Maybe you always wanted a feature that hasn't been available in the latest release of Wordpress. What you can do is either install a 3rd party plugin or write your own custom code to extend the features of Wordpress.

Wordpress plugins are programming code that enhance the features of a standard installation of Wordpress. A well written plugin will be basically "drag and drop" without modifying the core code of Wordpress. As Wordpress has been designed in a modular way, plugins allow you to customize your site to your specific needs without modifying the core of Wordpress.Ever since Wordress version 1.2 plugins have been available. Wordpress plugins can be categorized according to the feature it provides. Here a list of various features that you can implement for your web site through Wordpress plugins.

* Administration: Install Wordpress plugins to customize features like Admin Tools, Anti-spam, Comments, Meta, Restriction, Statistics, Syntax Highlighting, Syndication, Tweaking, etc.
* Design, Layout and Styles: Change the look and feel of your blog by implementing plugins that modify Archive, Calendar - Event, Navigation, Randomness, Styles.
* Graphics, Video, and Sound: Add plugins that create Audio - Mood and Images for your blog.
* Posts: Implement plugins for Editing Posts, Formatting Posts, and other Miscellaneous Post related issues.
* Links: Setup Wordpress plugins that change the default behavior of linking.
* Miscellaneous: You can install miscellaneous plugins that shows weather information or other outside information from external websites.

Installing a plugin for Wordpress is not difficult. Here are the list of steps that you need to take to install most plugins. Some plugins may require additional steps.

1. Upload your plugin to the wp-content/plugins folder
2. Go to your Wordpress site using a browser and login
3. Click on the Plugins link from the main menu at top
4. Scroll down the list of available plugins to find the plugin you just uploaded
5. Click "Activate" to make your plugin active Wordpress Plugin Sites

We found the following sites with a comprehensive list of Wordpress Plugins:

* Wordpress Wiki - Plugins: http://wiki.wordpress.org/?pagename=Plugin
* WordPress Plugin Repository: http://dev.wp-plugins.org/
* WP-Plugins Download Interface: http://redalt.com/external/plugins.php
* Wordpress Plugin Database: http://www.wp-plugins.net/

About author:

Sanjib Ahmad, Freelance Writer and Product Consultant for Business.Marc8.com (http://business.marc8.com/). You are free to use this article in its entirety as long as you leave all links in place, do not modify the content, and include the resource box listed above.