Designing your own website or blog can either be one of the most rewarding tasks you’ll ever undertake or one of the most overwhelming. According to Tech Made Easy there are just over 180,000,000 active websites out there so I can totally understand if you are feeling the overwhelm!
Over the last year I’ve tired and tested many, many resources and tools to make my life and my clients lives easier so today I’m going to be sharing with you pretty much every resource in my toolbox that you will need to build a website or blog you’ll love!
Getting Started…
WordPress.org & .com – which is right for you?
How do you decide which is right for you? If you’re still wondering what the hell the difference is or deciding which is right for you then this resource is the best place for you to start.
Installing WordPress.org
Going self-hosted is actually easier than you think! Here’s a great tutorial that will show you how to install WordPress using the Afrihost cPanel – note this actually applies to most host providers who use the cPanel.
Choosing a host provider
Some important factors to consider before choosing your host provider
Host providers
A review of the top South African host providers, what they offer and how much they cost.
Themes…
Pretty Darn Cute
A go to for pretty, feminine WordPress themes built on the Genesis Framework.
Restored 316
Like Pretty Darn Cute, Restored 316 is another go to for feminine WordPress themes built on the Genesis Framework. All of their themes come with in depth documentation and are super easy to install.
Etsy
Etsy is an absolute gem for WordPress themes which a lot of people don’t even know about!
Solopine
I recently discovered Solopine and I absolutely love all of their themes.
Studiopress
Hard not to include Studiopress when there are so many themes to choose from and when I’m such a fan of the Genesis Framework.
BluChic
Another great resource for beautiful and feminine WordPress themes but that aren’t built on the Genesis Framework.
Design Elements…
Creative Market
Looking for a pattern, mock-up, icon or graphic then Creative Market is your place.
What font?
Along with a few other nifty Chrome extensions this is honestly one I use every.single.day. It’s the easiest way for you to identify which fonts are being used on a web page and in addition to this it also tells you the size of the font and the colour.
Icon Monster
Choose from a wide variety of icons and download them in the exact colour that you want!
Google Fonts
The best place for absolutely free fonts that are easy to install on any website or blog.
Type Form
‘Forms done awesomely’ – Type Form is a great tool for creating surveys and getting the necessary information from your prospective clients.
ColorZilla
Another Chrome extension I use like all.the.time. It’s a handy tool for picking out the colours on other websites.
Pic Jumbo
A great resource for free images, one that is fast becoming my favourite!
Death to stock photo
Free images delivered direct to your inbox every month.
Stokpic
Free stock photos for commercial use.
Hemingway App
A great app to help turn your writing into a magical piece.
Coolors.co
The best colour generator ever!
Screen-o-matic – videos
After several hours of research, I’ll happily say this is the best screencast recording system out there! And at $15 a month it’s an absolute steal. There’s also a free version if you’re not quite sure yet.
What WP theme is that?
Wondering what theme your favourite site is using? Use this website to find out!
Whois?
Wondering who owns the domain you want? A little search on this site will tell you all want to know!
Plugins…
Contact form 7
A simple & flexible contact form plugin.
Testimonials Widget
Easily add all the great words people have to say about you to your site.
Editorial Calendar
The Editorial Calendar makes it possible to see all your posts and drag and drop them into your WordPress calendar.
Yoast SEO
The best plugin for SEO. Enough said!
Simple social icons
An easy plugin that allows you to insert social icons in any widget area.
Coming soon plugin
A great plugin that creates simple coming soon pages while your website is under construction.
Facebook Page Plugin
The official Facebook plugin for adding a like box to your sidebar
Backups, Security & Testing…
Am I responsive
The majority of us are using our phone or iPads to read blogs or websites these days so it’s important to make sure your site is mobile responsive. Am I responsive is an online tool that shows how your website or blog will looks on desktops, laptops, iPads & iPhones.
BackupBuddy
An investment everyone with a blog or website should make! This WordPress plugin takes regular backups so you don’t have to worry about your site crashing.
Wordfence
The best WordPress security plugin for protecting your website from hacks and malware – install it now!
