My Top 10 Favorite Genesis Framework Plugins

The first challenge any new blogger who moved to Genesis framework will have is Genesis framework plugins to customize his blog. I encountered same when I moved to Genesis framework at first. Most people who moved to Genesis framework really find it hard to start off unlike other type of themes but today I intend to introduce you to my favorite Genesis framework plugins that will make your job easier when it comes to customizing your genesis framework based sites.

Do you know that there are over 70 Genesis framework plugins in the WordPress repository? But I doubt you will need that much because Genesis has a lot of such inbuilt functions and features. But if you still need to enhance the functionality of your genesis based site even more then allow me to introduce you to my top 10 favorite Genesis framework plugins, I bet you will find the list interesting as well.

Genesis Framework Plugins

1. Genesis Simple Hooks: Are you surprised the Genesis simple hooks made it to the top of my favorite Genesis framework plugin list? You shouldn’t be because I consider this plugin the most important Genesis framework plugin. The Genesis simple hook allows you to insert code (HTML, PHP & shortcodes) into your Genesis theme without breaking it. This is one of my favorite Genesis framework plugins that’s why I am recommending it to you.

2. Genesis Simple Menus: It’s always difficult making a secondary menu for newbies on Genesis themes. With Genesis Simple Menus you can assign WordPress navigation menu within the Genesis theme framework on Tags, pages, posts & categories. So with this plugin even if you do not have a coding skill you can assign extra menu items in a page, tag or category. This is one of my favorite Genesis framework plugins that’s why I am recommending it to you.

3. Genesis Simple Sidebars: Are you trying to display different widgets on your sidebars for different pages or posts? The Genesis Simple Sidebars allows you to conditionally place different contents on your sidebar areas even without you knowing how to code. This is one of my favorite Genesis framework plugins that’s why I am recommending it to you.

4. Genesis Single Post Navigation: The Genesis Single post navigation adds next & prev navigational links on single posts. If you look around the sides of this post you will notice an arrow pointing to either directions of the browser, if you click on the left arrow you will be navigating to the next article published before this one & if you click the one on the right you will be navigating to the previous article published after this one. This is one of my favorite Genesis framework plugins that’s why I am recommending it to you.

5. Genesis Custom Footer: Will you like to custom your Genesis site footer? Then you need the Genesis custom footer plugin which adds a section to the genesis theme Settings page where you can enter your HTML code to output in the site footer. This is one of my favorite Genesis framework plugins that’s why I am recommending it to you.

6. Genesis Translations: Will you like your Genesis powered WordPress site to be translated to several languages even without you modifying anything on your theme? Then you need the genesis translations plugin. Simply install and activate the plugin, that’s all you need to have your site translated to almost 30 international languages. This is one of my favorite Genesis framework plugins that’s why I am recommending it to you.

7. Genesis Layout Extras: The Genesis Layout Extras allows modifying of default layouts for homepage, various archive, attachment, search, 404 pages. Plus up to 9 new layouts! This Genesis Framework plugin can very easily modify the default layouts for homepage, singular pages (for posts and pages), various archive sections, author pages, attachment pages, search results pages, the 404 page – all done via a new theme options page. Just look for it at the submenu: Genesis > Layout Extras. This is one of my favorite Genesis framework plugins that’s why I am recommending it to you.

8. Genesis Responsive Slider: The Genesis Responsive Slider plugin allows you to create a simple responsive slider that displays the featured image, along with the title and excerpt from each post. It includes options for the maximum dimensions of your slideshow, allow you to choose to display posts or pages, what category to pull from, and even the specific post IDs of the posts you want to display. It includes next/previous arrows and a pager along with the option to turn both ON or OFF. Finally, you can place the slider into a widget area. The slideshow is also responsive and will automatically adjust for the screen it is being displayed on.

9. Genesis Grid: The Genesis Grid simply allows you to display your post on a grid format. “Features” are full-width posts at the top of the listing. “Teasers” are the posts broken into columns. You can set the number of Features and Teasers for both the homepage and inner pages, and how many columns the teasers are broken into. You can also specify the image sizes used for Features and Teasers. You can also specify where the grid loop is used by checking Home, Category Archives, Tag Archives, Author Archives, and/or Search Results.

10. Genesis Visual Hook Guide: The Genesis Visual Hook Guide allows you to easily see hooks on the actual positions on your Genesis theme. If you are looking to customize your genesis theme then this Genesis framework plugin will give you a visual view to make your job easier. This is one of my favorite Genesis framework plugins that’s why I am recommending it to you.

Over to you…

Do you of other awesome genesis framework plugins? Please share them with me via the comment section below and don’t fail to tell me why it is one of your favorite Genesis framework plugins.