When it comes to YouTube gallery plugins there are many options to choose from. If your site is heavily concentrated with videos you will want to display them in a variety of ways. To add creativity and engage viewers the following are the best video gallery plugins available and all of them are free.

Envira Gallery

The best WordPress gallery plugin is Envira Gallery. Envira lets you produce galleries from your YouTube videos, Vimeo, Wistia and even self-hosted WordPress videos.

This gallery features a lightbox where you can open the videos, it also lets you show them and paginate them. A widget is also available, and is simple to use, it allows you to drag and drop your video gallery to a sidebar in any widget ready area.

WordPress Video Gallery

If you want a highly customizable and powerful plugin then WordPress Video Gallery is it. An HD flv player built-in is included in this plugin and it has the capability of showing your videos in customized skins with HD quality.

Most websites should acclimate to the default settings, but if you want to change them there are many choices available to do so.

This plugin offers sample videos and will spontaneously create a video gallery page. You can preview the gallery and then add the default videos so you can make your own.

YouTube Simple Gallery

For simplicity and ease of use choose YouTube Simple Gallery. This plugin allows you to set up galleries by individually selecting the videos you want to use. It features a shortcode method which defines the plugin along with the URLs of the video you want to use.

This plugin also allows you to put a gallery in a widget and opens videos in a lightbox popup

Ultimate Video Gallery

An easy way to manage your YouTube videos is through Ultimate Video Gallery. This plugin allows you to paste the video URLs and the video details will automatically come from YouTube.

Limitless galleries can be produced; it lets you select the title and description of each video. Once a gallery has been made it can be easily added to a Post or Page shortcode.

Workbox Video

Workbox Video allows you to make your video galleries just by simply adding video URLs. This plugin works with YouTube, Vimeo, and Wistia and enables you to add your videos one at a time.

The videos are displayed in a single column gallery with thumbnail descriptions off to the right. The video will appear in a lightbox pop up when clicked on. This plugin only permits you to make one gallery, but you can add as many videos as you want.

Presentation and Functionality

The key to picking a video gallery plugin is going to be based on the look you want to present and the function you need. There are many wonderful styles and features to choose from. It just depends on what will work best for you.

The login page of your WordPress website is the first access point for any hacker. If you don’t properly protect it, you may end up with more issues than you bargain for. Here are a few of the best ways to ensure your WordPress login page remains secure and protected.

Change the Username and Password

When you first get WordPress hosting and install WordPress, it will often assign you the username of “admin,” which is the most common username hackers will try to use. The first thing you should always do is change the username to something odd and unique.

WordPress will also give you the ability to generate a password, which will be a strong password. Make the generated password at least 12 characters and use it or another strong password. Avoid using common passwords, such as names, dates, strings of numbers, common words or anything else common. It’s best to break up words with symbols, capital letters and numbers within your passwords.

Use the Login Lockdown Plugin for WordPress

Logion LockDown is one of the best plugins you can use for your WordPress website. It will help to stop brute force attacks aimed at your login page. The plugin will lock out IP addresses trying to login more than a few times. You get to set the number of times you will allow before the IP address is locked.

Use SSL

Another great way to help secure your login page is with SSL or Secure Socket Layer. This is an extra form of security making your information unreadable when sent and received by your browser.

SSL is very easy to use with WordPress because you can simply use the Really Simple SSL plugin for WordPress. The WP Force SSL plugin is another good choice, but you will need to purchase an SSL certificate to use either plugin properly.

Mask your Login and Admin Page

If you want to make your security great, you can actually mask the login or WP-admin page with the Protect Your Admin plugin. If a hacker cannot find your login or admin page, they cannot get into your site.

Since most of the WordPress login and admin pages are the same, this makes it easy for hackers. However, this plugin will allow you to change the page and make it unique.

More Security Measures for WordPress

Along with using the above security measures for your WordPress login page, you should also choose your hosting company wisely. Some don’t have the best reputation for providing excellent security, while others provide the best security in the business.

You can also add a plugin, such as Wordfence or iThemes Security to give you even better protection. Other plugins such as, BackUp Buddy and VaultPress will ensure you have a backup of your site just in case you do get hacked.

Regardless of the security measures you choose to employ for your WordPress website you want to make sure you keep your login and admin page very secure. This will eliminate a large number of potential hacker issues as they go after your login page most often.

Adding a points system to any WordPress blog gives users a new reason to engage with your site and others on your site. This type of system allows for user participation as they can rate things on your site. Here’s how you can easily add a points system to your WordPress blog or website.

