This is exactly what I am looking for. I have disabled Akismet and curious to see how the competition works. I am excited that I may not have to pay for the anti-spam service!
via Free Akismet Alternatives | Themergency.
Top WordPress Plugins – Rising Stars | Prelovac.com. I tried out some of the suggestions on this blog and they worked great. If you feel something is missing on your site, you may want to look this list over. Now I need to update my list of what plugins I do use!
You might want to take a look at a plugin called BannerMan. I have been using it since yesterday and it works great. I wanted to share why I am using this now, and what it means for WordPress plugin creators.
I had been using a plugin for Banners in the past called WordPress FrontPage Banner. It worked great, and I was glad to have it. The problem happened yesterday when WordPress had an update, and that also triggered an update for the WordPress FPB plugin. That new plugin created a notice at the top of the WordPress Interface, that is rarely used and only used for emergency messages. It was invasive, and unnecessary. A one time message would have been fine. I logged out and back in thinking perhaps it was a one-time trigger, but it stayed advertising its new services. Listen I don’t mind an author making a one-time plea for their services, but if they attempt to hijack my interface, that isn’t cool or acceptable. So I started looking for alternatives, and found BannerMan.
BannerMan has features that the WFPB did not. I am thrilled with it. Officially it is not supported on my version, but it is simple and seems to work great. I think WordPress authors would do well to have a free version of their software, and then a premium version to entice people who need additional functionality. Especially those of us like me who are paying for our own hosting, and using free software, having a forced commercial message does not sit well with us. We know you have to pay the bills, just stop being so pushy about it.
Another option is called Add to Header. It works on many themes in which Bannerman failed to work on. I think it is more straightforward but it requires that you understand more technical things. If you understand URLS, and how to get the URL of your banner (photo) you wish to use, you can use it.
15 Great Ways to Secure Your Website. This is an understandable and actionable article that discusses what you can do to protect your web site. Also I have noticed many plug-ins that claim they increase security. So if you don’t wish to follow these suggestions, type the word “security” in your Plugins Add New box and see what you like.
For those new to self-hosted WordPress sites, plugins are a fun opportunity to extend the functionality of WordPress. I have really enjoyed the past week trying new plugins. It gives you some insight into many popular blogs and how they achieve the look they do.
I think the most bang for the back is modifying the CSS. With an extension called Firebug you don’t even have to be a CSS expert to get a very interesting look. I did this on the WordPress.com the first revision of this site. It was fun. I used to make things as a kid, and so that’s part of the reason that Myth-busters is so interesting to me. You get an idea of how to make big toys. Perhaps having your own Mythbusters team is the next wealth patronage that will happen.
There are people who seem to want to make, and creatively make things that have never been. I don’t always keep the things that I made, (normally I eat them). I never understood people who didn’t want to make anything. To me, making things is part of living. We make our lives, our relationships or choices. To have something give us something back seems to be a very rewarding goal.
