I am a big fan of WordPress. It is what this blog uses, and many of my friends and associates use it as well for their blogging needs. I stick with WordPress because it’s powerful, but easy to setup and use. Having the ability to expand it by use plugins makes it even more appealing. I wanted to list my top 5 favorite WordPress plugins for anyone out there using, or thinking about using WordPress for their blog.

1. cforms II. If you have a blog you would most likely want people to contact you, but putting your e-mail address out there might not be your first choice. Cforms II makes adding a contact form as simple as inputting your information into a few fields. There are too many features to list, but I don’t think you will be disappointed.

2. Twitter Tools. I’m pretty sure I don’t have to sit here and explain what Twitter is to everyone. Twitter tools brings an integration between WordPress and Twitter. I have it setup to post to Twitter whenever I make a new blog post, but there are several configuration options to check out.

3. WP-DBManager. Doing database maintenance is something nobody really looks forward to, and many people wouldn’t even know where to start. However, making backups of your WordPress database is very important, and WP-DBManager takes all the work out of it. Although there are a huge amount of options, doing routine maintenance like backups is just a few clicks away, and it will even e-mail you backup if you choose.

4. WPhone. This plugin adds a custom interface designed especially for access from the iPhone/iPod Touch, and a “lightweight” version for other mobile phones. Obviously you are limited compared to the full admin interface, but if you are mobile then this is an essential plugin.

5. Subscribe to comments. This plugin lets your readers subscribe to blog comments, so they can be notified via e-mail of new replies. It’s a simple plugin but very useful for blogs who get a lot of comments.