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 8/08/23.
*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.
Blog and Website Recommendations
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 Rocket web hosting. I recently switched and cannot say enough good things about them. Fast, secure, affordable, and helpful.
Website theme:
I use the free 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 helpful! I took this course in November 2021 and started seeing my traffic grow by implementing the techniques it teaches. Because of this course, I now have my own super simple keyword research method I invented.
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.
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 often 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.
For paid graphics, I like Creative Fabrica. Sign up at Black Friday for a sweet deal.
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. I make graphics for certain articles sometimes using Canva Premium.
More website recommendations:
Plugins:
I try to keep it minimal but some notable plugins I enjoy include:
- Rank math
- WP Rocket
- Imagfy
- Link Whisperer
Writing tools:
- Spell checker: Grammarly- Basic version is free and awesome.
- Word finder: Thesaurus.com- A valuable tool.
Books for business:
- Get Rich Lucky Bitch by Denise Duffield Thomas.
- The 4-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferris. *I am currently living the 4-hour work week with this blog and it’s awesome.
- You Are a Badass at Making Money by Jen Sincero.
- She Means Business by Carrie Green.
- Everything by Bob Proctor.
Books for creativity:
- The War of Art by Steven Pressfield.
- Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert.
- The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron.
- Juicy Pens, Thirsty Paper by Susan Ariel Rainbow Kennedy, (SARK).
- Make Your Creative Dreams Real by SARK.
- Real Magic by Dr. Wayne Dyer.
Inspiring Business-Related Podcasts:
Monetizing your blog:
My favorite ways to monetize blogging include:
- Make money with ads. Ezoic or Mediavine are both great.
- Sell or market your own products.
- Affiliate marketing here and there.
Every website is different, these are just my preferred ways of making money blogging.
Concluding thoughts:
I hope you enjoy these blog and website recommendations! They do tend to evolve with time. I just love talking blog. Please leave your comments below, I’d love to hear them!
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