Can't wait any longer - I'm setting up!

[davemcnally]

I just have an urge to write (not very well but I try) so I am going to just get my blog set up with a free theme for now so I can still ramble away whilst developing my own theme.

What are the most vital inital plugins/settings I should be using when first setting Wordpress up? I have a huge list of available plugins but for the time being would just like to know the most valuable to get me going.

Any tips would be greatly appreciated.
Also, would you agree it's better to get my blog online with a free theme whilst working on my own or would you prefer to wait and launch your blog with your own theme already finished?

Thanks :)

[Jeremy]

I say, just start writing. If you wait until you have your own theme, you're letting precious time pass by for search engines, page rank, finding readers, etc. Since building a solid base takes time, it is to your advantage to start sooner rather than later, regardless of theme.

The more content you can create the better, the theme can always be changed later. Plus, nobody says you have to actively promote the blog right away either. You could silently build a ton of content and then really promote it once the new theme is done and people would visit it and not even know the difference.

As far as plugins, you don't need much when just getting started. The MUST haves are probably the feedburner redirect (feedsmith plugin), a contact form plugin, akismet (default), google sitemaps and analyticator, and possibly some meta seo plugins.

But aside from that, most of the plugins are just general preference related.

[davemcnally]

Thanks for the tips :)

[Michael Martin]

Just make sure you get your URLs right. Everything else can be fixed later. :)

For URLs, I use the Top Level Cats (http://fortes.com/projects/wordpress/top-level-cats/) plugin to remove the /category/ from my category URLs. It let's the permalink structure function as a traditional folder structure then. :) (site.com/category/post/)


Are you sure it's a good idea to just start writing though? I was tempted to do the same during my theme's development, but I was patient. I think it helped me to wait because when people first saw my blog, they saw my unique design as well. I think it was a big factor in my blog getting off to a good start. :)

[davemcnally]

Are you sure it's a good idea to just start writing though? I was tempted to do the same during my theme's development, but I was patient. I think it helped me to wait because when people first saw my blog, they saw my unique design as well. I think it was a big factor in my blog getting off to a good start.

That's the one reason that's making me want to wait. I may just have to put in a couple more late nights and get my theme finished. Either that, or start setting up my blog and have someone 'theme my psd' - sounds like a plan :P

[Michael Martin]

Well, you're going to want to have 5-10 articles on your blog before you start publicising it anyway, so you could still write while you put on the finishing touches. :)

[doorlight]

Edit Hello Dolly Plugin into your fave song. Okay. That doesn't help you at all. :p

[buzzerhutdotcom]

try blogrolling , not sure if it falls in category of plugins

[Jessi]

try blogrolling , not sure if it falls in category of plugins

Well now isn't this quite the bump of an old thread? lol

[davemcnally]

Well now isn't this quite the bump of an old thread? lol

I would guess so...considering since then, I've been through a couple of redesigns and even changed domain name!