Should I be using the is_admin() function to make sure I’m not counting my own? I don’t have open registration so I’m assuming this is what you’re talking about.

I’ll have to look into the wp_post_meta table and add_post_meta() function. I want to keep this as standard as possible using the built-in WordPress functions.

I have quite some experience with WordPress.

First off, I don’t think you need a new table to store views for a post. You could use the wp_post_meta table for this, which means using the custom fields feature of WordPress(add_post_meta).

It would also be wise to check if a user is logged in(is_user_logged_in) before registering a post view, you don’t want to be counting your own views.

The best resource for developing WordPress plugins I know is actually the WordPress Codex itself.

What you’ll want to do is create a php file with the correct comment section in the header for the plugin info, then have a look at hooks and widgets, especially add_action(‘wp’) and register_sidebar_widget(“Top posts”, “top_posts”);

Be sure to have a look at hallo.php in the plugins folder for a basic plugin sample. Also check out my stats widget plugin for some widget code. This one relies on WordPress.com stats.

http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/wordpresscom-stats-top-posts-sidebar-widget/