Here’s some of my favorite tools for marketing, operations, and building WordPress websites including useful themes and plugins.
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WordPress + Website building
WordPress themes
- Rehub theme – Premium theme that’s designed for affiliate marketing and content monetization as well as e-commerce and marketplaces.
- Astra Pro – Simple theme with lots of flexibility that’s well-documented, supported and compatible with common plugins. Free and paid version available.
Useful WordPress plugins
- WP Updraft Plus (WordPress development) – Simple turnkey solution for taking regular backups of a WordPress site. Very easy to use and set on a scheduled auto-pilot.
- LinkWhisper (SEO) – The most extensive internal link building tool to boost SEO for any WordPress website. Includes broken link checker, visual linking tools, auto-link inserter, suggest links to related content and more. Built by Spencer Haws, and leading industry experts in the niche content and affiliate marketing space.
- Yoast (SEO) – Popular WordPress SEO plugin that helps optimize website content for search engines. Useful for easily managing on-page SEO, generating XML sitemaps, and real-time suggestions for improving readability and keyword usage.
- AIO SEO (SEO) – Plugin for WordPress designed to help your website rank higher in search results. Includes advanced XML sitemaps, schema markup, and SEO analysis tools.
Web hosting
- Dreamhost – Trusty web hosting provider known for its reliability, speed, and excellent customer support. I use DreamHost to host client websites and my own portfolio because of its easy setup, free SSL certificates, and strong uptime record, and perks like discounted domain names, and unlimitied email inboxes included with any hosting plan. Includes scalable plans and user-friendly dashboard.
- Cloudways – Managed cloud-hosting platform offering flexibility, speed, and scalability for websites. Features an intuitive interface, pay-as-you-go pricing, and easy deployment on top cloud providers like AWS, Google Cloud, and DigitalOcean. Includes perks like access to the premium Astra WP theme.
Operations and Project Management
- Streak for Gmail (CRM) – Extension for the Gmail interface that allows you to build pipelines for sales, marketing, projects, and more, all done from inside your email account. Easily organize your contacts, important email threads, notes and stages of any process.
- Trello (Project management) – Kanban-style project management software. Very intuitive and easy to get up-and-running quickly. Their free plan is loaded with useful features and scales seamlessly as your needs grow with paid add-on features and upgraded plans.
Marketing, SEO, and More
- Adobe Express (design) – Powerful online tool for creating graphics, web pages, and short videos. Includes professional-grade templates, seamless integration with Adobe Creative Cloud, and advanced editing features. Great for producing high-quality content on the go. Included with an Adobe Photoshop subscription plan.
- Ahrefs (SEO) – Leading SEO toolset for analyzing backlinks, keyword research, and monitoring website health. Its robust analytics and easy-to-understand reports make it invaluable for identifying content gaps, tracking ranking progress, and uncovering link-building opportunities. While a paid tool, they offer a free site audit that generate weekly reports with changes in rankings, broken links, and other site fixes.
- Canva (design) – User-friendly online design platform that makes creating stunning graphics, presentations, social media posts, and marketing materials incredibly easy. Includes a vast library of templates, intuitive drag-and-drop interface, and collaborative features. Useful for both beginners and seasoned designer.
- Klaviyo (marketing) – Email marketing and SMS automation platform tailored for eCommerce businesses. Useful for for segmenting audiences and sending personalized messaging. Includes analytics and seamless integrations with popular eCommerce platforms like Shopify and WooCommerce.
- Notion (information) – Works like a second brain for storing and organizing information and resources. Useful as a workspace for notes, project management, organizing tasks, and collaboration all in one location.
- SEM Rush (SEO) – All-in-one digital marketing platform for SEO. Useful for keyword research, competitor analysis, and content optimization. Includes a comprehensive suite of tools to track website performance, discover new keyword opportunities, and keeps tabs on your competition. Useful for growing organic traffic and improving search engine rankings.
- TechSmith Capture (communication) – Simple, free screen capture tool for quickly grabbing screenshots and screen recordings. Useful for creating tutorials, document processes, sharing visual feedback with clients, and communicating ideas. Features easy annotation tools and allows instantly uploading captures to the cloud with a shareable link for fast and effortless collaboration.