Want to know about the resources I use to build this site and run my business?

Here you go!

Everything on this page is something I use myself, and can highly recommend. Some of the links are affiliate links, which means, if you click and make a purchase (many are free!), I earn a small commission. You pay exactly the same, but the commissions help me keep the site running and provide you with helpful information about what’s happening in the wonderful world of WordPress.

Domain Name Registrar

Namecheap. I’ve written plenty about it, and why I recommend it. You can see a list of the articles here.

Hosting

I have two recommendations, one for shared and one for managed WordPress hosting. (Don’t know the difference? Check out this article, or this one.) I’ve also added another, specialized hosting company if you need lots of marketing automation tools built in, alongside managed WordPress hosting in a unique environment.

For shared hosting: Siteground, for all these reasons.

For managed WordPress hosting: WP Engine is my recommendation. Here’s why.

New recommendation for managed WordPress hosting: Rocket.net

WordPress Themes

I have two go-to theme designers, and you can find out why I chose them here.

StudioPress: Until the redesign on New Year’s Eve, 2018, this site used the Prose theme from StudioPress. I’ve used StudioPress themes on dozens of other sites, both my own and clients’. I’m a huge fan.

You’ll find plenty of reviews of specific themes when you click the Reviews / Themes navigation tab above, and here are my thoughts on why to use a StudioPress theme.

Astra Themes: Astra is fast, which is hugely important. They provide a nice selection of themes for different purposes, and their customer service is speedy and helpful. They work on a freemium model, where the basic theme is free. If you want more, you can purchase the Astra Pro plugin to add more functionality.

Here’s my initial review of the Astra Theme.

Business / Productivity Tools

• Trello, for the best in kanban-style project management
• TeamworkPM if you prefer a more traditional style of project manager
• Toggl, to keep track of billable time
• Google Drive, which includes documents, spreadsheets, drawings, forms, and more. I’d be lost without it! It makes collaborating on documents absolutely painless.
• Evernote, for keeping everything in one place
• Slack, for fast and easy group communications, ideal for teams
• AppSumo, for heavily reduced (and sometimes free) prices on helpful apps and programs
• Google Analytics, for your web stats

Social Media Tools

• CoSchedule, the all-around best editorial calendar, task list, and social media automation tool
• Later.com, which I use to schedule Instagram and Pinterest posts
• Grum Dashboard, also for scheduling Instagram posts from your computer