Using the WordPoints Plugin

The first thing you need to do is download, install and activate the WordPoints Plugin for WordPress. After you have installed and activated the plugin, you can access it from the new WordPoints section within the sidebar of your dashboard.

From here, you can access the Point Hooks Page to create different points types.

Enter the name for your points first and you can add a prefix or suffix, if you want. After you create a new point type, you can drag it and drop it to the left or you can leave it active. You can also drag and drop any of the available hooks from the left to the New Point Type section.

When you drag an available hook over to the right, you will be able to add a description and change the amount of points. Some will have other options, as well.

What are Hooks?

The hooks used by this plugin are the activities your website users will be able to do to earn point. You can give them points for leaving a comment, writing a post, receiving comments on a post they published, visiting your site or registering on your site. These all come by default.

How to Display User Points on Your WordPress Blog

Of course, giving points is one thing, displaying them on your site is another. If you want to display the points earned by users on your site, you will need to use the widget installed with the WordPoints plugin.

Just go to the Appearance>>Widgets section of your blog and look for the widget called Points Logs. Drag and drop this widget into the area you want to display the points and give it a title. Now the points for those logged in currently on your site.

You can also use the WordPoints widget to display the total points a user has earned. If they are logged in, this will display their points.

There is one final widget you can use to display points on your site. It’s called the WordPoints Top Users and it will display he top point earners on your site. Just drag and drop it where you prefer and choose how many users to display.

How to Display Points on Pages and Posts in WordPress

Along with showing points in the sidebar and widget ready areas of your website, you can display them within posts and pages. This is done with the right shortcodes.

For top users:

When you decide to use WordPress for your CMS and you back it up with excellent WordPress Hosting, you gain plenty of power. You can do so much with WordPress including displaying your recent posts in a drop down menu.

Why Should you Use a Dropdown for Recent Posts?

Not everybody will require a drop down menu for recent posts in WordPress. However, if you want to use this option, it’s very easy to do and can help you organize your recent posts very easily.

Often, WordPress websites will use the built-in recent posts widget to add them to a sidebar or another widget ready area. This will display a list of your most recent posts. However, if you want to display more than just five or ten posts, you will take up a large amount of space in your sidebar.

When you need a more compact way to display your recent posts, you can use a dropdown or collapsible menu. This helps to save space and it can easily be added to your site without any manual coding.

You can, of course, manually code this type of menu into your theme or even create your own plugin for the task. However, you don’t have to worry if you are not a developer or familiar with code. There is already an easy-to-use plugin available free of charge for displaying recent posts in a drop down menu for WordPress.

Using the Collapse-O-Matic Plugin

The Collapse-O-Matic plugin for WordPress will allow you to display recent posts as a drop down menu on your WordPress website. The plugins allows you to add anything to the menu by using shortcode.

You will need to add a little bit of code to your theme’s function.php file to display recent posts anywhere you want. Just add the following code:

Now, you will be able to use the shortcode

When you decide to use WordPress for your website, you need a good 404 redirect plugin. This goes along with getting great WordPress hosting and finding all the other plugins you need to make your site function properly.

Finding the right WordPress hostingfor your new website may not be easy. However, finding the right 404 redirect plugin for WordPress is easy. Here are the top five plugins we recommend for your 404 redirects.

SEO Redirection Plugin

With the SEO Redirection Plugin, you will be able to easily track your 404 errors and manage the redirects. This plugins makes it easy to manage everything with a simple, user-friendly interface.

Along with the management aspect, you will have a full log of 404 errors from your WordPress site. This makes it much easier when you want to fix these errors and clean up your website.

The SEO Redirection Plugin will create a new table within your WordPress database. This is where the redirects will be stores. It will also record a history of all the redirects for your website.

404 to 301

The 404 to 301 plugin for WordPress is very simple. It will automatically redirect any 404 page to another page on your site and it will also send you an email notifying you of the 404 error.

When you redirect all your 404 errors to a specific page, it’s not ideal. This leaves users wondering how they go there considering they requested a different page.

However, there are situations where this may work well, such as if you know what type of 404 errors will occur on your site. If the users will find the page you are redirecting them to helpful, it may work our well, too.

This plugin does provide email alerts, which can be very useful. You will instantly be notified of any 404 error, which will allow you to fix it as fast as possible.

Redirection

Maybe one of the best 404 error plugins for WordPress, Redirection allows you to easily redirect 404 errors to other pages. It has a built-in tracking option for the errors, as well.

