My Recommended Website Resources & Tools
This website resources page is a free list of tools to help you build and maintain a successful business website.
At first, I started this list as a reference page to make it easy on myself when looking for specific tools and resources to complete my web design tasks.
But then I told myself I should share it because maybe others could find it helpful as I do and benefit from it.
Disclosure: This page contains affiliate links, meaning we get a commission if you use those links. – You can read our full disclosure in our privacy policy.
Before I begin with the list, note that I have ordered it in the form of how you would need the tools to build a website from start to finish.
Therefore you’ll see first website hosts, themes, plugins, and tools.
Later, you’ll see other cool things to help you to optimize your website to make it more efficient.
So go ahead and work your way through this list as you see fits your needs.
WEB HOSTING
HostGator – This is the hosting service I use the most to host the websites I build.
It’s a well-recognized provider in the web hosting industry.
HostGator offers many different hosting plans to suit small business needs.
It is fast, and reliable, with excellent customer service.
Currently, this site (websitemas.com) is hosted on HostGator.
HostGator has a 30-day money-back warranty; go ahead and try it.
WP Engine – Now, if you already have a website with more than 100k visits a month.
In that case, I recommend using WP Engine because you’ll need a WP hosting that can handle the high traffic.
WORDPRESS THEMES
To make your site look nice, you need to add a beautiful and reliable theme.
StudioPress is my go-to for premium WordPress themes for all my websites, including this one.
This website is built on StudioPress’s Authority Pro Theme.
These themes are well-designed, reliable, fast-loading, SEO-friendly, and easy to work with.
I know there are other well-designed themes for blogs and websites, but I find StudioPress themes perfect for what I do.
Go ahead and take a look at all of StudioPress’s themes.
WEBSITE PLATFORM
Without a doubt, my recommendation for website platforms is WordPress.
Of course, there are other popular ones, but WordPress is today’s most popular platform.
It’s easy to use, reliable, and gives you full control over your website; best of all is open source, meaning it is completely free.
PLUGINS
Elementor: To help me with web designing, I use Elementor, and I think that for drag-and-drop web design, this is one of the best tools.
They have free and paid versions. I’m currently using the paid version.
Autoptimize and WP-Optimize: I use these two plugins to help optimize my website’s speed.
See my article: How to Speed Up Your WordPress Website to learn how to use them.
Yoast SEO: To help me optimize my posts for SEO, I use this tool; they have a free and paid version. I’m using their free version.
Duplicator: For regular website backups, this is a very reliable tool; they have a free and paid version. I’m using their free version.
Kadence Blocks: I like to use the Kadence plugin instead of the WordPress Gutenberg blocks; I think Kadence blocks are more flexible.
Gravity Forms: To create contact forms, I usually use Gravity. I think it is one of the best plugins for this task.
Pretty Links: To keep my affiliate links organized and to track their performance, I use Pretty Links, which I think is one of the best for the task.
Wordfence Security: For the security of my WordPress website, I trust no other than Wordfence.
It is easy to set up and understand; they have free and paid versions.
I’m getting weekly email reports even when I’m using their free version.
WRITING TOOLS
Grammarly: For writing posts, Grammarly is my tool of choice.
It helps you identify and replace complicated sentences with more efficient ones, refresh repetitive language and uphold accurate spelling, punctuation, and grammar.
If you have a blog, this tool also provides a plagiarism checker to help you make sure your posts are unique.
Read 0 Meter: This tool calculates how long it will take a reader to read your post.
The results are based on the average reading speed of around 200 words per minute (wpm).
Spanish Checker: This tool will help you check your grammar in Spanish if you have a multilingual website like this.
PHOTOGRAPHS
Canva: I usually get the pictures and videos I need for my post from Canva because I can edit and add some text and background to them.
Pixabay: When I can’t find the pictures I need on Canva, my next stop is Pixabay, where all their photos are royalty-free.
They also have royalty-free videos and music.
Pexels: Another source for images very similar to Pixabay is Pexels.
SEO TOOLS
Ubersuggest: For keyword research, I use this free tool; it is very easy to use.
Google tools: To keep my eye on my website’s traffic and performance, I use the following Google free tools:
SPEED TESTS
To make sure my websites comply with Google speed requirements, I use the following free tools:
EXPERTE (I’d like this tool very much because it gives me the speed results of all the pages and posts on my website, kind of in a “Bulk Page Speed Test”).
RESPONSIVENESS TESTS
Today more people than ever view websites on mobile devices; therefore, optimizing your website for responsiveness is essential.
I use the following free tools to help with the task:
LINK CHECKERS
One of the primary reasons people leave a website is finding broken links; to help me find broken links on my website, I use the following free tools.
AFFILIATE PROGRAMS
There are hundreds of affiliate program providers; the following are a few of the ones I’m currently using.
GRAPHIC DESIGN
For graphic design, I use Canva or leave the job to an expert on Fiverr.
QR CODES
When my clients need a QR code, I use the following free tools:
ACCOUNTING AND INVOICING
To keep my records in order, I use the free service of Wave, which also provides invoicing service, but I have been using PayPal for so long that I just stuck with it.
EXPERT BLOGGERS
And here is a list of some of the bloggers I like to visit weekly to keep me updated on blogging new tricks.
Pat Flynn – Smart Passive Income
More coming soon.
I hope this list of resources and tools is helpful to you as it is to me!
I will constantly be updating this list with any new tools I find helpful, so don’t forget to bookmark it.
