On this page you’ll find a list of resources I use for my websites from hosting, themes, plugins, and more! This is a great resource for bloggers who are just starting out and would like pointed in the right direction, you’ll find all that you need here to make your blog awesome! Before getting too overwhelmed you can check out our post on how to start your own blog to start brainstorming on some ideas/themes that you’d like to use. I’ll be updating this frequently, so make sure to bookmark this page!
Contents
Domain Registration & Hosting
WordPress Themes
Marketing Tools
Ad Networks
WordPress Plugins
This post contains affiliate links. Please see my disclosure policy.
NameCheap – When it comes to domain registration I usually always go with NameCheap. One of the good things about them is that their domains are cheaper than sites like GoDaddy and along with coupon codes (always look for coupons in Google before buying a domain or hosting) I usually get really amazing deals. Namecheap also has some very awesome customer support, which is a big thing when it comes to domain registration or hosting.
Bluehost – After seeing Bluehost’s cheap hosting prices I decided to move some of my sites to be hosted by them and I haven’t looked back since. I already plan on moving I Heart Arts n Crafts over there soon as I really love the prices on their plans. Also, like how I mentioned with NameCheap, they so far have been very excellent in responding to any questions or concerns I have, so I don’t think I’ll have to worry in the future regarding their Customer Support. Lastly don’t forget to check out some of their specials, especially the deal to get a free domain with a hosting plan.
Studiopress – When it comes to WordPress themes, Studiopress seems to know what their doing. I’ve used countless themes from them and every single one of them was well built and pretty nice to look at too. Studiopress is also responsible for Genesis Framework, which is extremely helpful for anyone who wants to design their own WordPress theme.
Pixelista – Since this is a site dedicated to parenting, I figured I’d atleast mention Pixelista. The reason I mention Pixelista is because the site features WordPress themes targeted towards women. The themes available are really well done and would be perfect for anyone wishing to start a parenting, crafting, or diy site. Also if you happen to have a big budget for your websites design, Pixelista will even design a custom theme just for you!
WordPress – If you don’t wish to spend any money on themes, have no fear! There are countless free themes available to download on WordPress. Also don’t forget to use Google to your advantage when searching for some free themes.
Hootsuite – I recently joined Hootsuite just two months ago and I’m already kicking myself for not joining them sooner. Hootsuite is one of the best social media marketing tools available online. Even the free account is extremely useful, it basically lets you connect your social media accounts to your Hootsuite account. Doing this lets you easily schedule posts for all of your social media accounts whenever you want. It has also made managing all of my social media accounts ten times easier and I highly recommend this site if you plan on using social media to drive traffic to your blog.
Aweber – Aweber is the website I use to manage my subscribers. With Aweber you can easily customize how your newsletters look along with customizing your own sign up forms that you can easily install on your blog. Aweber even lets you schedule follow-up emails so you can keep driving readers to your content, no matter how old it is! Also they offer a $1 dollar trial for your first month, so I recommend you at least try it out to see for yourself how easy it makes managing your subscribers and newsletters!
JustUnfollow – JustUnfollow is an amazing website to use if you’re having trouble building up a following on Twitter. The one thing I love about JustUnfollow is how it lets you copy someone else’s followers in order to easily follow them. This has helped me gain a lot of followers who are in my demographic within days. Even with a free account you can still follow a decent amount of people everyday and have a nice big following on Twitter within a matter of weeks.
Adsense – Google Adsense seems to be like the go to advertising network for anyone first starting a blog. I’ve used Adsense countless times and have recieved a good rpm rate with them and great customer service. Although there are better alternatives to Adsense, I suggest for any newcomers to try Adsense first until you get the hang of everything. Also don’t forget to check out my post on how to monetize your blog using ads in order to get the most money out of your ads.
Chitika – Chitika is also a good alternative to Adsense. And again I’m just suggesting Chitika as an ad network for any newcomers out there. Eventually you can start checking out sites like Blogher or The Blogger Network.
All in One Seo Pack – I use this plugin on every one of my WordPress sites and it has been extremely helpful for improving my sites. It is also pretty easy to use for any new bloggers.
W3 Total Cache – This is a plugin that I use to help improve my sites loading time which you can check out using Google’s Pagespeed Insights. If you are new to things I highly advise looking up a guide for this plugin as it can be extremely confusing at first to use.
WP Smush.it – This is another plugin I use to help improve all of my site’s loading time. It is used to help reduce an image’s file size which can really hinder your site’s performance.
Pin it Button – This plugin is extremely helpful if you plan on driving a lot of traffic from Pinterest.
Shareaholic – I recently discovered this plugin and I already love it. Shareaholic lets you cuztomize your own personal “share bar” in many different ways, along with other amazing features.
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