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In this article, I’m going to walk you through the best blogging tools and resources that you can use to help you run your blog with ease.
First things first though…Have you ever wondered how people build such good-looking and successful blogs?
You may think to yourself “oh they’re a tech wizard, that’s why the blog runs so well…” or “they must be a designer, that’s why their blog looks so good…”
But chances are, these bloggers don’t have anything that you don’t…
The thing about blogging is you don’t need to be a tech wizard, designer, or even an amazing writer!
You can build something successful with minimal technical knowledge, so long as you have the drive to improve and the right tools to help you succeed.
My partner Tom and I have been full-time bloggers for 5 years and one of the reasons why we are so successful is because we are not afraid to use tools and resources to help us grow.
If you’re on the hunt for some of the best blogging tools and resources, look no further because we’ve put together an all-inclusive list of everything you need to build a blog that makes waves in the online world.
- Best Blogging Tools and Resources
- Tools for Building Your Blog
- SEO Tools for Your Blog
- Tools for Blog Post Idea Generation
- Tools for Writing Blog Posts
- Resources for Stock Images for Bloggers
- Tools for Your Blogging Graphics
- Tools for Email Marketing for Bloggers
- Tools for Social Media Scheduling
- Tools for Organization & Task Management for Bloggers
- Tools to Maximize Productivity
- Other Tools For Your Blogging Journey
- Bonus: Must-Have WordPress Plug-ins
Best Blogging Tools and Resources
There are so many online tools and resources for blogging, it’s simply mind-boggling.
From making your blog look spiffy to improving your SEO, writing killer content, making graphics, or being more productive… You can bet there’s a tool for it.
Here are our favorite blogging tools and resources that we personally use, along with some other great options. You’ll find tools suitable for different blogging levels and needs, so no matter what you’re on the hunt for, it’s probably on this list.
Tools for Building Your Blog
When it comes to building a blog from scratch, there are a few key tools you’ll need to get it up and running.
It can be intimidating when you’re first starting out to get all the moving pieces in order while balancing costs and weighing all the different options, but this shouldn’t deter you from getting your blog going!
Check out these tools (some of which I swear by!) that will get your blog live with minimal hassle… and minimal damage to your wallet, too.
Web Hosting
Hosting is where your blog lives on the internet and is how people are able to access it online. Finding the right hosting is the first step to getting your blog live.
Bluehost
We personally use Bluehost and recommend it to everyone because we feel like it’s the most affordable hosting option out there.
Not only are they one of the most used and trusted hosting networks, but they also have awesome support, direct WordPress installation, and come with a FREE domain name!
Pricing: We’ve negotiated a special rate with Bluehost and have a special deal for all our readers and students so they can get hosting for just $2.95 per month… a 63% discount from the usual price! (No, we’re not sponsored by them!)
WordPress Theme Recommendations
Nowadays, you don’t have to be an expert coder to get your blog looking exactly the way you want it. Instead, you can choose a theme, add your content, and voila! You have a great-looking blog with no tech skills.
Themeforest
If none of the free WordPress themes will cut it or if your blog starts to grow and you want a new look, Themeforest is a choice place to find premium themes.
There are nearly 50,000 themes to choose from all ranging in price and look. We personally use 15Zine on our travel blog Adventure In You and couldn’t be happier with the look and functionality of it.
We believe that spending money on a theme is a great investment because it’s a one time purchase that will make a world of difference for your blog.
Premium themes are much more flexible than free themes and have advanced capabilities when it comes to SEO, monetization, customization and speed of your blog. It’s worth poking around Themeforest to see what you can find!
Pricing: $5 – $60 per theme
Astra
For beginner bloggers, Astra is truly one of the best WordPress themes you can use.
Themes can be complicated and overwhelming when you’re first starting out, but Astra has simplified this to a tee. There’s a free and paid version, but the free version is enough to get you up and going (but I must say, the pro version has some killer features).
It’s also one of the most lightweight themes out there, making it perform particularly well in the speed department.
If you’re thinking about upgrading to Pro… do it! Astra Pro is absolutely worth the $40 because it comes with dozens of “modules” that give you advanced customization control over your blog without having to know any code or slowing down the speed of your site.
