Grammarly
Ginger
Linguix
Hemingway Editor
After The Deadline
WhiteSmoke
LanguageTool
ProWritingAid
Scribens
Grammar Slammer
Spell Check Plus
Virtual Writing Tool
AutoCrit
PaperRater
Category: Blogging
Best Website Builders
Hello! Welcome to my 9 step blog series on How to Start a Blog. This is the fourth step in the series. Today we will take a look at the best WordPress themes. Choosing a WordPress theme is probably the most important step and decision you are going to make because the theme of your blog is the face of your blog.
Wix
Shopify
HubSpot CMS
Weebly
BigCommerce
WordPress.com
Site123
Hibu
zyro
Squarespace
ucraft
Webflow
Jimdo
Pixpa
designmodo
duda
I hope you enjoyed learning about the best WordPress themes and I hope you are now able to choose and purchase a theme for your blog. This concludes step 4 of my How to Start a Blog series. I hope you will join me in step 5 as we take a look into the best WordPress plugins.
Are you ready to start step 5? Click here.
Best SEO Tools
Are you looking for ways to improve your site’s performance? If yes, then you should definitely check out these best SEO tools. They are designed to provide you with detailed insights into your website traffic and user behavior.
SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. This means that you want to get as much visibility as possible for your web pages. As such, you need to ensure that Googlebot crawls your site properly and finds the relevant information. That way, it can index your page and display it in its search results.
However, to achieve this, you need to optimize your content and structure correctly. There are various tools available to help you accomplish this task. In this article, we’ll take a look at some of the best ones.
What are the features SEO tools offer?
Tag Generator
Keyword Planner
Page Speed Checker
Meta Tag checker
Page size checker
OG tag checker
and many more!
What are the best paid SEO tools?
SEMrush
GrowthBar
Advanced Web Ranking
Moz
Surfer SEO
Ahrefs
Authority Labs
Serpstat
Long Tail Pro
SEObility
SEOptimer
LinkMiner
Pitchbox
Ubersuggest
QuestionDB
Jaaxy
SpyFu
WooRank
Fat Rank
Siteliner
Screaming Frog SEO
Mangools
What are the Best free SEO Tools?
Google Search Console
YoastSEO
Google Analytics
SEOquake
I hope you enjoyed learning about the best WordPress themes and I hope you are now able to choose and purchase a theme for your blog. This concludes step 4 of my How to Start a Blog series. I hope you will join me in step 5 as we take a look into the best WordPress plugins.
Are you ready to start step 5? Click here.
Best Landing Page Builders
Having landing pages boosts the number of leads you receive. Therefore, it should go without saying that landing pages are crucial if you want your business to grow. To assist you in generating more leads and expanding your business, I have put together a list of the best landing page builders.
Leadpages
Unbounce
Instapage
HubSpot
Landingi
GetResponse
Swipe Pages
Lander
Wishpond
Click Funnels
ShortStack
Elementor
Ucraft
Wix
Sendinblue
Best WordPress Plugins Guide
When working with WordPress there will be times when you will need to install a plugin or two. There are a lot of plugins out there that is why I have compiled a list of the best WordPress plugins guide to help you get started.
There are over 59,000 WordPress plugins to choose from. This is an overwhelming number of plugins. Which is why i have this list to make it easier to start your own blog or website.
Disclosure: This page may contain affiliate links that, if you complete a purchase through our links, we may earn a commission at no cost to you. Please review our Disclaimer page for more information.
I have installed, tested, and used a lot of different plugins. These plugins are plugins I have installed whenever I a start a blog or start a new website for myself or clients.
I do not recommend you install all of these plugins as it will slow your website down. I do recommend that you install the ones you need and test them to make sure they work well on your website.
Best WordPress Plugins for getting started
Contact Form 7
Yoast SEO
WooCommerce
Even more popular than Shopify, WooCommerce is the most widely used WordPress eCommerce plugin as well as the easiest way to create an online store.
Being a full-service eCommerce plugin, it takes care of all the requirements for maintaining a store, including receiving payments and managing merchandise.
You can always extend the core plugin with thousands of free and premium WooCommerce plugins if you can’t find a built-in feature for what you want to achieve.
