Best Blogging Tools & Resources
I decided to create a recommendation page for the best blogging tools and resources to share with you. The list includes only those products that I have personally use and love! This page gives you access to all the tools that you need to require for your blog and online business. Exciting?
In the end, I’ve also shared my favorite courses and ebooks that I purchased to skyrocket my blog growth. Trust me, the results are amazing!
Over the time of 4+ years of blogging experience, I bought products, tools and services to grow my blog. This entire page includes all the best blogging resources for bloggers at different levels.
Keep checking the page as I’ll update it with new tools every month.
So, this page is all for you!
Disclosure: This page contains some affiliate links, but these are all my favorite products that I use and recommend. These tools have made my blogging a lot easier. So, if you make a purchase it might help me earn a small commission.
Blogging Platforms
WordPress.org – There’s no second opinion for an amazing blogging platform that I love to use. WordPress.org makes blogging so easy and simple that even non-techy individuals can set up a professional blog by themselves. WordPress is one popular blogging platform that is recommended by several other famous bloggers and they’ve been using it for more than 10 years. Definitely, a YES!
Related: WordPress.com vs WordPress.org – Read the difference!
Web Hosting
Bluehost – If you are simply starting out and looking for reliable yet inexpensive web hosting then I’d recommend you to start with Bluehost. The best thing is that it is recommended by WordPress too.
When you start a blog with bluehost, you also get a free domain for 1 year, SSL certificate, intuitive WordPress dashboard to manage your website. It’s absolutely perfect for beginner bloggers and you can always transfer your hosts whenever you want.
If you want to start a blog, I’d suggest to check out the guide below.
A Step By Step Tutorial To Start A Profitable WordPress Blog. This guide includes all steps you must follow to decide and launch a self hosted WordPress blog with Bluehost. This is even the exact process I followed to start my own blog.
Blog Design/Themes
1- Studiopress – My blog runs on the Genesis framework with a custom child theme and I’m loving it from the first day. Studiopress is a premium theme supplier that offers wonderful themes flexible for WordPress websites. It gives your blog a clean, simple and more professional look. If you want to avail Pro Plus All-Theme Package then click here to get the package for 25% discount.
2- Genesis Framework – I use Genesis Framework on this blog along with the customized theme. This is the strong framework that most bloggers and business owners use. With a one-time investment, you get a competitive theme with a strong foundation. Read my full review on Genesis + Studiopress theme, and why I use it?
3- Elegant Themes – Another amazing resource to get the best website designs is Elegant Themes. The responsive Divi Theme For WordPress is a perfect solution for anyone who’s looking for flexibility and responsiveness. You can get impressive themes at an affordable price rate. Elegant themes is perfect for anyone who wants to build a site on their own. If you are interested in this beautiful website builder then Read my Elegant Themes Review.
4- Bluchic Themes – Do you love feminine themes? Bluchic is popularly known for gorgeous themes for female business owners and bloggers! Bluchic themes are pretty designed with strong SEO characteristics and elegant design. This should be a one-time investment for your blog design. Check out stunning bluchic themes here.
5- Astra Theme – If you are looking for a light-weight yet professional theme then Astra is an excellent option. I see that many websites have moved to astra because of high speed, and wonderful performance. There are different price packages and options for you to choose. Even though, it has a free version but you require premium version for designing a professional and feature-rich website. Click here to get Astra theme.
6- GeneratePress – This is another super excellent wordpress theme for fast websites. You do require some basic knowledge to design your website or use pre-made templates and other premium features. This theme is the most recommended by developers.
7- Pixelgrade Club – It is a subscription-based serviced for bloggers. If you’re looking for the affordable WordPress themes, then give Pixelgrade Club a try. With a monthly subscription at $9.95/m, you get a set of customized WordPress themes, updates, amazing features, and support.
If you are interested in more themes then check out;
15 Premium WordPress Themes For Bloggers
16 Feminine WordPress Themes For Female Blogs & Entrepreneurs
Social Media Management
1: Buffer – Scheduling social media posts is one of the efficient ways to get succeeded with your business. Buffer is a great tool for scheduling posts in advance and increases followers. Buffer has both free and paid plans.
2: Hootsuite – Scheduling becomes a lot easier with Hootsuite. The free version is perfect for anyone who’s starting with social media. It offers free, professional and theme plans for businesses. The tool is simple to use for shortening links and studying analytics.
3: Tailwind – This social media scheduling tool is commonly known for Pinterest and Instagram marketing. It works best for small businesses and bloggers. It is a simple yet powerful tool for saving time and measure success. It can save you time by scheduling the pins altogether. Click here to try it for free.
