Tools & Resources

This page has been created specifically to help you answer some of the questions you may have regarding which Tools and Resources I use/would recommend to other bloggers!

There so many decisions and options for you to make when you first start your blog, it’s hard to know which to choose or where someone got something you think would work for you!

I’ve created this page to share my personal recommendations so they are easy to find!

Hosting & Domain

For new bloggers especially I would always recommend HostGator.

They are affordable, reliable and have 24/7 live web chat for if you have questions or any website errors and will get you back up and running in no time! (Happened to me a few times!!)

 

 

Website theme

The theme I use on this blog currently (still on June 2024) is the Ashe Pro theme.

Choosing a theme is a personal choice as it all comes down to what you want and need for your own blog.

I wanted a theme that was clean, easily customisable with lots of personalisation options, wasn’t going to weigh my site down, was affordable and provided ongoing updates and this theme ticks all the boxes!

Only cost around $30 as a one off payment and all the future updates are completely free.

It was initially bought as an inital theme but I’ve been so happy with it for years that I haven’t changed!

Often there’s a 20% off code too so always try “Flash20” and you may just get 20% off too if you feel this theme is what you’re looking for too!

 

Course Recommendations

Having taken my fair share of courses on blogging (YouTube is amazing but can only teach you so much), this is the one course I would recommend for newer bloggers, or any blogger wanting to make sure they have covered all the basics while getting loads of amazing information and tips.

Amazing course, amazing blogger, well paced, SO much information, no time limit, no extra membership fees, free updates where more info gets added. Amazing.

For more information on this course and who it’s for, I wrote a full post on it here!

Legal Pages Bundle Templates

It’s SO IMPORTANT to have your blog covered and make sure everything is legal.

You can of course pay a Lawyer but this can end up costing so much money.

Here is where I got all my legal page templated – all written by a lawyer but in a bundle for a fraction of the cost.

I did an entire post on this topic alone as it’s so important. You can find that post here.

Make your blog legal with the Comprehensive Legal Bundle

 Don’t panic about the cost below, that’s the value you get! At the time of writing this the bundle is only $197!

Email Capture Software

For my email capture software I use Mailerlite.

This is for email marketing, emailing out freebies and all forms/pop ups you may see around the site for people to pop their email in, grab a freebie and subscrible to the mailing list!

Super easy to use and the first tier of the plan is free for up to 1000 subscribers!

Image Creation/Editing Software

For my photo creation and editing it’s nearly always done through Canva.

This includes blog images, headers, Pinterest pins etc!

I use Canva Pro but they also have a free version of Canva which is amazing too!

I preferred having the bonuses of Canva Pro but the free version is all you need if you don’t want to upgrade!

Keyword Research

If you are trying to grow any sort of blog or website, you need to do Keyword Research and the way to do this is through a decent Keyword Research Tool.

I personally use Keysearch as it shows me all the keywords and data I need but is also a great price!

They have a small free tier if you are wanting to try it, but it’s done wonders for me so I didn’t hesitate to join properly.

Affordable but highly affective keyword research tool.

Brand Colours

This one isn’t as important as Legal Pages, Keyword Research or a Blogging Course, but this is not only useful, but it’s fun!

When I was looking to choose my brand colours I came across a website called Coolors.

Similar to Canva, there’s a free and a paid version.

The free version is perfect for choosing brand colours!

To use:

You open the generator and hit the spacebar to get 5 random colours.

If you don’t like any, press spacebar again!

If you do like one, lock it (padlock symbol) and press spacebar and it will change the 4 unlocked ones.

Keep going until you get your perfect brand colours!

 If you are looking for anything not listed here, feel free to reach out and I’ll let you know what I use!