Hi Emily

Yes we missed you. Glad you're back I'm with Rich - I do try and keep plugins to a minimum (I don't always succeed). I generally use an image plugin or a text one for different things in the side bar. I also use TinyMCEAdvanced

Beverley

hey emily - great to hear from you - i won't add a plugin until i absolutely need it - i try to live without them - the problem is that there are too many cases of plugin interactions that negatively affect sites - sometimes wiping them completely - make sure you're backed up before you add plugins and check to see if anyone had any problems before you add one to your site - hope all is well

Damn. I'd forgotten you're a premium Member and have the potential to pop up without warning. :P

There are a couple of plug-ins that I consider essential. Ultimate TinyMCE is my favourite of all those that extend the "keyboard" and formatting options within Wordpress. Josh (the developer) has told me that he will "always" support and update the free version although he is now concentrating on his premium offerings.

Backup Buddy is for lazy sods and play(about)boys such as Luke and myself who want the ability to schedule automatic incremental backups of our sites to our Dropbox accounts so that we can rewind them to any previous point. Unlike many other offerings, it does backup everything: themes, plug-ins, databases (SQL tables), etc. However, it's a premium (paid-for) plug-in and not inexpensive.

It's also worth remembering that some plug-ins available for download via Wordpress and elsewhere are trojan horses stuffed full of viruses and backdoor hacks that can upset the equanimity of your idyllic virtual Troy, especially if like one I tried it makes permanent modifications to your site that are impossible to undo.

If nothing else, many plug-ins listed haven't been updated in years and are now incompatible with the latest updates of Wordpress.

So Caveat Emptor.... and all that. :)

Rich. x