It seems like every day I’m discovering new WordPress plugins that I have a need or desire for.   Today was no exception!   If you are someone that has made a number of downloads available to the public on your WordPress blog (WordPress themes, WordPress plugins, eBooks, etc.), you will probably also find this plugin very useful.

The plugin I am referencing is the WordPress Download Manager plugin, which was designed to help you give you statistics and manage your downloads.  Once activated, this plugin gives you a download manager in your WordPress dashboard that supports the following extensions:  .zip, .pdf, .mp3, .rar.  You can upload multiple downloads, create download categories, and even make your own custom download URL’s.

This plugin also calculates your downloads for you and displays your download statistics on the front page of your dashboard.

In case you didn’t see the alert in your WordPress dashboard, it looks like WordPress 2.3.1 is now available for download.   Included are tagging fixes for Windows Live Writer, as well as over 20 bug fixes.

It is always good to avoid vulnerability by always using the most current version of WordPress, so I recommend upgrading as soon as you get the chance.