This plugin will allow you to use the regex to help you match the URL pattern and redirect the URL to the right page. It’s very useful whenever you are moving a site from a different structure to WordPress.

Make sure you get the 404 logging setting adjusted for your needs. If you don’t, this plugin can make your database a bit heavy.

410 for WordPress

With the 410 for WordPress plugin, you’re 404 errors will be redirected to a 410 page. The 410 error is used when a resource has been removed permanently. This can be helpful for search engines because they will stop trying to access the page.

Whenever content has been moved to a new location on your website, you want to use a 301 redirect. However, when it has been removed for good, a 410 is the best way to go. This plugin makes it easy to turn your 404 error pages into 410 pages instead.

All 404 Redirect to Homepage

The All 404 Redirect to Homepage plugin doe exactly what the name says. It will redirect any 404 error page on your site to your home page. This is a very simple plugin and it works well if you just want all your errors finding your homepage.

There are several good 404 error plugins for WordPress out there. However, if you want to use one of the best, choose from the five above.

When it comes to producing podcasts, you need an easy way to put them together and post them onto your website. WordPress makes it really easy to manage and publish them through their various plugins. There are five that really stand out from the bunch and make it easy to do this.

Bloggers want to share podcasts more easily because it makes their written content available in another format. It’s beneficial to a blogger to offer their content in other consumable ways besides writing, and podcasts are the perfect way to reach a broader audience with a WordPress website.

When you need an easy way to post regular podcasts and connect with your audience on a deeper level, take a look at these five top choices for podcast plugins on WordPress that can help you monetize your content and become a more successful blogger.

Seriously Simple Podcasting

The name says it all on the first choice for WordPress podcast plugins. The Seriously Simple Podcasting is a great source for simple podcasting that will take the complicated out and make it simple from the start. You won’t have to have tons of experience to use it because this plugin understands people need a simple platform to do something that could be foreign to them.

This means that even the newest blogger that wants to try podcasting won’t have to fear a complicated process any longer. This plugin will even collect your statistics, make publishing really easy, and offer RSS feed capabilities. It will work with your WordPress site because it’s built to support the media player already provided by WordPress.

Buzzsprout Podcasting

Another great option is the Buzzsprout Podcasting plugin, a plugin that is very popular for podcasters. It’s easy to use and offers you easy access to your library of previously posted podcasts. This means that your followers can easily see old podcasts displayed on your blog and stay current with the new ones. Many people love this one for because it’s integrated with iTunes, making the podcasts the highest of quality and enhancing productivity.

PowerPress

Check out PowerPress if you want to use one of the highest chosen plugins for bloggers needing podcast accessibility. It currently has over 55,000 bloggers using it because of its popular features. It was actually created by podcasters which means it has the features that you need most, integration with both Google Play and iTunes, custom HTML5 media support for video content and audio display, and so much more.

Podlove

Have you seen Podlove yet? This plugin was developed over three years to really take podcasting to the next level. It’s simple to use and lets you stay in charge of your podcast viewing ability. You’ll be able to easily see how they are performing, utilize tools for a better payoff for your work, and optimize them with the help of this plugin.

Podcasting by TSG

Lastly, don’t forget to check out Podcasting by TSG, a great podcasting plugin that offers support to WordPress. You’ll be able to add media files from anywhere on the website and include it to your iTunes feed. Your visitors will be able to view them easily because the plugin supports playing the files directly on your site.

When you need a reliable and easy way to add podcasts to your blog, these top five options will make it easy to setup and easy to use for you and your visitors.

When you’re a WordPress user, you understand the importance of having reliable backup services for your site. Have you ever considered what it would be like to have your multisite install hit with a disaster and not having a recovery plan? Whether it’s a hacking situation or a natural disaster takes place, having a minimal recovery time for your network is essential.

The only thing you can do to protect yourself is to make regular backups in the case of a broken or hacked site that needs quickly replaced with a previous copy. While it can be a time-consuming process to create backups and sometimes you find that your backups aren’t always network-ready, you can now use one of these four top-rated multisite backup solutions offered by WordPress that are getting great reviews.

What you need to know

You need to know what you’re looking for when it comes to choosing a backup plugin. Comparing and contrasting the options requires looking at which ones are going to be easy to use, which ones offer the best speed and accuracy, as well as which ones have the best backup quality, price, and restoring power.