Pricing: Basic plan is free; Pro plans start at $41 per year or $249 for lifetime access
Generatepress
Another great theme tool if you’re a novice blogger is GeneratePress, which can be installed directly onto WordPress and has everything you need to begin building out your blog.
It’s free to install and comes with basic features, but if you upgrade to Premium you’re granted more control with things like color, typography, layout, etc. which is everything when it comes to customizing your blog (plus, you get lifetime access for $50! That’s pretty much a steal).
This is an awesome option if you’re looking for something simple, uncomplicated, and lightweight to run on your blog!
Pricing: Basic plan is free; Premium starts at $49.95 for lifetime access.
Divi
If you’re after blogging tools that the pros use, Elegant Themes is home to Divi, one of the most well-regarded WordPress themes… pretty much ever.
It comes with an extremely powerful visual editor and is great for both beginners and advanced website builders.
People go nuts for Divi because it’s essentially an entire design framework that enables you to customize every single part of your blog from beginning to end.
While it’s a bit pricier than most themes, if you’re someone who struggles with getting their blog to look the way you want it to, or are simply looking for one of the best editors out there, Divi is definitely the way to go.
Pricing: $89 per year; $249 for lifetime access.
SEO Tools for Your Blog
Search Engine Optimization is one of the most powerful components to building a successful blog and with the right tools, it doesn’t have to be a headache.
There are some core principles to SEO like keyword research (where an online tool is absolutely essential) and optimizing the content on your blog. With different options, it can be hard to know where to start but give these resources a whirl and you’ll be well on your way.
Keysearch
One of the top ways to optimize your blog is through keyword research, which is crucial to ranking high on Google and getting traffic to your site.
While there are heaps of keyword research tools, Keysearch is top in our books for being user-friendly, chock-full of useful information, and super affordable.
In our eyes, the $17 a month repays itself time and time again by providing users with plenty of keywords and analytics to write targeted content around.
Check out our Keysearch review and tutorial to get an in-depth look at what this tool can do for your blog.
Keysearch has both yearly AND monthly plans. If you would like to try the tool, use the coupon code “FASTLANE” for a discount!
Pricing: 30-day free trial; Starter plan is $17 per month and Pro plan is $34 per month.
More Tools for Optimizing Your Blog
- If you’re looking to get a leg up in the SEO department, Yoast SEO is a standout WordPress plugin that gives you the tools you need to optimize your content, edit your SEO titles and craft meta descriptions. While we don’t recommend following it’s suggestions to a tee- it does serve as a reminder on what you need to optimize when it comes to SEO.
- To track your blog’s performance online, there are few tools more powerful than Google Analytics. This tool allows you to track website traffic, clicks, conversions, bounce rate, time spent on page and so much more. Google Analytics is a must for any blogger!
Tools for Blog Post Idea Generation
Ever feel stuck when it comes to thinking of new ideas for articles? You’re not alone.
Lucky for us, there are so many different tools to generate topics that are giving your readers what they want.
The main focus when coming up with new ideas should be to provide value to your readers and content that’s in-line with what they’re searching for on the internet.
With these tools, you’re able to find ideas for content related to your niche, sub-topic, or anything else you may want to write about, generally based around what your target audience is looking for online.
- If you choose to go the Keysearch route, there are so many tools within it that can be utilized for different purposes.
In the keyword research section of Keysearch, you can plug in a keyword, select related keywords and search. What will populate are hundreds of keywords related to what you searched for, their difficulty and search volume, giving you a boatload of new ideas for blog posts.
- If you’re stuck looking for something to write about, check out Answer the Public, an online tool that allows you to enter a keyword and it will spit out thousands of phrases related to what people are searching for.
- For a quick and free solution, head over to Google and search for your keyword. If you scroll down a little, you’ll find the “People Also Ask” section, full of questions surrounding your search, giving you insight into what people are looking for online! This is similar to Phrase Match in the sense that it shows you what people are also searching for surrounding a specific keyword.
Tools for Writing Blog Posts
One of the best things about blogging is that you don’t have to be an amazing writer to have a successful site.
Sure, it’s an added bonus but there are so many bloggers out there who may struggle in the writing department… And that’s totally okay!
Fortunately, you can use different online tools to spruce up your writing and make it sound the way you want it to.
