This is a list of the plugins that I use in my WordPress blogs and sites. External links open in a new window (tab) but all have the same target so you will not get loads of them.
You can comment at My WordPress plugins which is my post about this page since I don’t allow comments on pages.
Spam protection
This is very important, install these pugins and you have a great defense against spam.
Akismet is the basic spam protection and comes with WordPress.
WP-SpamFree is an extremely powerful anti-spam plugin for WordPress that virtually eliminates comment spam, including trackback and pingback spam. This plugin completely stopped a comment spam attack on one of my blogs while Akismet alone had let part of it come through.
The TrackBack Validator performs a simple but very effective test on all TrackBacks in order to stop spam.
CryptX hides all your email adresses, with and without a mailto-link, by converting them using javascript or UNICODE. That makes it harder for spiders scanning you site for email adresses.
Not used anymore
I used Bad Behavior for a while, up until it blocked me from logging into my own blogs. Needless to say that was the end of it and I removed the plugin.
SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and being found.
I have invested in Headway Premium WordPress Theme which has great SEO built in.
Google (XML) Sitemaps Generator for WordPress makes things easier for search engines.
Not used anymore
All in One SEO Pack is a great tool for SEO (Search Engine Optimization).
Twitter and Social Bookmarking
I have switched to SexyBookmarks for WordPress which I think look very nice and works well.
Not used anymore
TweetMeme creates a button that makes it easy for your visitors to tweet about your posts and pages.
Sociable for social bookmarking. The plugin adds social media buttons to your posts, you can pick which buttons you want plus where they shall be shown. I only showed them on single post pages.
TweetMe automatically tweet when you publish a post. I dropped this plugin when Twitter changed its Term of Service, mentioning they don’t approve of automatic tweeting.
Tweet This adds a “Tweet This Post” link to every post and page. I replaced this plugin with TweetMeme.
Content and Looks
Yet Another Related Posts Plugin is a great plugin that finds related posts.
Quotes Collection is great for using random quotes at your blog.
Tag Functions lists tags in the same way you can list categories. It also adds a sidebar widget making it easy to add a tag list to a widget-enabled theme.
Not used anymore
Homepage Excerpts gives you options concering how many full posts to show and where. Read more on the plugin page.
You can use Best Foot Forward to create a list of your favourite posts.
Random Posts Widget is a way to bring older posts back into the light.
Subpage Listing generates a navigational tree of the pages below them (subpages).
Going mobile
I use MobilePress which turns your WordPress blog into a mobile friendly blog when viewed on a cell phone.
Using WordPress as CMS
Page Category Plus makes it possible to assign categories to pages. The plugin uses the same categories you use for ‘Posts’ and, in effect, treats Pages as if they were Posts.
Note: This plugin is not available any longer. Contact me and I will email you the latest version I have.
Comments
Subscribe to Comments enables commenters to sign up for e-mail notification of subsequent entries.
Comment Relish makes it easy sending a short ‘thank you’ message to users when they first comment on your weblog.
Not used anymore
Ajax Edit Comments allows users and admins to edit comments on a post. Users can edit their own comments for a limited time, while admins can edit all comments.
CommentLuv creates a titled link to the commenters last blog post.
Comment Timeout closes comments on old posts on your blog. In the options you decide how long commenting shall be possible.
Contact Forms
I used Dagon Design Secure Form Mailer Plugin For Wordpress for my contact forms. Now WP-SpamFree includes a contact form and I use that one instead.
Statistics
WordPress.com Stats is a really nice plugin. It is Automattic’s stats system which focus on just the most popular metrics and provides the information in the dashboard. This is enough for me.
Not used anymore
Google Analyticator adds the necessary JavaScript code to enable Google Analytics logging. This eliminates the need to edit your template code.
StatPress is a tool that gives you statistics in your dashboard but it also logs a lot in your database. That is the reason why I dropped this plugin.
Behind the scene.
The WordPress Database Backup creates backups of your core WordPress tables as well as other tables of your choice in the same database. You can have the backups stored at your server or emailed to you.
Post revisons in WordPress means you get a lot of extra data in your WordPress database. The NM-Delete-Revision WordPress Plugin makes it easy to remove the revisions and get a cleaner database.
The plugin Optimize DB does just that, from inside WordPress.
404 Notifier logs 404 hits and will notify you of them via e-mail or in an RSS feed. I intend to improve my error-pages and then drop this plugin.
FeedBurner FeedSmith plugin handles my feeds from FeedBurner.