Top 5 Community Building WordPress Plugins

When we launch a blog, as well as getting people to read what we have to say, we are most of us looking to build a sense of community. While what we say has a big effect, how the blog works can also make a difference. Thankfully WordPress users have a good set of plugins to help:

  1. Make it easier to subscribe or share your blog with Add to Any
    This provides dropdowns for social bookmarking sites or feed reading services, making it totally easy for the reader to make a note of your location and keep coming back for more.
  2. Top Commenters plugin and widget will reward your top commenters with a link back. Consider the link a bit of public recognition and a small incentive. Plus, you know how competitive people can be, it’s also kind of a high score table!
  3. Make your comment area friendly with smiling faces - Add Gravatars with this easy plugin. Gravatars are “globally recognised avatars”. Basically anyone can set up a Gravatar picture centrally and any website that supports them will show your face whenever they are available, using your email address as a key. Seeing recognisable faces along with comments really helps build community.
  4. Fire off a thank-you email to new commenters using Comment relish. We all like to feel valued, this email can  be a nice touch, and also provides the opportunity to point out your feed or useful introductory content they might have missed.
  5. An essential for creating conversation, bring commenters back with Subscribe to Comments. Just like with popular forum software, this will notify you when someone replies to your message, keeping the conversation flowing.

Have you any suggestions for great community building WordPress plugins? Please share your faves in the comments …

Posted on May 8, 2008 by Chris Garrett 
Filed Under Blogging

Comments

13 Responses to “Top 5 Community Building WordPress Plugins”

  1. Ederic on May 8th, 2008 2:25 pm

    I’m still thinking if I should use Add to Any instead of OB social bookmarker. But I will install Gravatar later.

  2. Chris Cree on May 8th, 2008 2:31 pm

    Thanks for sharing these, Chris. I’ve been thinking about looking for a social bookmarking plugin that took up less screen real estate than Sociable. Add to Any fits the bill just right.

  3. Chris Garrett on May 8th, 2008 7:11 pm

    @Ederic - Gravatars do make the comments look more inviting, but only if your visitors use them :)

    @Chris - I have been looking at it for my subscribe page :)

  4. Franklin Pettit on May 8th, 2008 10:46 pm

    Use the Disqus plugin for comments and you have automatic gravatars. They also have ready made top commenters widget.

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  7. Nora Rubinoff on May 17th, 2008 5:04 pm

    Thanks for this — I really thought the “Add to Any” plugin was handy!

  8. Pat on May 19th, 2008 11:53 pm

    Hey, thanks for mentioning our Subscribe widget. :)

    To get the plugin for Wordpress directly:
    http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/add-to-any-subscribe/

    You might also be interested in the Share & Save plugin:
    http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/add-to-any/

    Always feel free to let us know what you think:
    http://www.addtoany.com/buttons/

  9. David on May 20th, 2008 4:05 am

    Thanks Chris, I like the Add to Any suggestion.

  10. Nik Smit on June 1st, 2008 6:34 am

    A plugin you may want to check out is retaggr.

    Similar concept to gravatar, except you get an entire Profile Card which contains widgets for lifestreaming, communication, and so on, so that your readers can understand their community better. The plugin lets these cards appear with comments.

    Most importantly for bloggers, your card allows others to subscribe to your blog, and see your most recent blog posts - so it increases your visibility.

    Have a look at the demo on retaggr.com if you’d like to see it in action.

    Thanks!

  11. Saxexpopenare on November 26th, 2008 6:04 pm

    hi there!
    I made with photoshop glitter myspace pics.
    take a look at them:
    http://tinyurl.com/568hnx
    Thank you for your site ;) xoxo

  12. Coldmoort on November 27th, 2008 11:03 pm

    hey!
    I made on photoshop glitter myspace pictures.
    have a look at them:
    http://tinyurl.com/5bxl7f
    Thank you for your site ;-) xoxo

  13. Mind Control Hypnosis on May 18th, 2009 4:26 am

    Thanks for the list of ideas. It is very important to keep your readers interested in repeat visits to your blog. A growing, loyal audience is the key to success.

    “It may take forever to win men’s minds by persuasion, but that’s quicker than you can do it by force”

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