Plugin Review: WordTwit shorten URLS and Updates Twitter

WordTwit in a single word is AWESOME.

The installation process is smooth as we’ve come to expect from all WordPress plugins. As soon as the plugin is activated you are presented with a Settings page. The first thing you will want to do is enter your twitter login credentials. Yes, we all wish Twitter would hurry up with the “Twitter Connect” feature so we don’t have to share our login details. But nonetheless the guys who created this plugin promise they are trustworthy with this information (Cross their hearts).

After your twitter login information is added your avatar and a quick snipit of information from your twitter profile will be added. Neato. This part really serves no purpose other than to be a quick way for you to visualize that adding your twitter login was successful.

The next section in the WordTwit Settings is called URL Shortening. There are many unique features about this section. First you are presented an option for which URL Shortening service you would like to use. You can choose to shorten your URLS using the TinyURL.com service. Or, you can turn your WordPress install into it’s own URL shortening service! Using your own domain name to shorten your own URLs has many benefits – including keeping all the clicks within the family so to speak. After you have posted a couple of links a new part of this section will appear that will allow you to monitor the amount of clicks you have received. My test post has already received 9 clicks!

You can also choose to use another domain name that you own as URL shortener – but I’m not sure how this works yet.

The Real Reason You want this Plugin:

Now everytime you add a new post to your blog it will automatically login into your Twitter account and post it for you! Before we had to rely on services like TwitterFeed.com to accomplish this task. TwitterFeed.com is great, but it’s not automatic. In can take upwards to 30 minutes for TwitterFeed to post your new posts on twitter. Twitter is all about the here and NOW. WordTwit eliminates the wait.

Another neat feature they have is the  include/exclude. You can choose which categories you can include and exclude from you twitter updates. I would like to see this feature expanded some with actual lists of the categories as opposed to having to find the number that is associated with the category.

I will definetley recommend WordTwit to all of my clients!

How to Install WordTwit:

Step 1: Login to your WordPress 2.7 or above Installation.

Step 2: Under the Plugins heading in the Dashboard click on “Add New”

Step 3: Search for the term “WordTwit” – it should be the only plugin that appears.

Step 4: Follow the prompts to download and install.

Step 5: Enjoy!