The PHP content management system WordPress has a large library of plug-ins available, most of which are very useful. WordPress saves you a lot of time in starting a new project as it comes with core PHP and jQuery JavaScript libraries, as well as 2 default themes.

On top of that, the default plug-ins WordPress comes with gives the new WordPress user an idea of what can be done though the power of plug-ins (most of which are written in PHP/jQuery).

WordPress plug-ins are easy to use and save time during project development. My top 5 are below:

1) NextGen Gallery: This plug-in has a plethora of image options available – the amount of options and flexibility afforded, surpasses most other image gallery plug-ins available.

2) JQuery Mega Menu: A useful plug-in for sites that require complex site navigation. Multiple columns and rows can be added, the menu animation and default skins can all be edited via the admin interface.

3) Flexi Pages widget: This plug-in offers the WordPress administrator options to select the exact pages to display, along with any sub menus and the ability to sort the order of which they are displayed.

4) Exec PHP: The ability to insert PHP into pages can be a useful feature, but some may be worried about code insertion that could do damage. Thankfully the plug-in author has implemented the ability to allow only authorised users to use this feature.

5) WordPress SEO by Yoast: Widely regarded as a powerful piece of kit, WordPress SEO by Yoast features include preview of pages/posts in search results, page analysis for things such as image ALT tags, post/page content that is long enough, meta content and XML site-map generation.

These are just a handful of plug-ins that I have found useful, and will no doubt be used in future projects.