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WPBeginner's Blueprint

Behind the scenes look at everything that goes into running WPBeginner. Below is a list of all the WordPress plugins, tools, and services we use with an explanation of why we use each one. We don't like all those must have WordPress plugins posts, so we created this blueprint.
WordPress

WordPress (?)

Of course the site talking all about WordPress is powered by WordPress. It is the best publishing platform out there.

HostGator

HostGator (?)

WPBeginner is on a Dedicated Server. We have been using HostGator since 2007. They haven’t let us down yet. We have no plans on switching.

MaxCDN

MaxCDN (?)

We use a Content Delivery Network, MaxCDN, to speed up our site and reduce server load. We use it to serve static content (images, css, javascipts)

VaultPress

VaultPress (?)

VaultPress creates real-time backups of WPBeginner. The best security for your site is having most up to date backups.

Sucuri

Sucuri (?)

Sucuri offers web monitoring and malware cleanup service. It helps us enhance our WordPress security and actively block cyber attacks.

Genesis Framework

Genesis Framework (?)

WPBeginner v4 is a custom child theme built on top of a robust WordPress theme framework known as Genesis provided by StudioPress.

Google Analytics

Google Analytics (?)

Google Analytics provides excellent analytics for FREE. It shows us who visits our website, where they come from, and how they interact with our content.

FeedBurner

FeedBurner (?)

We use FeedBurner to power our RSS feeds. It offers statistics about our RSS subscribers, offers feed optimization, and various feed publication methods.

MailChimp

MailChimp (?)

MailChimp allows us design, send, and track beautiful email newsletters to our readers. Everyone blogger should have an email list.

Akismet

Akismet (?)

We use Akismet to combat comment SPAM. Akismet lets us focus on writing quality content rather than moderating SPAM comments.

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WordPress SEO

WordPress SEO (?)

We use WordPress SEO by Yoast plugin to improve our on-page SEO by adding Title Tags, XML Sitemaps, Indexation rules and more.

W3 Total Cache

W3 Total Cache (?)

We use W3 Total Cache to integrate MaxCDN, do page caching and browser caching to improve site speed.

Gravity Forms

Gravity Forms (?)

WPBeginner uses Gravity Forms to power all contact forms and form based lead generations (including email opt-ins and payment orders).

Comments

Comments (?)

WPBeginner v4 utilizes a few plugins to enhance the built-in WordPress comments. Here is a list of plugins that we use.

Login Attempts

Login Attempts (?)

We use Limit Login Attempt plugin to prevent bruite-force login attacks. This plugin locks the IP after an X number of failed attempts.

SEO Smart Links

SEO Smart Links (?)

We use SEO Smart Links to manage all of our affiliate links and automatically convert targeted keywords into affiliate links.

OIO Publisher

OIO Publisher (?)

We use OIO Publisher to banner ad management. This is a robust plugin that takes care of payment, scheduling, expiration, and more.

Pippity

Pippity (?)

Pippity is the best lead generation plugin available for WordPress. We use it to show a small group of our users targeted offers.

SlideDeck

SlideDeck (?)

WPBeginner uses SlideDeck (jQuery version) to create content sliders for our landing pages and wherever else we need a slider.

WP-Post Ratings

WP-Post Ratings (?)

WP-Post Ratings lets us easily add AJAX “star” ratings to our custom post types such as Deals, Hosting, and more to come.

Breadcrumb NavXT

Breadcrumb NavXT (?)

We use Breadcrumb NavXT to add breadcrumb navigation showing the visitor’s path to their current location.

Syntax Highlighter

Syntax Highlighter (?)

We use Syntax Highlighter Evolved plugin to share code snippets in our posts. It is by far the best solution in our opinion.

WP-Bitly

WP-Bitly (?)

We use WP-Bitly plugin to automatically generate short URLs for our posts that look like http://wpbeg.in/

Compact Archives

Compact Archives (?)

We use Compact Archives plugin to make our archives page prettier. It helps us compress the output of month/year archive.

Behind the Scenes

Behind the Scenes (?)

List of under the hood plugins and custom codes that we use in our back end to run things smoothly.

Shoeboxed

Shoeboxed (?)

Shoeboxed is the best online receipt management system. We use it to organize and keep a record of all of our receipts in an efficient manner.

HitTail

HitTail (?)

We use HitTail to facilitate our long tail SEO strategy to increase our organic search traffic. Read our full HitTail review.