Learning…
Steal like an artist
If you’ve been worrying that it’s all been done before then you need to read this book!
Show your work
Like wise with Steal Like an Artist, be authentically yourself and put your spin on whatever has already been done before.
Start with why
Why do you do what you do? By defining your why’s you’ll wake up inspired and excited to start your day.
Team Treehouse
I’ve used Team Treehouse on several occasion and have seriously learnt a lot from them. You can learn just about anything to do with the online world at Team Treehouse.
Learn to code HTML & CSS
A website with a goal to teach you how to build beautiful and intuitive websites by way of clear and organised lessons. The guide covers a variety of web design and development topics, ranging from beginner to advanced skill levels.
Udemy
Ready to master some new skills? With over 32,000 courses to choose from Udemy is great place to go if you are looking to learn something new.
Getting Organised…
unroll.me
I’m a sucker for opt-ins so I’ll happily hand over my email address in exchange for a little freebie, admit it you love a freebie too. But I bet you’ll agree with me that you hate an inbox filled with newsletters that you really couldn’t care less about?! That’s where unroll.me saves the day. This online website organises and puts all the newsletters you’ve signed up to in one daily email. It gives you the option to unsubscribe from junk emails right off the bat. One click and they’re gone. Done.
Wave Accounting
Wave is a Cloud-based invoicing, accounting, payroll, payments, and personal finance app for freelancers and people running businesses with nine employees or less.
Co-Schedule
Co-Schedule is a great WordPress plug-in for managing your blog posts, tweets, Facebook posts all in one spot.
Buffer
A new favourite! At the moment I only use Buffer to schedule my tweets but you can also use it to schedule your pins and your Facebook updates. Great for driving traffic to your blog and increasing fan engagement.
Inbox Pause
Don’t be a slave to your inbox. Hit the pause button and get on with what you need to, distraction free!
Sidekick by HUB
A huge favourite of mine! This app tell you who has opened your emails, when, how many times and from where – handy if you aren’t getting a response.
Boomerang
Work late at night? Don’t want your clients or readers to know? Why not schedule your emails for later? I use this app a lot especially when I’m burning the midnight oil and I don’t want my clients to know.
Contracts
When I first started freelancing I had no idea what to add in my contract until I stumbled upon this great resource. Always be sure to have a contract in place if you’re going to work with someone.
Tomato Timer
If you are having trouble getting started on a project or task then I highly recommend using the Tomato Timer which is based on the Pomodoro Technique. A technique that, according to Pomodoro isn’t like any other time-management method on the market today.
Keeping track of all your passwords
You’ve probably got a million passwords for your website so to help you out I created this handy free printable for you to keep track of all of them.
Hi, Nicola:
Impressive list and I agree that creating a site or blog can be overwhelming at first. But once you have the first one down, the second should come easier and so on.
From your list, Studio Press is hugely popular and lots of bloggers swear by it. And Etsy IS also great for graphics of all sorts not just WordPress themes.
Thanks for sharing!
Missy
Musings from Chicago
LOVE Studiopress. I recently found my new blog themes there and I am so impressed by the layout and the smoother functions.
This is such a great list! So many of these things I wish I had known about before I started blogging. But even though I’ve been blogging for a few years now there are so many resources here that I was not aware of. I will definitely be pinning this for future reference!
This is a great round-up of tools!! Love the plugins list – looking through that for my blog.
Hey Nicola,
What a great list of resources for me to relish and play around with. I was a bit chuffed when I knew a couple (not too many), some are an excitable eye opener. Some I did not even think about existing. I am going to add this as a book mark and refer back to it.
Some pluggins and apps will come in handy down the track. Thank you.
Rachel.
Hey! You’re the best thing that happened on this Commentathon. I just loved every part of your post and will definitely mark this as my Bible. Thanks so much for sharing all this stuff
This was a great list – I’m sure I will be visiting again to get some more ideas! I love new techniques to make myself more efficient and this surely will help! I’m pinning on my blogging board for future reference.
Excellent article, Nicola. Awesome compilation, found so many useful tools. Thanks, Niraj (Founder at hiverhq.com)
Wow, what a great, comprehensive list of resources for a blogger – I especially liked the font sites you shared!
