If you’re ready to  add some fancy functionality to your WordPress blog or website and you don’t know how to write code, plugins can be your best friend. Of the over 23,000 plugins available there are some that rise above the rest. I’ve outlined 36 of my favorites in the Slideshare presentation below (originally presented at Workbar Boston in January 2013).

How the presentation is organized

The plugins are organized by category – starting with front-end functionality such as sharing buttons and slideshows. The second half of the presentation covers back-end plugins such as analytics and SEO. I give my top 2-3 recommendations for each category, with a total of 36 plugins mentioned.

Quick note: WordPress Plugins are available for self-hosted WordPress sites only (not WordPress.com blogs). If you’re not sure the difference, see this post.

Another quick note: The final slide was added during the session itself to take note of a recommendation from a member of the audience. Consider it a bonus.

How to install WordPress plugins

To install plugins, login to your WordPress admin dashboard and click Plugins>Add New. Search for the plugin by name (I tried to use the exact plugin names in my presentation, as many of them have similar names). Once you find the correct one, click Install, wait a few seconds, and then click Activate. Configure your plugin per the instructions.

photo credit: dawvon via photopin cc