Top 5 basic plug-ins

Every site is different: some need event calendars, advanced image management, or flexible forms formatting. But some functionality is useful for just about every site. Here are the basic plug-ins I use for all the WordPress sites I develop:

1. Akismet: Does a great job of blocking comment and track-back spam.
2. All in One SEO Pack: Makes it easy to include SEO-friendly features in each post.
3. Tiny MCE Advanced: Provides editing flexibility with drag-and-drop icons. Also, stops removing <p> and <br> tags, and shows them in the html editor.
4. Maintenance Mode: Adds a splash page to your blog that lets visitors know your blog is down for maintenance. Logged in administrators get full access to the blog including the front end.
5. WP Google Analytics: Lets you use Google Analytics to track your WordPress site statistics