There are loads of Twitter plugins out there serving a variety of functions, such as allowing you to broadcast a new blog post to your followers or displaying a Twitter stream on your blog.
Here are some of the highest rated Twitter-related plugins available for WordPress users:
Twitter Stream (link)
With more than 26,000 downloads and a four-star rating, Twitter Stream is a popular plugin which allows you to display your Twitter timeline on your WordPress blog easily and quickly.
Pros
- The plugin is very simple to use and utilizes oAuth to connect with Twitter.
- It links any URL found on the Twitter stream automatically, making it clickable on your blog.
- It includes a permalink for the tweets featured.
- It allows you to specify the number of tweets to be posted on your blog.
- It is very lightweight and would require only a minimal amount of resources so that you could use the plugin even on low memory servers or shared ones.
Cons
- You will need to install PHP5 on your server. I struggled to identify cons, so this isn’t so much a con as just a limitation if you are running an older version of PHP.
Twitter Tracker (link)
Twitter Tracker allows you to display Twitter search results on your blog. This is particularly very helpful if you have a blog that talks about a niche topic such as a TV show or a special event like a conference. Twitter Tracker is used by close to 20,000 people and has a five-star rating.
Pros
- Has two widgets that do different things: one displays results of a Twitter search or a hashtag and the other displays tweets from a certain Twitter user on your side bar.
- Very easy to install and use.
- Has some personalization included.
Cons
- Twitter Tracker might show some irrelevant tweets especially if your search term is too general.
- Has some problems with avatar images. You will need to install a separate plugin for the avatars to come up correctly with no problems.
WP to Twitter (link)
Rated four stars and clocking in more than 1.2 million downloads so far, WP to Twitter makes it easier for you to broadcast a new blog post on Twitter.
When you create a new blog post, WP to Twitter will instantly tweet a default or custom message to your followers, complete with a link to the blog post you have just written.
Pros
- Will save time by automatically telling your Twitter followers about your new blog post.
- Can set up Google Analytics tracking tags for shared posts to track campaign traffic from Twitter.
Cons
- WP to Twitter needs PHP5 to work. Again, not really a con, more an inconvenience for those with older servers
- It might be difficult to get support on the free version.
Synchronizing your WordPress and Twitter accounts can be a time saver and a real content feature if you are sharing unique Twitter content back into the blog. Installing WP to Twitter is a no brainer for ensuring your new posts are shared, while Twitter Tracker is a great way of adding context to time sensitive and topical posts.
Do you have another favorite Twitter plugin?