4: PromoRepublic – This is another easy and powerful social media marketing tool with thousands of pre-made social media templates to use. You can simply choose a template and make changes to your branding. And, just automate it with the scheduler. The best feature is creating quotes! With unlimited templates, it’s super fast to create a social media graphic and schedule it. Try out PromoRepublic here.
5: Content Cal – This is another new yet powerful social media content calendar. Now, simply auto-schedule your social media posts with ContentCal. Create a content calendar and even, assign tasks to your team members. This is perfect for bloggers, business owners, and entrepreneurs. It only starts at $17/m. I tried out the content calendar and even auto-post feature which is both easy to use.
Email Marketing Tools
1- Mailerlite : Mailerlite is one simple and wonderful email marketing tool that I personally use and love. Mailerlite is free up till 1000 subscribers! When you get more than 1000 subscribers, you will require to pay. You can create web forms, landing pages and even auto responding emails with this tool. You can sign up here for free and get $20 when you upgrade.
Suggest read- How To Create An Email List With Mailerlite For Free
2- Constant Contact: Another powerful email marketing tool is Contact Contact. It’s been a leading email marketing tool for 20+ years! It provides all other features including automation emails, A/B testing email subject lines, customisable templates and other segmentation based on clicks.
With great features, easy customisable templates and segment based email newsletters, constant contact is an excellent choice.
In addition to that, you get 60-days free trial! using my link. Even after 2 months, it’s just $20/m.
3- Convertkit: If you’re a business owner, or you want to invest in a more advanced email marketing tool, I highly suggest Convertkit. I call it a more advanced, automated system that truly helps in email list building. If you want to make a one-time investment then Convertkit should be the choice.
It’s the best tool that most business owners use these days. Try Convertkit here!
If you’re interested in email list building, sign-up for this free email list building webinar! It teaches email list building from scratch.
A lot of websites use online quizzes to engage with their audience. Whether you want to create a quiz for your products or build an email list, quizzes are a perfect way! I published a step by step post here where I showed how I created a quiz to grow my email list.
Legal Bundle / Legal Pages
1) DMCA – DMCA offers a protection service for website owners to detect content thieves. Check out the program for protection badges, plagiarism checker, email status report, photo watermarker, plugin, etc. Sign up here to get free DMCA protection badge.
2) Legal Bundle – As you start blogging, and make money online, you also need to legally protect your blog. Legal pages including privacy policy, disclosure, and terms & condition templates are VERY important and required by law.
If you’re a blogger, coach, entrepreneur or a small business owner – you will need this legal bundle template! When you’ve got these pre-made templates, you will not need to contact a lawyer because the creator of these templates is a lawyer herself.
This is a must-buy for every blogger and entrepreneur. Don’t let your business on risk without having the necessary legal pages. Click the link below to check out the bundle.
<<Check out Legal Bundle with 3 must-have templates + 9 bonuses>>
You can also find several other legal templates for different businesses and entrepreneurs. For example, coaching template, sponsored template, affiliate disclosure and so much more.
3) Copyright Template : Do you know if your online content is protected? Whether you have a blog, service or online digital products, you must have a copyright notice. It should protect your content from online theft.
SEO Tools
1 – Keysearch Keyword Research Tool
Are you looking for the most affordable yet powerful keyword research tool? Try out keysearch! It is the best keyword tool for any newbie blogger or even advanced blogger. This SEO tool also has other features like competitor analysis, keyword gaps, finding keyword difficulty and so much more. You can even check out my ultimate keysearch review where I have outlined each and every step. Use code ‘KSDISC’ to avail 20% discount.
2 – Keywords Everywhere. This is also a good tool for analysing long keywords and their total volume. It might not provide detailed data but it’s great for getting a rough idea about topics.
3 – SEMrush – If you are looking for all in one and a more advanced tool then look at Semrush! It’s the most recommended SEO tool.
4. Answer The Public – A free tool to find related queries, and keywords.
Online Courses For Creatives
Recently, I found this amazing online learning platform and I’m so enjoying it! It’s not only about marketing courses, but a outstanding collection of courses related to digital art, illustration, letter art, sketching, drawing and so much more.
And, they are so affordable.
Check out Domestika : The ideal platform for creatives, and artists. Get your favourite course on digital art, illustration, drawing, crafting, photography, design, 3D and animation, marketing and so much more. Why not learn something new? Search here.
Blog Design Tools
Canva : the perfect graphic designing tool for images, GIFs, animated videos, presentations, social media graphics, logos, banners and so much more.
Invideo : the easy tool for creating videos in minutes.
Deposit Photos : the best site for stock photos.
Videvo : Find free stock video clips, motion graphics, music effects and sound effects to make your perfect videos! A full resource library of safe-to-use video and audio content. Get an additional 15% discount on annual Premium subscriptions with code ‘SMB15’.