What an awesome resource. Thanks so much for all the links. I have 10 tabs open with all your links! Bookmarking for later!
This is great information. You sure know a lot! I’m still trying to figure out how to get the comments section on my wordpress blog to link with facebook comments. I can’t figure out how to add plugins to my blog. Ugh. It’s a never ending struggle.
What a great list of resources! I took lots of notes – I’m in the midst of a blog redesign so this is so helpful and timely. Thank you!
This is an impressive list! Thanks for compiling all of these tools into one place.
This is such a comprehensive list of website development resources! You are seriously impressive. I am bookmarking this because I know that I will want to refer to it often.
Amazing list! I am going to pin this for future reference. So many times we don’t even know where to start with, and I have only been blogging since April. I have learned a lot, but still have a long way to go. Thanks for sharing!
Ooh what a great reference post! I’ll have to save this and share it for later
Where has this post been all of my blogging life!? These are amazing resources! I designed my newest site myself but had zero clue about these resources! I have bookmarked it so I can come back and check it all out!
I NEEDED this list, thank you so very much! I hadn’t even thought to look for some of these (like the one that tells you what font something is.) Definitely going to check these out! Thanks.
This is a great list. A lot to learn as new blogger. Definitely saving this for future reference.
This is a nice list of resources. Screen-o-Matic is $15.00 Annually not monthly. I second your opinion that it’s well worth it. I use it for my videos and LOVE it. Colorzilla is an extension that I use every day.
Thanks for sharing this roundup of resources that definitely does help a blogger succeed.
such a wonderful list of resources! thanks for sharing!
WOW! I love this list of resources you’ve put together. I am a new blogger so THANK YOU!
Excellent list, lots of good information that I had not heard of before. I never even considered Etsy for themes and design elements – I guess in my head it’s a place for handcrafted items, not digital items. Thanks for taking the time to compile, I will definitely be using some of these suggestions down the road. Cheers!
Great list! Very thorough and easy to follow. Making a website can be very difficult but its articles like these that make it that much easier. Keep on rocking!
Wow, these are all fantastic! I have pinned this so I can find it later to come back to!
Great List! Thanks for taking the time to make it. I’ve been blogging for awhile now, but I’m always looking for good resources. There are quite a few on here that I have never heard of.
I am in need of a blog redesign, so thank you for the tips!
This list is a huge help! I can’t wait to put this to use and to share it with my blogging group!
tHANKS for this awesome post! Just the resources I need. There is still lots I need to learn and want to do to my blog and your resources will be so useful and helpful.
I must admit I’m impressed. Usually I don’t find anything I don’t already know about in this type of blog post, but you’ve managed to slip in a number of sites and services that were unknown to me! Thanks!
This could not have come at a better time, especially since I am in the process of creating another blog from the ground up right now. I am really excited about the Coming Soon plug-in. I hadn’t heard of anything like that before. Thanks for sharing, I am pinning.
What a great list! There are so many here that I will be checking out! Thank you!!
My go-to for themes is Themeforest.net. They offer great support and their themes are reasonably priced. I tried Genesis Framework when it first came out and then again somewhat recently. My only complaint with them is that there is little customization you can do without paying someone to do it. I like having control to do things myself.
I like themeforest too but some of their themes can be quite complicated to setup for newbie bloggers, I find Genesis works better in this case
Thanks for these awesome resources. I am just starting to learn about the backend of my website so I am sure that I will use some of these in the future.
I am totally bookmarking this. I was just going to look into getting more pretty fonts and things, and this helps out SO much. Thank you! And I can’t wait to try out that Hemingway App!!
This list was awesome for a newbie like me. I spent way too much time trying to decide on a theme for my blog and even now I have theme envy when I look at other blogs. I still have a bit of work to do on my blog to get the design where I am happy. Just need to find the time! Maybe I need to head over to Tomato Timer…
Great list of resources! I love Restored 316 and use them now. It was so easy to change over to them and they have great support.
Thank you for the list of resources. I’m pinning it for future reference. I’m in the middle of launching three additional websites so this is going to come in handy.