Tools & Resources
Finding the best blogging and website resources online can be hard. With this toolbox of resources, you’ll have everything you need to make your blog/website shine. Whether you’re just starting or looking to take your game to the next level, these tools are designed to streamline your process, enhance your content, and grow your audience.
From content creation to promotion and analytics, here are some of the best tools and resources available.
Building Your Site
Namecheap – Domain registration with great pricing.
Netwisp – This is by far the best hosting company on earth! Netwisp offers the best customer service and site performance for your blogging needs. I’ve been with them for about a decade and recommend them to anyone I talk to!
WordPress – This is the best platform to build your website on.
Google Analytics: Get insight into understanding your audience to grow your blog/website. Analytics provides in-depth insights into your website traffic, user behavior, and demographics.
Google Search Console: Helps you measure your site’s search traffic and performance, fix issues, and make your site shine in Google Search results.
Awesome Website Themes
Kadence Pro: My top choice for a premium WordPress framework/theme builder. All of my sites have been transitioned to this framework, including Media Texan.
StudioPress: Quickly and easily build incredible websites with premium WordPress themes, plugins, and block editor tools.
Restored 316 Themes: Beautifully crafted premium child themes with a touch of femininity. Nearly all of them come with integrated eCommerce design capabilities.
Hello You Designs: Easy to use, fully customizable, WordPress themes without the designer price.
Popular WordPress Plugins
Yoast SEO: Simplify SEO and drive more traffic to your site using the most popular WordPress SEO plugin. They offer a premium version, but the free version is all I recommend when you are just starting.
WP Rocket: The only caching plugin that I exclusively use and recommend, but it’s not free.
URL Shortener by MyThemeShop: This free plugin allows you to cloak affiliate links so they look pretty on the website.
Broken Link Checker: This free plugin allows you to check for broken links on your blog. It is very resource heavy so I don’t recommend keeping it on your site forever.
Content Creation Tools
Grammarly: Helps you work smarter with personalized AI guidance and text generation on any app or website.
ChatGPT: Take your content creation to the next level with a free online resource for AI generated content. This makes writing content easy, but you have to be sure to proofread, edit, and make changes to the content so it is your writing style.
Photo Editing Software
Canva: My favorite photo editing software. It’s easy to use and has some great AI technology included too.
LightRoom: An online photo editing software that is made easy without having to learn PhotoShop.
Email Marketing & Social Media Tools
ConvertKit: The easiest and best email marketing platform to use right now.
Tailwind: A marketing system that works for small businesses to expand their reach in online marketing. Includes an email marketing service, Tailwind Create to create fresh pin images to share on social media and also includes new AI technology.
CoSchedule: Allows you to organize all your marketing assets in one place including calendars for content, social and more.
Buffer: This is an all-in-one toolkit. From scheduling and publishing to analytics and engagement, Buffer simplifies your social media and organic marketing efforts to grow an engaged audience.
Performing Keyword Research
Keywords Everywhere: This is my favorite paid keyword research tool that is insanely cheap! It works with a Google Chrome extension and gives you data right within the search results.
Keyword Planner: Uses auto-complete APIs to generate thousands of long-tail keywords in seconds using a Google Chrome extension.
Answer The Public: This tool shows you the questions people are asking about specific keywords. It is a premium tool, but it’s reasonably priced starting at $9 a month.
SEMRush: This is a high-level keyword research tool that is robust, but it isn’t free or cheap. Do your research on this one to make sure it’s the right choice for you. It allows you to do SEO, content marketing, competitor research, PPC, and social media marketing from just one platform.
Hiring Help for Your Blog or Website
Media Texan: With over 15 years of navigating the digital landscape, my journey began as a blogger and evolved into roles as a virtual assistant and online business manager. My focus is on helping others accomplish their goals, freeing them to excel in what they do best—whether it’s crafting exceptional content, developing new products, or providing standout services to their clients and customers.
Fivver: Freelancing service marketplace to find freelancers to work with.
Learn How To Blog Better
How to Successfully Organize a Blog With Multiple Topics: Learn how to logically organize your blog and set it up for success.
Food Blogger Pro: Start, grow, and monetize your blog with confidence that gives you full access to the course library, community forum, discounts, and live events.
Books to Learn Even More
The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People: This book is a must-read – think of it like a workbook to create a successful life. It teaches you the principles that give us the security to adapt to change and the wisdom and power to take advantage of opportunities.
The Fear of Greatness: Learn how to overcome fear and unlock your true potential.
How to Blog for Profit: Without Selling Your Soul: Learn what it takes to create and grow a successful online business without selling your soul.
Free Blogging Resources
Free Blog Traffic Bonus Guide: Takes the guesswork out of generating pageviews for your site.
10 Mistakes that Bloggers Make – Free eBook!: Learn the 10 mistakes bloggers make early on and how to fix them.
The Number 1 Thing Ebook: Gives you the details about what 30 top food bloggers are focusing on in the coming year.