Website Resources
On this page you’ll find all of the website resources you will need in creating and running a website that I could think of.
An up-to-date list of all of the tools & services that I have either used myself, or found after thorough research, to ensure only the best recommendations are present to cater to all requirements.
[Full Disclosure: Some of these links may be affiliate links, meaning – at no extra cost to you – I receive compensation if you purchase through them.]
Host
Bluehost
If you are a beginner or place high importance on user-friendly tools then Bluehost’s intuitive dashboard and built-in WordPress installation will suit your needs well.
Namecheap
If your main criteria for a host is low prices, then Namecheap is a good choice, with cheaper hosting packages, as well as the option of paying monthly. This site is hosted using Namecheap.
Platform
WordPress.org
WordPress is open source software you can use to create a beautiful website, blog, or app. Although it has a higher initial learning curve than other platforms such as Wix or SquareSpace, it offers you much more control and ultimate flexibility over your website.
Theme
Astra
Not only will your website be fast, but you will be able to make it look exactly how you want with their visual theme customiser. With pre-built starter templates to import, excellent performance and great features, I have found Astra to be a very good theme. I started with the free version – which is certainly good enough on it’s own – before upgrading to Pro to unlock the additional benefits.
Email Marketing Provider
ConvertKit
ConvertKit has been built with care to the exact needs of creators building online businesses. Their user experience is very user-friendly, and segmenting subscribers into focused groups so that you can deliver content specific to their needs, has never been easier. I really like the visual automation & sequences functionality.
Helpful Courses
Build Your Own Brand
This is a free 5-day challenge to help you build a brand and website you can be proud of. This is a course with one module per day. Each module has 3–4 videos to help you through that day’s objective. It’s a good way to get started setting up your WordPress website and has easy to follow steps, I really like Pat Flynn’s style of teaching.
Email Marketing Magic
Introducing a simple and effective framework to give you confidence in all your email marketing efforts. This course will not just help you grow your list, but help you generate more revenue, too, even if you’re not good at writing or afraid of selling.
This is a paid course that really delivers a tonne of value as expected of Pat Flynn.
Images & Logo
Unsplash
Over 1 million free high-resolution images brought to you by the world’s most generous community of photographers.
Get the perfect design. Whatever your business need or budget, they’ll help get it done.
Plugins
- Akismet Anti-Spam: checks your comments and contact form submissions against our global database of spam to prevent your site from publishing malicious content.
- Astra Widgets: lets you create widgets to add an address, a social profile widget and list icons that you can add into your header, sidebar, footer etc. on your website.
- Complianz | GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent: this is the cookie plugin used on this website, supporting GDPR & boasting a built in Cookie Scan.
- Easy HTTPS Redirection (SSL): this plugin will help you automatically setup a redirection to the https version of an URL when anyone tries to access the non-https version.
- Google Analytics Plugin for WordPress: with over 2 million active installs, MonsterInsights is the most popular Google Analytics plugin for WordPress.
- Loginizer: helps you fight against brute force attack by blocking login for the IP after it reaches maximum retries allowed.
- Pretty Links: this enables you to shorten links using your own domain name, helping you to shrink, beautify, track, manage and share any URL on or off of your WordPress website.
- Search Exclude: with this plugin you can exclude any page, post or whatever from the WordPress search results.
- Simple Custom CSS and JS: customize your WordPress site’s appearance by easily adding custom CSS and JS code without even having to modify your theme or plugin files.
- Smush: optimize your site images, compress on upload, lazy loading, resize and improve your Google Page Speed.
- Starter Templates: this plugin gives you access to 280+ pre-made full website templates and individual pages for page builders such as Elementor, Beaver Builder, Brizy and the WordPress default editor Gutenberg.
- Sucuri Security: the Sucuri Security WordPress plugin is free to all WordPress users. It is a security suite meant to complement your existing security posture.
- Ultimate Addons for Gutenberg: power-up the WP default Gutenberg editor with advanced and powerful blocks that help you build websites in no time!
- WP Forms: WPForms allows you to create beautiful contact forms, feedback form, subscription forms, payment forms, and other types of forms for your site in minutes, not hours!
- W3 Total Cache: W3 Total Cache (W3TC) improves the SEO and user experience of your site by increasing website performance and reducing load times.
- Yoast SEO: the #1 WordPress SEO plugin, enough said.
Other
Podcasting
Interested in starting a podcast? See the tools the Headfunk uses to run the show.
Emotional Fitness
Sometimes, we all need help to cut through the Headfunk caused by modern life.