When building a WordPress site there are thousands of great plugins to use that will enhance the end users experience. But what about plugins that will make your life easier when developing the website, before it’s even gone live to the world. In this post I will share you my top 5 plugins for WordPress Development.
1. Core Tweaks
Do you find yourself going through the same 10 or so steps every time you setup a WordPress blog. The Core Tweaks plugin has combined all the usual procedures into one simple process. The developers claim it will save you at least 20 minutes of setup time. I think its great as it streamlines the process (and makes sure you don’t forget anything). It’s also designed to sync with the All-in-one SEO plugin.
2. Table Renamer
This one’s a simple one but a good one. Help reduce security threats by renaming your wordpress tables prefix in the database. A standard installation will use ‘wp_’ as the table prefix, making it easier for hackers to know what your tables are named, leaving you vulnerable. Very easy to use and only takes a few clicks. And whilst on the topic of security, its always a good idea not to name your admin account username as admin, using something a little more unique instead.
Visit WordPress Table Prefix Table Rename Plugin
3. Registers users only
When you are developing your new WordPress site you don’t want the world to see it until its ready. Even if you set your blog to private, people can still go to the pages directly. So install Registered Users Only and restrict who can view the site. Once this is installed you may want to create a guest account with subscriber access rights and disable the show admin bar so they can see how the site will look when live. Once you have finished the site and are ready to release simply disable the plugin.
Visit Registered Users Only Plugin
4. Maintenance Mode
This one can be used as alternative to registered users only and has the benefit of a customisable splash screen. It’s also really handy to add so you can quickly disable your site once it’s gone live if you need to make any fixes.
5. EZPZ OCB Backup
There’s nothing worse when you are developing then when you make a ‘simple change’ that breaks entire site – like deleting a username and accidentally deleting their posts (ops!). So install a plugin that will allow you to easily make backups. You can get backup plugins for just the database or just the posts. I like EZPZ OCB (Easy-peasy one click backup) as it backups up everything including the database, posts, pages and media all into a zip file. You can also setup up scheduled backups.
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