Having written couple of tutorials on various useful wordpress plugins, it’s time to list down the best & the must have wordpress plugins that we too adore and use religiously. Without these wordpress plugins, a wordpress website is almost lifeless and incapable of getting anywhere.

The below list of these must have wordpress plugins is categorized on basis of areas of application.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Search Engine Optimization is extremely important for your website to get anywhere in search engine rankings even before it gets indexed. You might like to read What is Search Engine Optimization? Does my Website Really Need it? first and then use the All in One SEO Pack, SEO Friendly Images and SEO Slugs Plugins. Refer these plugins’ articles below:

• All in One SEO Pack WordPress Plugin Tutorial
• Best SEO Image Optimization Tool – SEO Friendly Images?
• Is SEO Slugs the Best WordPress SEO Tool for Title Slug Optimization?

Search Engine Indexing

It’s very obvious that if you don’t get indexed, you can just as well label your website “private property”. Use the XML Sitemap Generator Plugin, the Dagon Design HTML Sitemap Generator Plugin and the cbnet Ping Optimizer Plugin:

• Best Free XML Sitemap Creator
• Best HTML Sitemap Generator Plugin for WordPress
• PING Optimizer for Your Blog Ping List

Speed Improvement – Caching

You should use W3 Total Cache. Read here: W3 Total Cache – Best WordPress Cache Plugin Ever.

Backup & Maintenance

Without a database backup, you risk losing your website and all the precious data that it might have built up over months and years. Also, if you don’t maintain a website properly, it’ll have many broken links which would increase exponentially over time. Use WP-DBManager & Broken Link Checker Plugins.

• How to Backup Database for WordPress?
• WordPress Plugin Check: Broken Link Checker

Monetization

Everyone likes to make money. Use the WP125 and RSS Footer Plugins to start monetizing your website.

• WordPress Ads Plugin for 125 x 125 Ads
• Monetizing RSS for WordPress Blog

Customer Relationship Building

Without suitable networking and linking and bonding to your online community, you can’t hope to get too far in terms of gaining traffic to your website. Enhance your email capabilities and provide a suitable contact form to allow people to contact you when they wish to. Use Mail From & the Contact Form 7 Plugins.

• Change Default WordPress Email Address User
• WordPress Contact Form 7 Plugin Tutorial

Website Branding

Start branding your website since it gives your website a unique identity and since most people like to form associations with brand rather than with generic websites. Use Fluency Admin Plugin or Custom Login Code.

• Customize WordPress Dashboard Style – Fluency Admin
• Customizing WordPress Login Form in 5 Minutes

Social Media Networking

To get more traffic to your website, you should leverage the power of advanced social media networking providers: Facebook, Twitter, StumbleUpon, Digg, Delicious etc. Use their widgets and plugins to spread the word for your articles. You can use Simple Social, Sexy Bookmarks & DiggDigg Plugins. Also use the special “Like” Button/Box from Facebook and Widget from Twitter separately on your website.

Powered by these over 15 best must have wordpress plugins for 2011, your website can accelerate to a whole new dimension.