Blog and website recommendations. A reference guide for new bloggers

Blog and Website Recommendations

I created this page as a simple blogging reference guide with blog and website recommendations. Listed are all the blogging tools and products I personally use and recommend.

Included in this guide are favorite books, podcasts, and more for both online business and creative inspiration.

I think you’ll find this guide helpful and easy to reference.

*Updated 1/03/22. 

Blog and website recommendations for new bloggers. Blogging for beginners blogging tools and tips

*This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I may receive a small commission at no additional cost to you for products you purchase via this website. For more information click here.

Website tools

Web host:

If you are just getting started blogging and want to spend as little as possible to begin, Bluehost is a good option. You can register your domain name and sign up for web hosting for around $3.95/month. Includes WordPress.org  One-click installation straight from Bluehost.

If you have been blogging for a while and are looking for superior website speed, customer service, and security, I highly suggest Kinsta web hosting. I recently switched and cannot say enough good things about them.

I started with Bluehost, now I have Kinsta. 

Website theme:

I use the Astra theme. The reason I use it is that it’s fast. Not fancy, but speed matters more. 

Blogging courses:

Fantastic beginner blogging course: Kickstart Your Blog.

SEO course: Stupid Simple SEO. This course is pricy but worth it! I just took this course in November 2021, but am seeing my traffic grow by implementing the techniques in this course.

Free entrepreneur planner:

This free planner printable will help organize all your blog and business ideas!

Blog marketing:

In addition to using SEO for ranking in Google, I use Pinterest to market my blog.

I love Pinterest, and using it to market and research is tons of fun. Pinterest can drive massive traffic to your blog. I barely do Instagram and don’t bother at all with FB.

Pinterest marketing tool:

Tailwind– This app will help you spread your pins far and wide by pinning for you at automated set times throughout the day.

It’s a great supplement to manual pinning, because there’s no time to pin throughout the day.

Email list:

I like ConvertKit because I can offer multiple free opt-ins to collect emails- an essential feature that Mailchimp and other free email collection services lack.

Graphic Design

Canva- Create your logo, Pinterest pins, and other images. The basic version is free and includes a selection of free stock photos, vectors, etc. Canva is perfect for blogging.

I also just got an iPad, the Procreate app, and am learning to use Photoshop. All for my Etsy shop though, rather than my blog.

Stock photos:

I use stock photos from Canva premium or Unsplash. My pins do well on Pinterest these days without needing extra paid stock photography.

More recommendations:

Writing tools:

 E-commerce tools:

Books for business:

Books for creativity:

Inspiring Podcasts:

My Wife Quit Her Job

Addicted to Success

Niche Pursuits

I hope you enjoy these blog and website recommendations! And please leave your comments below, I’d love to hear them!

You may also enjoy: 

How to Write Your First Blog Post in 9 Steps- Including a Snack Break!

The Weirdest Thing about Selling Printables on Etsy (That No One Ever Talks About)

How to Start Journaling for Beginners {With Free PDF Printable Journal Prompts}

25 Journal Prompts for Personal Development With Free PDF Printable

15 Inspirational Art Journal Pages

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