Theme

• Platform by Pagelines: This is a professionally designed theme, I am suing the free version of it. It is very neat and allows me to create a minimalist ambiance on the site. It has pwerful widget and column support.

Plugins

• Akismet : This plugin comes default with the WordPress 2.0 installation. I need to register at wordpress.org to get the activation key needed for running this plugin. I have found this plugin very effective.
• BackWPup: Using the free version of the plugin. Allows for scheduled backup of all files and databases.
• Easy Chart Builder: A very easy to use,yet powerful chat building plugin. Using it mostly for benchmark posts.
• Google Analyticator : This allows me to collect website usage statistics using Google analytics. No code change was needed.
• Google XLM Sitemaps:  Creates sitemaps compatible with Google, Yahoo, Ask search.
• Jetpack: This is a full suite of apps. Gradually I am replacing individual plugins with the apps provided by Jetpack
• NextGen Gallery: Have been using it as the default gallery plugin. Lately I am moving most of the galleries and photos to the WordPress native photo and gallery app. I find this plugin quite inconsistent and I plan to remove this plugin all together.
• W3 Total Cache : A very feature rich caching plugin.
• WP Table Reloaded: A very easy to use and functional table creation plugin.
• Yet Another Related Post: Using it to shows related posts at the bottom of the page.