Without a doubt, WordPress is the logging platform of choice. Whether you’re someone who blogs just to let the world know what you’re doing, or a large company, or Google’s Matt Cutts who writes about a lot of Google-related stuff, WordPress is the one to use.

The latest version 3.0 has a number of improvements over previous versions and to make it even better there are many useful plugins. And it is these plugins that make WP perfect for your needs as a blogger.

You’ll see many helpful lists highlighting the top 10 WordPress plugins, and these listings are a great starting point if you’re adding existing plugins or starting a new blog. However, keep in mind that you most likely do not need all of the recommendations. And, even if you want to install them all, some are still not suitable for version 3.0, only for older versions. If you take a look at a plugin that you think you might be interested in, sometimes you’ll see this “Warning: This plugin has not been tested with your current version of WordPress.” You can still try to install it, but I personally would back off and come back at another time when the issues have been fixed.

Of course, users can check out many of the available plugins on the WordPress blog itself or in its directory. Some plugins that I have found useful are as follows:

All-in-one SEO package to create an SEO-optimized blog. An alternative is Headspace 2, which some say is better, if a bit more difficult to set up.

Attractive Bookmarks are a row of bookmark buttons so your readers can bookmark your site quickly and easily. You can choose yours, the most popular or all if you wish. Great in these days of Social Networks.

When your visitors make a comment, the Thank Me Later plugin will automatically send them a “thank you” email. Although not everyone appreciates receiving an email, it seems that most people are happy to receive one, and it encourages them to come back to your blog. There’s one called Akismet that checks comments against the Akismet web service to see if they look like spam. It certainly helps to moderate your comments. WP Super Cache makes your pages load much faster. That’s good for everyone, not least its users. Finally, to help protect against theft of your content, I like the wp-copyrightpro plugin which helps stop copying on right-click.