Price: Free
Insert Headers and Footers
I put Insert Headers and Footers plugin on my getting started list because I install it on all my websites. It allow you to add code snippets to your header and footer sections on your website.
How to upload and install a WordPress Plugin
- Select Plugins from the WordPress Menu.
2. Click on “Add New” from the Plugins page.
3. Click on “Upload Plugin”.
4. Click on “Choose File”. Select the Plugin zip file you want to install. When selected click “Install Now” to start the install.
5. Click “Activate”. Once the plugin is activated you begin to configure and customize the plugin.
How to search and install a WordPress Plugin
- Select Plugins from the WordPress Menu.
2. Click on “Add New” from the Plugins page.
3. Enter your search.
4. Once you have located the plugin you want to install, click “Install Now”.
5. Click “Activate” to begin the install process.
6. Confirm your plugin has been activated.
Repeat the process above for any of the plugins found below.
Best WordPress Plugins for SEO
SEO helps your blog or website get more visitor from search engines. By using SEO best practices a SEO plugin can increase your traffic.
A SEO plugin will write the markup you need to let search engines know who you and what you do.
The markup you need is page or post title, meta description, keywords, sitemaps, social media for sharing.
Yoast SEO
All In One SEO
All in One SEO is a another popular SEO plugins. This plugin offers a free and paid version.
Best WordPress Plugins for Page Building
Elementor Pro
Beaver Builder
Best WordPress Plugins for eCommerce
BigCommerce for WordPress
WooCommerce
Easy Digital Downloads
Barn2
Best WordPress Plugins for Speed Optimization
WP Rocket
W3 Total Cache
Asset CleanUp: Page Speed Booster
WP Super Cache
ShortPixel Image Optimizer
Best WordPress Plugins for Look and Feel
Pretty Links
Pretty Links is a link management plugin. It converts long URLs to short URLs using your domain. It puts all you links in an easy to manage list and is linked right on the menu on your dashboard.
It is prefect for podcasters, business owners, affiliate marketers and anyone you wants to easiliy create shorts URLs for your WordPress website.
An alternative link cmanagement plugin is ThirstyAffiliates and is used by many affiliate marketers.
Classic Editor
Yoast Duplicate Post
Easy Table of Contents
Extended Widget Options
GDPR Cookie Consent
Mammoth .docx Converter
Shortcodes Ultimate
WP Last Modified Info
CSS Hero
Insert Headers and Footers
Insert Headers and Footers plugin is great when you need to add a piece of code to your website. You add your Google Analytics code, verifications, advertising scripts, etc.
What is great about Insert Headers and Footers is that it allows to add such scripts or code snippets without having to edit your theme itself, it does the work for you.
Best part about Insert Header and Footer is that its free to download, install, and use on your website.
Best WordPress Plugins for Form Building
WPForms
Best WordPress Plugins for Email Marketing
Email marketing is the most effective marketing tool at your disposal by helping business owners keep in touch with there customers even when they leave your website. If you would like to learn more about some of the alternatives check out my article on the best email marketing services.
Constant Contact
Constant Contact is one of the most popular email marketing service providers in the world.
This plugin offers quick and easy setup perfect for the non-techy users. It also has OptinMonster and WPForms integrations built-in.
MailChimp
ConvertKit
Best WordPress Plugins for Membership
memberpress
Best WordPress Plugins for Business
OptinMonster
WeDevs
WP Call Button
Best WordPress Plugins for Customer Service
Tidio
Tawk.to
Best WordPress Plugins for Courses
LearnDash
Best WordPress Plugins for Security
Akismet
WP WordFence
Best WordPress Plugins for Back-Up
UPDraft Plus
I hope you enjoyed learning about the best WordPress plugins and I hope you have your blog or website looking it’s best. This list not a complete list because I am trying to find the next best plugin for my blog when I do I will list it above. If theres a plugin that you think is missing from this list drop me a line and let me know.
Best Affiliate Networks
Affiliate networks connect businesses (the affiliates) with other companies (the merchants). They also provide tracking tools that allow you to see where your visitors come from and what they buy.