Or, if you’re already a great writer but are still looking for ways to improve, these tools help with sentence structure, tone, and word choice.
- If grammar isn’t your strong suit, Grammarly is a must to make sure your writing is clear, concise and free from errors. It’s an online tool and Chrome extension, always at the ready to catch any grammatical slip-ups! While they have paid plans, we find their free version to be more than enough.
- If you’re searching for a tool that helps with the flow and readability of your content, Hemingway Editor is a top pick. With a desktop app and online version, Hemingway keeps your writing simple, digestible and a pleasure to read.
- When it comes to writing catchy headlines, CoSchedule’s Headline Analyzer is an unmatched tool for calculating how your article’s headline will perform and ways to improve it for maximum engagement.
- Although this necessarily doesn’t count as a tool but if you are looking for a more strategic way to create your content for your blog, make sure you attend our free training! We walk you through our content strategy and how we grew our travel blog to over 500,000 pageviews per month.
Resources for Stock Images for Bloggers
It’s true, content is king, but great images are what catches the reader’s eye.
Searching for images can be a pain, especially with copyright laws but there are lots of fantastic photographers who have put their images online to use on websites and blogs!
Depositphotos
If you have a super niche blog or are having trouble finding images for your content, it’s probably worth it to buy a subscription to Depositphotos to end your struggles.
They have an awesome selection of images and they save me so much time cos I can easily find exactly what I’m looking for. They have loads of deals and promos every so often so keep an eye out for them!
Pricing: Subscription plans start at $29 per month.
Stock Unlimited (via App Sumo)
If you’re looking for a great deal, App Sumo has a running deal with Stock Unlimited where you get a 3 year plan for only $49.
This is an absolute bargain for those who want access to royalty free images!
Pricing: Deal: $49 for a 3 year plan!
More Image Resources
- For free images, check out websites like Unsplash, Pexels and Pixabay, home to thousands of photos graciously uploaded by photographers for free use on blogs and beyond.
- If you’re looking for a premium stock image subscription beyond Depositphotos, Shutterstock is one of the most widely used stock photo websites in the world and has plans for individual and team use.
- No matter where you get your images from, it’s super important to compress them before uploading them to your blog. Doing this enables your website to load faster, positively impacting it’s SEO! To compress our images, we use a free online tool called CompressJPEG.
Tools for Your Blogging Graphics
Blogging Myth: You have to have design skills to have gorgeous graphics on your site.
Blogging Truth: Today, there are some outstanding resources online that allow you to create beautiful graphics with literally zero design knowledge. With templates, it’s super easy to make something eye-catching and customize it to your brand.
Canva
Canva is exceptional because there are tons of free templates catering to lots of different topics and you can customize them to be exactly what you want.
Canva is free to use, with the option to upgrade to a Pro plan if you need some more functionality. Seriously, Canva can do it all from banners to Pinterest images to eBooks and more. All you have to do is drag and drop the elements you’d like to include.
A Pro plan is a great tool to have in your back pocket because it comes with huge benefits like loads more stock images and graphics to use as well as unlimited storage.
If you rely heavily on graphics for your blog, social media or marketing plans, Canva Pro can’t be skipped. Click here to read our guide on how to use Canva Pro and its awesome features.
Pricing: Free; Pro plans start at $9.95 per month.
Tools for Email Marketing for Bloggers
One of the fundamental pillars of building a successful blog is using email marketing to continuously deliver value to your audience.
Using different tools, you can create custom campaigns designed for different types of readers to keep you at the front of their minds, and make them come back for more.
When it comes to email marketing, you need a couple different tools:
- A designated email marketing service that allows you to send out targeted emails, newsletters and more
- A tool for lead generation (aka opt-ins)
ActiveCampaign
When it comes to email marketing, ActiveCampaign is a stellar tool that allows you to build newsletters, create campaigns, and send targeted emails to your audience.
With ActiveCampaign, you can easily segment your subscribers, create automations, personalize emails and analyze important metrics to improve your strategy. This is the tool that we use and couldn’t be happier with it!
It’s absolutely worth the $9 as it’s one of the most affordable email marketing tools with some killer functionality.
Read our ActiveCampaign review to learn more about this great tool!
Pricing: Plans start at $9 per month.