Envato Market : all in one place for graphic elements, themes, plugins
Creative Market : the huge place for all graphic design elements.
Creative Market – This is a favorite designing spot for creative buddies like YOU! If you love designing elements, wallpapers, cute icons, fonts, themes, stock images, etc then do visit Creative Market. By the way, you’ll also get 6 goodies for free every week when you get to sign up.
<<Go to this link to get free goodies!>>
PDF Expert for Mac : the pdf editing tool for mac users.
More Blogging Tools
FreshBooks – No matter you’re a blogger, small business owner or a freelancer you are worried for billing, and payments. Freshbook is the all-new accounting software that makes billing painless. I use it occasionally for my freelance clients and other blog expenses. Definitely, sign up for the free trial. You’ll love it!
Grammarly – It’s one of the finest grammar checkers that identify any spelling or grammar mistakes. I absolutely love using Grammarly. The free version offers basic corrections however the premium is an excellent resource for writers and bloggers.
Dropbox – A perfect free tool to save and backup any files online. You can share files with anyone online.
Digital Product Tools
Teachable: The platform for creating and selling online courses. You can easily create and sell courses on teachable platform. It’s the most popular site with so many videos and tutorials. It’s easy to work. Also has affiliate program for creators
Podia: Podia is another amazing platform to sell digital products. Sell ebooks, checklists, courses, memberships. They have different plans with affiliate programs for creators.
Sendowl: The perfect platform to sell ebooks, checklists, printables etc.
Gumroad: Super easy platform for selling digital products. I use Gumroad to sell my products, and it’s hassle free. They take a commission for each sale. This is by far the most easiest platform for beginners. You can check out my shop here.
Stock Photos
1- Shutterstock. As a blogger, and online business owner you do need quality images to support your content and make your website look interesting. Shutterstock is the best spot to find a variety of photos, illustrations, vectors in almost 29 different categories including arts, beauty, healthcare, business, food, vintage, nature, interiors etc. You can even find beautiful patterns.
I also have a special discount code for SheMeansBlogging readers so if you want to use shutterstock beautiful photos then make sure to use code ‘SMBL10’ to get 10% discount on your purchase.
> (opens in a new tab)”><<CHECK OUT SHUTTERSTOCK HERE>>
2- Pixistock Styled Stock Photos – Pixistock is a stock photo subscription site to download more than 1500 stock photos at a time! Yes, get more than thousands of gorgeous stock images with a membership plan.
You may choose a plan of 3 months, and cancel it anytime! These images are perfect for lady bloggers. You will see many images from Pixistock library on my website and social media including beautiful pin images! Also, get free stock photos every month. For more, read my complete review on this.
I use pixistock photos on my site and I love it’s content calendar! It is a must-have for social media marketers. It makes my content creation super easy. Click here to check out right now!
3- IvoryMix – If you’re looking for a variety of stock photos at a cheap price then check out Ivory Mix! They have thousands of stock photos in their stock library! Their quarterly plan is so cheap and totally worth the price.
Productivity Tools
Trello – This is another interesting tool for boosting productivity and project management. With trello, you can organize all personal and business tasks. Trello boards give you quick access to all important deadlines, assignments, and schedules. You can also use Trello for teams in business management. I love making captivating Trello boards to batch all the monthly tasks.
LastPass – LastPass is the password manager for protecting all your passwords. Isn’t that great? You’ll require adding a chrome extension and that’s it! The online tool secures all your important passwords. Now, you don’t need to worried about remembering passwords. Give LastPass a try!
Courses And Ebooks Recommendations
Free Online Courses – This post contains more than 40 plus free courses for bloggers and biz owners.
#1. Evergreen Content Ebook – Are you tired of writing posts that never get you desired results? Or, maybe, you are not getting enough website traffic, sales and even subscribers to your blog? You can check out my ebook here!
This 145+ page ebook includes everything you should know about content creation. From brainstorming blog posts to converting your blog posts to make money, email subscribers and traffic – this ebook will guide you with all the steps. Plus, also download a bonus workbook.
#2. The complete roadmap to set up a profitable side-hustle: This ebook is all time favorite ebook for anyone who is looking to start a business, grow different blog incomes, setting up an online shop or even nurturing your online business! With all 3 bonuses, this ebook is a must-buy for anyone who’s looking to do a side-hustle and build passive income. Check out the ebook here.
#3. Easy On-Page SEO Ebook: This is a go-to ebook for on-page SEO tips and strategies for beginners. Get this ebook and just follow it.
Best Blogging Ebooks To Skyrocket Traffic – Check out some of my best books that really helped me increase my website traffic over time! If you like to learn more about traffic strategies, check out these ebooks!