Whether you’re just starting out as a blogger, or if you blogged for a couple of years, we all use different resources on our site. It can be everything from hosting to the theme and all the different plugins on our site. It can also be products, courses, and things we bought to just help make our every day a little easier.
When I was just starting out, I was looking for a resource page on every blog I visited, during my many months of information searching. Because it’s basically just extra help from bloggers and entrepreneurs that have succeeded with those resources, and that’s exactly what every new blogger needs.
And since this blog is up and running to be able to help y’all, here are all of the things I use on my blog and in my life:
If you’re in need of more resources, you can look at all my blog posts with resources.
This page contains affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission, at no extra cost to you, if you make a purchase through a link.
Hosting:
DreamHost
After having Bluehost for 2 years, I decided to try something new and after reading so many great things about Dreamhost, I decided to give them a try. And they were so helpful with everything, answered all of my dumb questions, and sent links to further explain everything. And on top of it all, if you go through my link you can get it for only $2.59 / month!
Bluehost
There are different types of hosting platforms out there, and I can’t say anything about the others, since I’ve had Bluehost since the start. It was the cheapest one out there and it works great, and if you have any problems, the support is great at helping you fix anything you need help with!
So if you feel like you don’t wanna spend a lot on hosting, but still want a great host? Then you should try out Bluehost because with this link you can get it for ONLY $2.95/ month!
Theme:
Astra
I started out with a free theme called Astra because it was the one that fit me the best. But I never used it in “action” because I found a paid theme as a freebie, that helped me with the things I missed with Astra.
Florian
When I found this amazing theme that just had everything I wanted, and it was a freebie from one of the sites I follow, I decided to go for it and get it. And I couldn’t be happier! It’s like a tool build into their theme where you can change your website.
Elementor
This is not a theme, but I put it under theme because it’s a tool that will help you build your website/blog. You can either go for the free version, which has a lot of features that will level up your site, or you can go premium and have all the features at your service.
Plug in:
Yoast SEO
If you’re a blogger or you’re just starting out and gathering information, you’ve most likely heard about this plugin more than anything else. Yoast SEO is one of your besties while you type up a blog post. It will tell you how your post is doing, with things such as: if you need more/fewer words, if your sentences are too long, if your SEO is good or need improvement, and overall titles and meta description. There’s both a free version and a premium version. If you want all the features, go premium, but the free version works great too!
Header analyzer
This plugin helps you with the SEO for your blog post title. It will give you points on how good the title is, and what you can do to change it to a higher number. Also if you write a new title it will show you all the ones you’ve tried and how the points have changed.
FMTC Affiliate Disclosure
This little plugin will add a disclosure statement at the beginning of your posts. You go into the settings and write your own disclosure and then it’ll post it at the start of every post, so you won’t forget it.
Akismet Anti-Spam
Just like the name says, it’s there to protect you and your blog from getting spam.
Broken Link Checker
If you have a lot of Affiliate links or links to your own or other blog posts, this plugin will scan your blog to see if there are any links that are broken, and then it will notify you so you can change them.
GDPR Cookie Consent
We all know GDPR and since I live in Europe I always need to make sure that everyone who visit my blog understands what type of information my blog gathers from them. Even if you don’t live in Europe, you will still need to have one of these cookie consent forms because you don’t always know where all of your visitors come from.
Widgets
Grammarly
Oh, this one will be one of your best friends. You’ve probably heard of it, and most likely you already have it, if you don’t, then I suggest you download it and it’ll just be a little friend on the side that will help your grammar stay on the right track and let you know if something needs to change in your text.
Sticky notes
I have notes everywhere, in my calendar, printed checklists, a checklist on a canvas post, on a notepad, you name a place, I probably have a note on it. So I found this plugin, Sticky Notes, where you have a little button on the top of your Chrome browser and when you click it you can type in your notes, and then it goes back when you press outside of the pad. It’s perfect for me since it won’t close down or get thrown away like most of my other notes have. You can get the premium version, but the free one is enough for me.
We all know Pinterest, and almost every single blogger uses Pinterest to grow their traffic. So to do life a little easier, I’ve downloaded the widget so I always have the pin ready if I need it.
Planning
Google Analytics
When you do this whole blog thing, Google Analytics is a great way to keep track of your traffic. Where it’s coming from, how much you have etc.
Airtable
I’m a big planner, I always have checklists and to-do lists and want to keep everything gathered in one place, (even tho I keep it in more than a hundred places if we’re being honest). But since I found Airtable I’ve actually made fewer lists everywhere and I have almost everything on there. You can have both the app on your computer and phone, but there’s also a website you can use. I have different Bases for different things, such as My blog post ideas, to-do lists for my home, daily/weekly/monthly to-do lists with my business, and also keeping track of my affiliate links. The best thing is that it’s free. You can choose the plus/pro/enterprise packages if you need them, but the free one is so far enough for me!
Google Sheets
To keep the planning resources going, I use Google Sheets when searching for my keywords, but also to keep my affiliates and earnings in one place.
Design/Photo
Canva
Another site you most likely heard of while either blogging yourself or searching for information. It’s a place where you can make soooo many different designs, everything from all of your social media posts, Instagram, and Pinterest pins, but also stuff like infographics, templates and so much more. You can go with the free version, or if you want all of the features and full access to all of the photos, templates, and elements, you need to upgrade to Canva Pro. If you’re not sure yet, you can always try Pro for free for 30 days and then decide if you wanna keep going with pro or go back to the free version!
Photoshop/Lightroom
Since I study I have a bit of a discount on the Adobe programs, but I use these so much to pick my photos, store them and edit them and also where I use all of my presets. I know it’s a bit of a cost, but you don’t need the whole Adobe package if you don’t use the other programs, you can only use the Photo package which was the one I had before going to school and having the whole shabang.
Free Stock Photos
A picture says more than a thousand words. Well, it’s true and it’s something that is very appreciative to have in your blog posts. And if you’re not a photographer, there are a lot of different stock photo sites, and a lot of them are free so you can use their pictures on your blog. Here’s a list of a few sites where you find the best free stock photos.
Helpful sites
Bit.ly
Sometimes when you have a link that is so darn long with numbers and letters and ugh it’s just so impossible to remember, this site will help you shorten the link with a more memorable name, and also keeps progress on how many times the link has been clicked on and from where the clicks come from.
Pomofocus
When you’re like me, you can’t really focus on one thing, instead, you try to do everything all at once. That’s where Pomofocus comes in! You can either go to their website or as I did, download their app for my laptop. In the app/on the site, you have a 25 min timer, because it’s proven that we as humans work best and can stay focused for 25 min at a time. So that timer starts and 25 later it will ring for ya, and then you have the option to pick a short break for 5 min or a longer break for 15 min. This helps me do one thing at a time and when the clock rings, I can jump on the next thing.