OptinMonster
Growing your email list means you need subscribers, and to get subscribers you need a standout opt-in box to grab their attention.
OptinMonster is a WordPress plug-in that we use to create our call-out boxes, luring readers to add their email addresses. Although ActiveCampaign offers free popups, they’re not as well-designed as OptinMonster!
Here’s our OptinMonster tutorial and review so that you can learn more about it.
Pricing: Plans start at $9 per month.
Tools for Social Media Scheduling
Social media can be so timesucking it’s insane. I used to spend hours on Pinterest, Instagram, and Facebook trying to create engaging posts and come up with witty captions on the spot.
When I started using scheduling tools, it totally changed my life.
With social media scheduling tools, you can plan out months of content and schedule it to come out at optimal times, even if you’re not online.
Plus, it really cuts down on the time you have to spend on social media while creating an even greater impact… Score!
Tailwind
Tailwind is one of my all-time favorite social media scheduling tools because it’s saved me so much time and effort. I mainly use it for Pinterest but it can be linked up to Instagram, too.
Basically, it allows you to create a ton of Pins quickly and schedule them out while providing analytics like what’s working, optimal post times, and more.
Tailwind helped me grow our Pinterest traffic to the point where it was driving more than 60,000 readers to our blog every single month! Pinterest is also moving towards Tailwind Tribes which makes it even more valuable!
Pricing: Free trial with no time limit; Plus plans start at $9.99 per month.
More Tools for Social Scheduling
- If you have a business Instagram account, you can link up third party apps like Later to upload posts, add captions, and schedule them to be published later.
One of the best parts of using Later is you’re able to add loads of hashtags and it shows you which are the most competitive! There’s also a visual planner where you can lay out your posts and analytics that show engagement.
- Buffer is a super easy all in one scheduling tool that covers multiple platforms. With the free version, you can connect up to 3 platforms and schedule out 10 posts at a time, ideal if you’re a beginner planning out social media on a weekly basis.
- Social media and analytics galore, Hootsuite is a solid solution to have everything in one place with analytics and pretty advanced functionality.
- If you’re using Twitter with your blog, Tweetdeck is a scheduling tool that lets you set up Tweets in advance, browse notifications, and check messages in one place.
- For scheduling Facebook posts and gaining audience insights, Facebook actually has its own analytics and scheduling tool which can help you decide when to post what. This tool allows you to plan your posts months in advance, including scheduling for the date and time. It also shows you what kind of content your audience interacts most with and what time is best for optimal engagement.
Tools for Organization & Task Management for Bloggers
Staying organized and knowing what you’re working on is crucial to making progress with your blog.
We’ve used all types of apps and websites to plan out projects, map out content, and know what the team is working on.
Asana
Asana is an outstanding tool for project management and was used by our Adventure In You team for several years.
It allows you to plan out projects and tasks visually and move them along your board as you make progress. You can set dates, responsible users, and add notes, putting everything you’re working on in one place.
We had great success with managing our projects and tasks with the Premium version of Asana, which allowed us to add our entire team to boards, let everyone schedule out their workload and keep track of who was working on what, when.
Pricing: Basic plan is free; Premium plans start at $7.75 per user, per month.
G Suite
When it comes to the point where your blog is beginning to grow and it’s starting to get hard to manage your inbox, a G Suite account is one of the best resources to turn to. G Suite is basically Google for business and includes a work email, calendar, cloud storage, and more.
We use G Suite and couldn’t be more thankful for how much it’s helped our productivity, especially when it comes to keeping our inboxes clean and our documents organized!
G Suite also allows you to set up things like canned responses and sorting rules, making the plans well worth the money in exchange for a manageable inbox.
Pricing: Free 14-day trial; Plans start at $6 per user, per month.
More Organization Tools
- If you’re looking for something similar to Asana, Trello is another highly reputable project management tool. It uses a visual layout, boards for different projects and cards for individual tasks.
- Monday is the ideal choice if you’re looking for a project management tool with highly advanced scheduling features. With Monday, you can create specific tasks, timeline out your week and make visual boards showing your progress.
Tools to Maximize Productivity
Plain and simple, productivity is key to building a successful blog. If you make time to put the work in, stay on track and stay focused, and have some dedication, an awesome website is inevitable.
