Setting Up Your Website

WordPress hosting:

WP Engine

I’ve been creating blogs for the past 8 years. In that time, I’ve used four hosts. With the first three, I was always having technical problems. The first two (cheaper) hosts were always having security problems so I moved to a mid-tier host. They changed their pricing structure so I was paying more for less support and still having lots of problems.

I’ve now using WP Engine and am so happy with the decision. Yes, it is pricey, but it is so easy to use. The support is brilliant and their migration plugin makes was useful when migrating 8 sites over.

WordPress Themes:

StudioPress.com

These are my default choice for all of my other sites. They are affordable
I’m particularly fond of the Smart Passive Income Pro Theme and Magazine Pro theme.

Bluchic

I’m in love with Bluchic – their themes are so feminine. They are also incredibly easy to use! I use their Victoria Theme on this website and am very impressed.

Email:

Mailchimp

Mailchimp is one of the best mail providers for those just starting out. They have a free plan for up to 2000 subscribers. I use this on my other sites.

Convertkit

I personally don’t use ConvertKit but it is becoming the leading email marketing provider amongst many of the peers. Many of the typical email list products are flawed and are buggy. This service has proven to be very responsive to feedback and is providing the exact features us bloggers/internet marketers need.

WooCommerce

I use the free WooCommerce plugin on a number of niche affiliate sites. It is incredibly easy to use and set up. It can be hard to find the right e-commerce theme, especially if you have little experience with them.

I actually like using Storefront, although they do have a number of useful child themes.

Plugins:

Yoast SEO

Now considered to be industry standard.

WordPress Support:

Click WP

Professional WordPress support for busy bloggers and small businesses. They offer starter packages, to help get your website up and going, as well as website support.

Social Media:

Basics:

Headline Analyzer

Free tool that helps you write headlines for blog posts, social media messages and email subject lines.

Pinterest:

Tailwind

One of the best ways to stand out on Pinterest is to spread out your pins. This makes sure that followers don’t get bombarded at once and that you can target people in multiple timezones. I highly recommend TailWind, I used it with clients a lot in the past.

Visual Content

Grammarly

An incredibly useful proof-reading app.