easier
WordPress is becoming an increasingly popular content management system on top of it’s popularity as a blogging system. More developers are choosing it as a solution to enable clients to update their own websites. And while WordPress out of the box is an excellent system, it could use a few tweaks to give most clients the freedom they need. Here are 7 plugins that will make your client’s job of managing their own website easier.
Exclude Pages
Exclude Pages is a plugin that allows the user to exclude pages from the main naviagation (wherever you called wp_list_pages()) through a simple check box in the “Edit Page” page. This lets the client add pages to their website without having to worry about changing the theme or modifying any code. Download Exclude Pages here.
My Page Order
My Page Order is in the same vein as Exclude Pages. It’s a plugin that adds an area to the WordPress admin panel allowing users to change the page order through a drag and drop interface. This solution is much less cumberson than going to each individual page and specifying the order, as well as much more intuitive for the client. Download My Page Order here.
Linked
Linked is an older plugin by skullbits that has a lot of great use. It allows users, through an admin panel, to add keywords and then associate a URL with them, automatically linking the keyword in posts and pages. There are also checkboxes to automatically link email adresses, post/page titles, category titles, and urls. This plugin does a great job of adding one more layer of abstraction and making it easier on less tech savvy clients.Download Linked here.
Link to Posts
One thing really lacking in WordPress as a CMS is the ability to link to other posts or pages. Link to Posts adds two buttons to the visual editor that will allow the client to do just that. Using it is just like adding a hyperlink in the visual editor, except the plugin presents the user with a list of the posts and pages in WordPress. Click on the one you want, and the link is added automatically. This functionality is excellent for clients as they don’t need to make linking to other content a several step process of looking up the link, copying it, and pasting it into the hyperlink box.Download Link to Posts here.
Contact Form 7
Contact Form 7 is a simple contact form plugin. Great for clients that need just a basic email form. They can create the form through it’s admin page, and copy/paste the provided code. It provides the ability to add all of the form elements, as well as an “are you human” quiz check, and works with another plugin for CAPTCHA. Download Contact Form 7 here.
cformsII
cformsII is a contact form plugin on steroids. There are lots of options for the client to choose from, with the ability to visually create in depth forms and fully customize them. cformsII also comes with lots of form styles, and a TinyMCE button so no copy/paste is required. Just create the form and add it through the visual editor. On top of everything Contact Form 7 has to offer, you can customize each form’s messages, create start and end times for each form, and more. Download cformsII here.
WP Super Edit
WP Super Edit adds a lot more functionality to WordPress TinyMCE for the visual edit. With its extensive customizable panel, you can add dozens of new buttons to TinyMCE, including table support (add new, insert/delete rows/columns, resize, etc), emoticons, background color, custom CSS classes (which I think is huge), and a lot more. It’s a little confusing to configure but it will help your client significantly, especially if you have special css styles they need to use or rely on a lot of table data. Download WP Super Edit here.
Wrap Up
So there you have it. I’ve used all of these plugins for various clients (as well as myself) and have gotten good feedback. If I’ve missed any gems, be sure to put them in the comments!
