Hi guys, this is a blogging resources page to let you know what tools or programs I’m using for this blog. Some of these blogging tools may come in handy for you if you’re planning to grow as a successful blogger.
Note: Some links are affiliate links which means that I earn if you sign-up using my link at no additional cost to you.
Web Hosting
1. Bluehost
I normally recommend my readers to get a self-hosted blog. What does that mean? Instead of having your blogs on free domains like “.wordpress” or “.blogspot”, you should get your blog hosted on your domain. If you want to grow professionally as a blogger, a self-hosted blog is the way to go. For a much better understanding, you can read this article on why a self-hosted WordPress blog is better.
This blog (Ordinary Reviews) was hosted on Bluehost.
What are the perks of Bluehost?
- It is the recommended web hosting for WordPress blogs and it also provides a one-click install for WordPress. No worries though, you can still use Bluehost even if you’re not using WordPress as a website builder. It’s basically a hosting company, so any website builder will do (e.g. Squarespace or Weebly).
- It has a 24/7 support system. If you encounter any problems, you can contact their support team and you will get through within 5 minutes usually. When I had difficulties in migrating my blog from WordPress.com to Bluehost, they were really helpful.
- Their pricing is relatively cheap. You can get hosting for as low as $3 a month. Do note however that they only accept upfront payment of a year.
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2. Kinsta Managed WordPress Hosting
This blog is currently hosted on Kinsta. I moved to Kinsta from Bluehost to grow my blog even further as Kinsta is a managed WordPress hosting platform. My previous Bluehost plan was for shared hosting, which means it can only be good until you reach a certain amount of traffic.
Kinsta also handles most of the technical stuff behind your blog so that you can blog with ease. It’s also incredibly fast. My website speed became much faster after switching platforms. They offer a free site migration as well (depending on which plan you chose), so that your website won’t undergo downtime when switching hosts.
Domains
Namecheap – They sell domain names for a cheaper price compared to many other websites. They have domain names below $10.
GoDaddy – They are well known for selling domain names all over the world. Most of my domains were bought from them as well. That said, I wouldn’t recommend them for hosting or anything else.
Image Editor
If you’re serious in growing your traffic via Pinterest, having an image editor is crucial to make your pin stand out. You can use any of the following image editors. They have free versions as well, but with limited themes of course.
1. Canva – It uses a ‘drag-and-drop’ feature and professional layouts to design consistently stunning graphics. It works well to create pins on Pinterest as well.
2. PicMonkey – I normally use PicMonkey to create long pins as you can manually adjust the size of the picture. You can use it for photo editing, collage making and graphic design.
Pinterest Scheduling App
Tailwind – I use Tailwind to schedule my pins in Pinterest. The good thing about Tailwind is that it’s really easy to schedule pins and you can even schedule pins for the entire month. Furthermore, you get to join Tailwind Tribes as well which allows you to share pins (which almost guarantees repins). Using my affiliate link gives you a free month of Tailwind subscription.
Boardbooster – It’s another popular scheduling tool for Pinterest. Some bloggers use both Tailwind and Boardbooster for optimal pinning. Each of them possess a feature that the other does not.
Mailing List
MailChimp – MailChimp is used to collect emails and send campaigns to your subscribers in the form of newsletters, amongst others. At the time of writing, I am using MailChimp for my pop-up subscription form as it is free. They allow you to use it for free until you have more than 2,000 subscribers.