Sometimes setting your site apart can be as simple as adding some nice text. Luckily adding some cool text or even text effects is simple if you are using the WordPress platform even when you can’t read or write code.
You probably guessed that these would be WordPress plugins if you don’t need to know how to code. While you do not want to run an over abundance of plugins on your WordPress site, a handful of plugins won’t slow down your site.
1. Drop Caps
Sites covering certain topics might need to have a fancier look to them. For example, a site about web design would likely have a more well designed and detailed look than a site about animal chew toys. In this case adding what is known as a Drop Cap will make the writing a little classier looking.
A Drop Cap adds a large first letter in the first word if the first paragraph on the page. I am sure you have seen something like this in your travels around the web. The Drop Caps plugin lets you choose where you want the Drop Cap to show up (i.e. only on single blog posts, archive pages, feed, etc.)
2. Simple Pull Quote
Personally, I like when sites accentuate important parts of an article I’m reading. I can scan the article and see if I want to take the time to read it thoroughly. Using a Pull Quote can add a nice addition to headers and bullet points.
Adding a Pull Quote is super easy. When the plugin is installed and activated, you can highlight the text you want to show up in the quote and click the new button in your WordPress text editor. Alternatively, you can add [pullquote] highlighted text here [/pullquote] around the text to get the same effect.
3. Readability
One of the things that separates one site from another is how easy it is to read. Text, distracting ads and other elements of your site can take away from the readability of the content. What the Readability plugin does is lets the reader click a link to see the article in a lightbox-like popup window.
There aren’t a lot of adjustments to the Readability plugin. You can adjust what displays as the name of the link on your page and the minimum word count on the single page for the link to appear.
4. WP Google Fonts
Adding a font to WordPress isn’t the easiest thing to do. And let’s face it, the choices are kinda lame in most themes. Using the WP Google Fonts plugin, you can add fonts from the Google directory to your WordPress site and there are a lot of them in there.
You can change the fonts for the body text independently from the H1 headlines and blockquotes. Keep in mind though, in some cases the CSS for the theme may override the plugin.
Conclusion
Even if you aren’t a master of WordPress, you can still look like you know a little something. These plugins make it super easy to add little details to your site to set it apart from the millions and millions of sites on the web.
What are your code free tips to make your site stand out to your readers?
Image credit: intro image
Trevor is a freelance writer covering topics ranging from the Android OS to free web and desktop applications. When he is not writing about mobile productivity, He is coaching and playing the world’s greatest game… Soccer.
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