This blog wouldn’t be the same if it weren’t for the plugins, themes and the programmers behind them. I think it’s time that I give credit to the authors of plugins that I use on this blog. All the plugins and themes I use are absolutely free and I recommend every one of them. It makes blogging easier for the publisher and readers. So thank you to the programmers that submit their projects to the wordpress plugin library. It’s the free software/open source software movement that has allowed for ordinary people to publish on the internet without too much money or IT expertise required.

Theme

I use tropicala by Goro Harumi. I think it’s a great theme and I’ve only recently started using it. It’s probably the easiest theme available that allows you to add a banner without too much hassles.

wordpress theme download page: http://wordpress.org/extend/themes/tropicala

Plugins

Social Media Page

This is the plugin that links to my twitter, linkedin, identica, tumblr profiles through the icons on the right sidebar. The plugin author is Phillip Norton and the plugin is “social media page”. A lot of time went into the making of this plugin. It’s very generous of Mr Norton (and any programmer) to offer this plugin for free. Many bloggers currently use it and it looks spectacular no matter what the appearance of your blog is.

WordPress plugin download page: http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/social-media-page/
Plugin homepage: http://www.norton42.org.uk/294-social-media-page-plugin-for-wordpress.html

Identi.ca Tools

This sidebar widget shows my latest identica dents/posts. The author of the plugin is Matt White. If it weren’t for this plugin, I don’t know how I would automatically publish my blog post updates on identica. It also allows me to show my latest dents from my identica profile. A great plugin.

WordPress plugin download page: http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/identica-tools/

Twitter Badge

The twitter tweets under my identica widget is actually programmed by twitter itself. I copied the code by clicking on ‘goodies’ at the bottom of the page and then ‘widgets’. You can customise the colours used by the badge but I think it looks great as it is. Any blogger who uses twitter should know about this option.

Homepage for the widget: http://twitter.com/goodies/widgets

WP Spam Free

This is a behind the scenes plugin that helps my blog control spam. An excellent choice for any wordpress blogger. It saves you a lot of time and I don’t deal with any phony blog comments anymore. This plugin is a must and should come installed with wordpress from the box.

WordPress plugin download page: http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/wp-spamfree/
Plugin homepage: http://www.hybrid6.com/webgeek/plugins/wp-spamfree

I’ve changed the wordpress theme as I felt it needed a new look and feel. The photo on the front of the page is of Valparaiso, my birthplace.

It’s been 8 months since I’ve started using wordpress and my only regret is not having used it earlier. I never thought a web page could be done so nicely without the use of Adobe Dreamweaver. I originally doubted using blogging software to manage a website but it has been so useful.

With wordpress, the software doesn’t get in the way of the blogging. I just have to focus on my writing and wordpress practically takes care of itself.

If you are thinking about starting a blog for personal use or groupwork, then you should try out a free blog from wordpress.com
If you need something more scalable and the ability to customise, then you should register a domain name and pay for web hosting. You then download the wordpress.org software and install it into your database on your website. From then on all you need is your username and password and an internet connection to be able to publish from anywhere in the world.

It’s as easy as writing an email to a friend.

More content coming soon.