What is affiliate marketing? How does it work? And why should I care?
Affiliate marketing is a way to earn commission by promoting other companies’ products or services. The company who sells the product pays the affiliate a percentage of the sale price. This is usually done through a third party site called an affiliate network.
Affiliate networks allow affiliates to promote their products and services without having to build their own websites or apps. They also give them access to tools and resources to increase sales and conversions.
Which affiliate network is the best?
The answer isn’t simple since they all offer similar things. Some networks offer high commissions but low payouts, while some don’t offer good referral programs or customer service. When choosing a network, you need to evaluate which features matter the most to you.
Disclosure: This page may contain affiliate links that, if you complete a purchase through our links, we may earn a commission at no cost to you. Please review our Disclaimer page for more information.
Impact
Impact is a comprehensive partnership relationship management (PRM) platform that connects top brands with publishers.
Affiliates can join the network and apply for programs with thousands of top brands such as Uber, Airbnb, Adidas, Allstate, and others.
Sign up with Impact.com and start partnering with brands todays.
ShareASale
Shareasale is a massive affiliate network that has over 3,900 merchants and over one million affiliates. They’ve been in business for 19 years and are a market leader. Fashion, home and garden, food and drink, and B2B are some of their top verticals to promote. There are, however, many more.
Furthermore, they offer excellent features such as affiliate marketing classes, training webinars, merchant recommendations, and marketing tools to assist you in increasing your revenue.
Their platform is also technologically sound. The Shareasale platform, in particular, provides easy access to affiliate links and reporting tools, and they take pride in transparency,
If you’re just getting started and want to dip your toes into affiliate marketing, I recommend signing up as an affiliate with Shareasale first.
You can also sign up as a merchant if you’re looking for affiliates to promote your products.
Sign up with ShareASale today.
Partnerize
CJ Affiliate
Conversant’s CJ by Conversant (formerly Commission Junction) is a 20-year-old affiliate network. They process an astounding $15 billion in annual sales through their platform, with $1.8 billion paid out to their affiliates each year.
If you want to work with some of the world’s biggest brands, becoming a CJ affiliate is an excellent option. Overstock, Priceline, GoPro, Lowes, and Office Depot are just a few of the merchants you can collaborate with on CJ.
CJ, on the other hand, is a great platform to join because of its free and simple setup, excellent real-time reporting, and consistent monthly payments.
Join CJ by Conversant if you are an experienced affiliate looking to work with some of the world’s most recognizable brands (formerly Commission Junction).
Lemonads
Lemonads is a performance marketing network where affiliates can promote over 10,000 businesses.
When affiliates sign up and join their platform, they gain access to a variety of tools, including:
Exclusive CPA offers from well-known brands.
Intelligent affiliate link tools with reports that allow you to optimize your campaigns in real time.
Payments are made quickly via wire transfer, PayPal, Paxum, and ePayments.
Customer service is available via a variety of channels.
Within the first three months of using Lemonads, 85% of publishers see an increase in revenue.
Rakuten
Rakuten, formerly LinkShare, is an affiliate network that has been in operation since 1996. Despite having been in business for longer than most, they are not as large as CJ by Conversant.
Nonetheless, they have over 1,000 merchants to choose from, including many well-known brands such as New Balance, Pac Sun, Ray-Ban, and Sephora.
What distinguishes them? To begin, Rakuten has a very user-friendly interface, advanced deep linking tools, and the ability to create rotating banners when promoting your merchants. The setup is simple. They also provide excellent transaction reporting and tutorial videos to assist you in getting started and maximizing revenue.
However, there are a few disadvantages. For starters, there are fewer merchants.
This disadvantage may limit your ability to sell from a variety of brands, and you may need to supplement your affiliate income by joining another network. Second, they have erratic payment schedules, so you may not receive commissions at the same time each month. These aren’t deal breakers, but they are worth mentioning.
Awin
Avangate Affiliate Network
Travelpayouts
Pepperjam
Skimlinks
ClickBank
FlexOffers
PeerFly
Best WordPress LMS Plugins
LearnDash
LearnPress
LifterLMS
MemberPress
WPLMS