Are you a Blogger?
If the answer is yes, these blogging resources might make your life easier.
All of these are services and products I actually use (for my own websites and when I build websites for others). I believe that they are the best ones out there and hope that the services listed will help you improve your website.
If you want to connect with fellow bloggers and join a community that helps each other tackle a marathon of having a successful blog, you should join my Facebook group ‘Ready, Set, Blog‘.
This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission, at no extra cost to you, if you make a purchase through a link.
Please see the full disclosure for further information.
Hosting
Just starting out – The cheapest host out there, and while it is not the fastest host out there, it is perfect if you still have a small budget. Therefore, I recommend it for the first year.
Cloudways
Advanced Bloggers – Once you know your basic SEO and start getting traffic, it is time to upgrade to a fast and reliable host. The Cloudways servers are fast and the best option if you want green Google Core Vitals.
Domain
Namecheap
It is always a good idea to separate your domain registration and your website hosting. While there are other options, I love NameCheap as they offer free ‘WhoIs’ protection, which in turn protects your personal data. Just do not buy an SSL certificate when you buy/extend your domain. Many hosting companies offer it free of charge.
Theme
GeneratePress
These days a fast and lightweight theme is everything if you want to get organic traffic. That’s why GeneratePress is so amazing. It is one of the 3 fastest themes out there and fully customizable. The free version is somewhat limited, but the premium version is the best theme I have had to date. The theme creators answer all questions within 24 hours and you can find the answers to most questions by simply browsing the forum.
I now use GeneratePress for every website I have built for myself and others (including my webshop), and could not recommend it more.
Graphic Design
Canva is the best blogging resource for simple graphic design. With this website and app, you can easily create all simple graphics from pins to ebooks.
Plugins
Good plugins can improve your website performance and design a lot, but it is important that they do not add too much code or add a security risk. These here are my favorite plugins
SEO Optimization:
RankMath
A lot of people still use Yoast SEO but in my experience, RankMath is way better. Since switching to it, I was able to massively improve the ranking of old blog posts based on the plugins’ recommendations.
There is also a premium version that offers additional features, but even the free version is far superior to other SEO optimization plugins.
Speed Optimization:
WP Rocket
There are a lot of speed optimization plugins out there, and at this point, it feels like I have tried them all. And WP Rocket is by far the best. It is super easy to use and the accompanying Fb group is super helpful if you do not know what to do to improve your page speed.
Email:
Convertkit
It is super easy to create new forms that look nice and to add them to your website. The first 1000 subscribers are free, so it is perfect.
Blogging Tips
All kinds of blogging and social media tips that will make your life as a blogger easier.
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Photo editing
Lightroom
Lightroom is the best if you want to edit your photos. There is a paid desktop version and a free mobile app that can be upgraded to add more features.
As far as I am concerned, Lightroom is by far the best software for photo editing. Especially as you can use presets, which make editing easy for those that edit on the go and that want a consistent style
Keyword Research
Keysearch
The best keyword research tool.
Legal Pages
The best insurance for frequent travelers and globetrotters.
It can be hard to keep up with all the legalities of blogging and this course is the best one out there if you want to learn everything about GDPR compliance.
Ebooks
There are some great resources out there that can teach you a lot about blogging. These are my favorite ones:
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Other Blogging Resources
Grammarly
If there is one thing you do not want on your website, it is spelling and grammatical errors. And Grammarly is great at helping you notice them.
Skillshare
Skillshare is a platform full of online courses about all kinds of things including blogging and photography.
If you use my referral link, you get one month for free.