There are so many resources out there!
One friend recommends this tool, while this famous blogger recommends another. I know. .. it can be overwhelming!
Since I’m always trying new tools and technologies, I’ve curated a list with some of my favorite resources for blogging and online business.
I’ll be updating this list as I find new tools that can help us start and grow our digital businesses. So keep checking back anytime you need a new tool or software. If you don’t find what you are looking for, contact me and I’ll do the homework. If you know me, I love challenges. Also remember, in this entrepreneurial journey, you are not alone!
Disclosure: This page contains affiliate links, which means that if you buy something using some of the links below, I may earn a commission without affecting your buying experience. This is just a way you help to grow and support this blog.
Domain & Hosting
Tingtal Host – After our website was hacked last year, we decided to transfer our hosting to TingTal Host. A company with great price, customer service and optimal security measures for your blog or website.
WordPress.org – If you starting a blog or a website, I definitely recommended doing it at WordPress.org. Customize your site the way you want, use and control your own domain and get access to thousands of themes and plugins that will make your site professional without having to hire a web developer.
WordPress Themes & Plugins
Yoast SEO – The best plugin for optimizing your blog posts for SEO in WordPress.
Sumo – Do you like those floating social share buttons on the left? You can make this for free with this plugin. It’s a great way to get your content and posts share.
Bloom – This is the plugin that I use for e-mail opt-in and lead generation in WordPress. Highly recommended!
ThemeForest – Here is where I’ve bought almost all my WordPress Themes. They have a collection of more than 30,000 themes with a wide-range of styles and affordable prices.
Luca Themes – I really like Luca’s WordPress Themes! He has a great variety of products specialized for female bloggers.
Elegant Themes – Another great site with more than 80 beautiful WordPress Themes. Highly recommended for bloggers and businesses!
Business & Productivity
Dropbox – Have you lost a folder or maybe all your files? I have . Since I use Dropbox, I don’t stress about having an updated backup of my files. This is one of my main tools for business and where I share files with my clients.
Trello – Do you need to get organized? This is a great tool for productivity and planning. I created my content calendar with Trello.
Paypal – What can I tell you about Paypal? Let’s keep it short and clear: Paypal is how I get paid!
Toggl – Do you work for an hourly rate? Or just like to track your time for productivity? This is a great time tracker. It develops a complete report for projects that you can share with your clients.
Uber Conference – Free conference calls! Lately, I’ve been using their services a lot. For me, it is great when I have to conduct an interview and I want to record the audio to have it as a backup when I write the article.
G Suite – All you need to do your best work is together in one package that works seamlessly from your computer. I use Google as my email platform and my life runs on their calendar. Definitely a set of essential tools for my business.
Focus@Will – An app that finally helped me to not get distracted by listening to music that makes me more productive. Don’t believe me? Read my post!
Graphic Design
Canva – Lately I create all my graphics here! Canva makes design simple for everyone. Here you can create designs for Web or print: blog graphics, presentations, social media posts, flyers and much more.
PicMonkey – This is another online tool for photo editing with great design tools. It is also really good for creating collages.
Adobe Creative Cloud – I don’t have to tell you much! Let me just mention some of the software: Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere, Audition, Lightroom and much more. This is a must for anyone working in the creative field! Now with Adobe Creative Cloud, you get access to all the programs as well as to their stock photography, a cloud for backing up your files and one of the newest features is the Portfolio that lets you create a website to showcase your work.
TinyJPG – A great website to quickly optimize your images with a perfect balance in quality and file size for your website.
Social Media
Tailwind – One of the best tools for Pinterest! It allows you to schedule pins, and their tribes are great places to share content with other pinners. Recently, they released their mobile app which lets you schedule pins from your phone.
IconoSquare – Get the most detailed analytics for your Instagram account.
Planoly – Great tool to schedule posts on Instagram. It lets you upload photos, videos and stories to Instagram, directly from your computer.
Email Marketing
MailChimp – This is a must-have tool to start building your list and do email marketing. Very user-friendly with tons of templates for newsletters and forms.
ConvertKit – The most recommended tool for email marketing by famous bloggers and business owners. It is a great service provider that will help you grow not only your email list but also your business. ConvertKit is great for email courses, challenges, sales funnels, welcome series and so much more.
Freelance and Sidehustle
Upwork – Do you need to hire a freelancer? This is the place! Do you need a place to look for gigs? Here too!
Fiverr – Need help and have a low budget? Fiverr has an extensive database of freelancers that work with graphic design, writing & translation, digital marketing and much more, no matter your deadline or budget.
Writing
Grammarly – Is English your second language? It’s mine as well! I’ve been working and studying all these years to perfect my writing skills, and this tool has been SO helpful! Install it on your browser and it will suggest changes every time you write an email, a social media post or even a blog post. Believe me, this one is a life changer!
Evernote – If there’s a place where I write EVERYTHING, it is Evernote. This software is like an extension of my brain. Is where I write from drafts of my posts, notes of meetings with my clients or any online course, to my daily to-do list. The greatest feature is that it syncs with your computer and your devices, so you always have all your information at hand.
CoShedule Headline Analyzer – This tool will help you to write headlines that drive traffic, shares and search results. Great for SEO!