Resources

Disclosure: I participate in affiliate programs for the offerings listed below. This means that if you decide to buy something through one of these links, I get a commission—at no cost to you (and sometimes you even get a discount or other perk). More in my Disclaimer.

Website Hosting: SiteGround

I used SiteGround for my own websites for 6 years and was pleased with their hosting services. I still recommend SiteGround to clients and work with it through their accounts. Over time, I’ve seen them keep adding new services, so it seems like they care about their offerings.

The Site Tools area is very easy to use, and changes I’ve needed to make have happened in a smooth and prompt fashion. Uptime was always excellent, and I like that they offer different options for support (chat, phone, and tickets).

They offer all different types of hosting packages, so depending on your needs you’ll likely find one that works for you. Plus their Collaborators feature lets you give access to developers, designers, and others to collaborate on your site without you having to give out your login credentials.

With 24×7 support, free SSL certificates, daily backups, and a 30-day money back guarantee, I think they’re worth checking out.

Website Policies: Termageddon

I’m not a legal advisor, but I do know that website policies are important documents for businesses to help keep them protected.

To help you create documents like a Privacy Policy, Terms & Conditions, a Cookie Policy, a Disclaimer, and an End User License Agreement, you should consider Termageddon, the longest-running Privacy Policy generator listed as a vendor by the International Association of Privacy Professionals. The company is founded and run by a licensed privacy attorney who also serves as the Chair of the American Bar Association’s ePrivacy Committee.

Each license includes a set of auto-updating policies to protect one website or application. So when the laws change, the policies change.

When you purchase a license for $10/month or $99/year, you get a Privacy Policy, Terms and Conditions, a Cookie Policy, a Disclaimer and an End User License Agreement. You also get a Cookie Consent Solution (to help you put together a cookie consent banner if it’s needed). If you need any help, they’re available by phone call, email, or live chat.

If you use one of my links here (or the promo code DENIM) you’ll get 10% off your first payment.

My tip related to signing up for Termageddon is to sign up for the full year so you get the biggest savings with the discount.

Domain Name Registration: Name.com

Back in 2011 I decided to split my website hosting and domain registration accounts so they’re with two separate companies. After a bad start with a different domain registrar, I found Name.com and haven’t regretted the find ever since.

In my experience, the service is great, support is friendly and helpful (with 24/7 tickets and daily live chat options), the administrative interface is easy to use, and most importantly, changes happen fast (like if you switch hosting companies) and without difficulties.

The domain transfer process was a breeze, and they kept me informed every step of the way.

As for costs, the low annual fees are a refreshing change from other companies I’ve encountered. For a new .com domain it’s currently $9.99, a .com renewal is $15.99, and a .com transfer is even less at $8.99.

Use one of my links here along with the promo code SAVE15 and you’ll save 15% on your first purchase, plus you’ll get $5 in promotional credit to use on a future order.

My tip related to registering a domain with Name.com: purchase the domain in your first transaction (with the promo code SAVE15), and then in a second transaction purchase privacy registration using the promo code PRIVACYPLEASE—and the privacy registration will be free! (As you’ll see, they’ve bundled WhoIs Privacy with other security features (like Domain Lock Plus and an SSL certificate) and they’re calling that package Advanced Security. It’s $4.99 a year, but it’ll be free with that promo code.)

Email Marketing: MailerLite

MailerLite is one of the fastest-growing email marketing services and my personal favorite!

No matter what level of experience you have with email, you’ll be able to create professional campaigns, landing pages, pop-ups, automated workflows, and more.

I like that their features are easy to use yet they’re just as advanced as other email tools. And, when I need help, I can browse through their help resources or get a quick response from their 24/7 live support. Their Facebook community is also a huge bonus when you need support.

If you use one of my links here to create a free account, you’ll receive all premium features for an entire month. Afterward, you’ll continue with their free plan — no strings attached.

Stock Images: Depositphotos

Depositphotos is a great source for high-quality, licensed stock photos, graphics, vectors, videos, and sound effects.

With over 221 million files (40,000 new ones added a day!), their selection has never failed me. And I find the search process to track down the right option to be easy and powerful — they have all sorts of options for narrowing down results.

There are a few different pricing options depending on your needs, including monthly subscriptions, an annual on-demand option, and a cost-effective flexible plan. They offer a variety of sizes, too.

I really like that they offer “comp” images so you can see how they look in your layouts before you make the purchase. (These images are high quality and a good size — they just have the Depositphotos watermark on them.)

WordPress Theme: Kadence Theme

Kadence Theme from Kadence WP is my new favorite theme for both my sites and those I create for clients. Up until recently, I’d just used the free version, and it was great. But then I bought a deal for the Pro version, and wow, I’m even more impressed!

What I like about Kadence (either version) is that I can get what I feel is the power and flexibility of a page builder within the WordPress native block editor (Gutenberg), without having to install a specific page builder plugin.

I’ll install block plugins depending on the site (see below, Kadence has great offerings for that, too).

I’ve been impressed with their support, as well — especially since initially I was asking for help with the free version. Now that I have the Pro version, I see that they treat everyone with the same level of professionalism.

The Pro theme comes as a stand-alone or bundled with other elements (like their Blocks Pro plugin, their Pro Starter Templates, and more depending on the bundle — one option even provides access to all of their future products).

No matter which Pro version you buy, you can use the theme on unlimited sites, you get one year of support and updates, and there’s a 30-day satisfaction guarantee.

If you know you’re going to keep using it for years to come and want to save, they even have a lifetime full bundle.

WordPress Plugin: Kadence Blocks

The Kadence Blocks plugin from Kadence WP is a great addition to your toolbox when you need some premium options to make your website really stand out.

As with the theme, up until recently I was using the free version of this plugin and I’d been impressed with all the features. And again, as with the theme? The Pro version is even better.

For both the free and Pro versions, I especially like how I can disable the features I don’t want, and just enable the ones that I do want — after using some of those plugins and themes in the past where you get a lot of unnecessary bloat with all sorts of features you’re not using (and no way to turn them off), this is a great option.

They even have a drop-in design library full of pre-built options (some just for the premium version, but many for the free version, too). It’s a great resource to refer to for inspiration, as a starting point for your own designs, or “as is” if you find one that’s just what you need.

The plugin comes as a stand-alone or bundled with other elements (like their Theme Pro theme, their Pro Starter Templates, and more depending on the bundle — one option even provides access to all of their future products).

No matter which Pro version you buy, you can use the plugin on unlimited sites, you get one year of support and updates, and there’s a 30-day satisfaction guarantee.

If you know you’re going to keep using it for years to come and want to save, they even have a lifetime full bundle.

All prices and offer details mentioned on this page were current as of the date I added them to the page. I update details when I know there are updates to be made, but you should always check with the company providing the product or service to confirm current prices, packages, and policies.