Sometimes being productive can be hard, especially if you work a 9-5 job or are someone who gets distracted every time they get a text.
However, there are proven ways to maximize your productivity so you can make some serious waves when it comes to building your blogging empire.
(Psst… for more productivity hacks, check out our article on productivity tips for bloggers!)
More Productivity Tools
- If you struggle with staying focused when it comes to working on your blog, try out Pomodoro Tracker, a tool that operates on 25 minute bursts of work with a 5 minute break between each one. It’s a technique people swear by and the online tracker or app makes it really easy to implement!
- The Self Control Mac app is a choice find if you have a hard time staying on task while working from a computer. It blocks websites on your “blacklist” for a specific amount of time allowing you to focus on the task at hand!
- As bloggers, Facebook is an invaluable tool but can be so distracting sometimes. The Chrome extension, Kill Newsfeed still allows you to use Facebook while preventing mindless scrolling through your newsfeed.
Other Tools For Your Blogging Journey
Here are some other great tools and resources that may not fall into a specific category but are super useful for any blogger!
AppSumo
Purchasing tools and resources for your blog is daunting and can add up to quite a lot of money pretty quickly.
Luckily, AppSumo exists and brings around the best deals on software, programs and products to help save you a buck and get you the tools that you need.
Basically, AppSumo partners with different companies (think Evernote, MailChimp, Depositphotos and more…), collaborates with them to create killer deals, and saves you thousands of dollars.
If you’re looking for the best way to save on valuable blogging tools, AppSumo is a saving grace.
P.S. You can save an additional 10% off purchases if you sign up for their Plus membership!
Pricing: Free with option of Plus membership for $99 per year.
ClickFunnels
If you want to eventually sell any type of product or service through your blog, Clickfunnels is a great resource as it allows you to build landing pages and sell your product at the same time!
It enables you to take the customer on a buying journey by helping to create a landing page, sales page, upsell page and membership area.
With this process, ClickFunnels helps you convert more customers, generate leads, and sell your products.
Pricing: 14 day free trial, plans start at $97 per month.
Fiverr
As your blog grows, so will your workload, making outsourcing a stellar option for staying on top of your website.
Fiverr is a terrific place to find freelancers, contract workers, or even long term employees with a huge range of talents all over the world.
You can find it all on Fiverr, from writers to editors, social media marketers, graphic designers… even virtual assistants! It’s our go-to place when we need to thin out our workload a bit.
Pricing: Prices vary depending on the job that you want done.
Skillshare
You know what they say… the more ya know. Continuing to expand your knowledge and skills is something that can really set you apart in the blogging world.
Skillshare is one of the top places to find online courses in just about every subject under the sun. Whether you want to become a better writer, learn more about social media marketing, Skillshare will have something for you.
Pricing: 2 months free, with plans starting at $15 per month.
Bonus: Must-Have WordPress Plug-ins
A few tools in the sections above have been WordPress plug-ins, but here’s a bonus section with some more additions to take your blog to the next level!
WordPress plug-ins are add-ons you can install that offer enhanced functionality and features for your blog. There are more than 50,000 plugins available and with so many to choose from, it may be hard to narrow down some solid picks.
Here are a few of the top rated ones, many of which we use personally and really make a difference with your blog.
- For safety and security, Wordfence is the top pluugin due to its capabilities of protecting your blog from an online attack through frequent security scans.
- W3 Total Cache helps cut down on your blog’s load time by making pages populate more quickly… As a byproduct, this plugin helps boost your rankings and keep people on your blog for longer!
- For total convenience with blog metrics, add the Monster Insights plugin to have a Google Analytics dashboard integrated right into WordPress… talk about handy!
- For a plugin that truly does it all, Jetpack is the way to go. It handles things like security, performance, and site management all in one place, getting rid of the need for unnecessary plugins.
After seeing how many tools and resources are available to you as a blogger, do you feel more prepared to tackle the online world?
One of the best parts of being a blogger is you’re never in it alone. There are millions of people like you (and me!) out there, trying to build their blog in the easiest and most effective way possible.
This is why so many tools exist today – to get people on their feet and enhance what they’re working on without too much hardship.
Have any great tools that you use for your blog? Drop a comment below to share your favorites!
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