A great first option would be Snapshot Pro, an extremely flexible solution that offers one-click restores on each site in a network and the ability to migrate sites with the plugin. The downsides to this solution is that it is one of the most expensive options out there, it has less off-site saving possibilities compared to others, and you’ll have to install and activate themes and plugins on the site before you restore. It has excellent backup quality, restoring power, and an overall rating as a backup solution on WordPress. The price is its biggest downfall and some products are a little bit easier to use or faster to use.

BackWPup Pro

Check out BackWPup Pro as another great option for your multisite backup solution. The best part about using the BackWPup Pro is that it’s one of the fastest backup solutions. You can back up the sites from your network right out of the box, and there are even off-site locations available to save your backups.

The downside to this product is that restore options are not included, the price is pretty high, and the no frills plugins that lacks enhanced capabilities compared to others. This one is amazing when it comes to speed, accuracy, and backup quality, but it’s lacking when it comes to restoring power, a good price, and the ease of use.

VaultPress

Many are turning to VaultPress for their multisite backup solution on WordPress. This one takes the cake when it comes to the ease of use because it has an easy to navigate dashboard. Try its one-click restoring option and restore on a live or test site. While all backup solutions will have their flaws, this one suffers when it comes to the restoring power, backup quality, and price.

It only backs up common files for Multsite networks with a subscription required on for each site to run the plugin network-wide. It gets expensive because the monthly subscription is needed for each site and unfortunately, this option doesn’t deliver when it comes to speed and accuracy.

UpdraftPlus Premium

It’s hard to go wrong with UpdraftPlus Premium, a great backup solution for those that need something with great backup quality, speed, and accuracy. This one is one of the most affordable being the lowest price point of all plugins mentioned here. You can also backup everything like your theme, plugin, and custom files.

Plus, you can create a new site in your network from a backup. The downside is that it only will restore one sub-site at a time, it’s not very easy to use, and the backups could be affected poorly when it comes to your out-of-the-box.

The important thing to do is to choose the right plugin for your site that makes the most sense for your needs. They will all have their benefits and their drawbacks, but finding one that is more compatible to you is the best way to go.

When you need to shorten your URLs, you need a service that you can rely on to make it simple and convenient. Many people have been using services like TinyURL for years to shorten their URL but today, you’ll find several more options out there for website owners.

There are constantly new websites being started on a daily basis featuring complicated URLs, but those that want to have a better chance at online success know that shortening the URL is key. This really became prevalent when Twitter first started and adapted a URL-shortener to make sure visitors would share it with friends and colleagues.

Not only is it important to have a short URL for sharing purposes, but it’s also important for WordPress users that are using affiliate links in their blog for extra revenue. Take a look at a few excellent WordPress plugins that will help you shorten URLs so that your visitors can have an easier time sharing and you can more easily mask affiliate links.

ClickMeter

Check out ClickMeter, a great tool for webmasters, online affiliate agencies, and marketers. This tool will allow you to shorten your URL, as well as take advantage of other great features through the plugin. Try a variety of shorteners offered through ClickMeter while turning your domain into a link shortening service.

Since the plugin is designed to present you the information on how your link is being used online, it will benefit you further when shortening the URL and show you how you can duplicate your success in the future. You’ll also be able to see where you’ve gone offline with some of your links in order to avoid penalties from Google’s search engines.

Adf.ly

Another great option is Adf.ly, a plugin for bloggers that want to better monetize their websites. This platform allows bloggers to protect their URL in order to monetize their content. It’s a great option for WordPress users that want to easily manage their accounts from their dashboard and have the flexibility to create the right URLs for increasing their revenue opportunities.

Short URL

Check out this excellent option called Short URL, a WordPress plugin for shortening your URLs on WordPress. It’s an easy way to shorten your WordPress blog’s URL giving you control on how you’ll appear online. While some prefer to use a third party service for link shortening, others prefer to use options like Short URL that allows you to use your own website for shortening links.

Goo.gl

Another easy-to-use plugin is Goo.gl, a plugin that allows you to create tiny URLs for easy sharing anywhere. It’s a flexible plugin that will not only shorten your URLs, but also give you monitoring access to see how many clicks you’re getting as well as a snapshot of the website you’re shortening at the time that you’re shortening it.

iOli

If you’re looking for something super simple, you’ll love using iOli for your URL shortening needs. This plugin is straightforward, allowing for a user that likes something a little simpler to get the job done. It’s really flexible for users as well.

When you need a shortened URL to improve your website’s sharing abilities and a better way to track your clicks and shares, use these plugins with your WordPress page.