Tools and Resources
These are all resources we use in our business every single day!
*Contains affiliate links!*
Business
Josh Hall Co.- Community and Courses for Web Designers
I CANNOT RECOMMEND JOSH HALL ENOUGH. If you’re a web designer, whether you’re brand new or need help scaling, his courses are for you!!
YNAB
YNAB stands for “You Need a Budget”. Everyone needs a personal budget, but if you run a business, you need a business budget too! As opposed to accounting software, this budgeting app tells your dollars where to go, so you can see at a glance how much money your business has available for certain things. I couldn’t run my business without it!!
Wave Apps
We’ve used Wave for accounting software the whole time we’ve been in business. It’s free, and it’s never let me down. Highly recommend!!
Anytime Mailbox
We use a digital mailbox for clients to send checks and other things, because we don’t like giving out our home address! Mail forwarding is cheap, only $2 each.
Tools
ManageWP
A way to manage WordPress websites. Load all your websites into your account and remotely keep track of them!
TinyPNG
TinyPNG is a tool that reduces the file size of JPG, PNG, and WEBP files. It won’t reduce the quality of the images, and it’s fast and free!
Google Workspace
Google is the only choice for work email. Period. We would never recommend anything else! We use Gmail, Drive, Sheets, Docs, etc. and couldn’t run our business without it.
Promo Codes:
- 10% off Business Starter: 66VGNUTQKATLJYF
- 10% off Business Standard: J44R9WV943EM67X
Canva
Canva has recently stolen my heart. The PRO plan is well worth it, and I’ve actually canceled my Adobe subscription and only use Canva for photo editing. It’s also the best visual editor out there for social media posts, and stories.
Themes and Plugins
Divi Theme
We primarily use the Divi theme to build our client websites. It’s one of the industry leaders and is one of the more reliable page builders out there. It’s also easy for clients to use themselves!
Gravity Forms
Hands down THE BEST form builder that exists on planet Earth. We won’t use anything else.
Wordfence
WordPress security is super important. I’ve used Wordfence for several years, they do a great job protecting my client sites by running security scans, setting up a firewall, and letting me know if there is an increased attack rate on the website. Highly recommend!
Domains & Hosting
Namecheap
The only domain registrar we use! They’re the cheapest around, and they include domain protection for free, which is an absolute must.
Hostinger
We’ve recently started to move our client sites to Hostinger! Great uptime, great support, and way more storage for the money.
Siteground
Our web host for a long time! They are one of the best, boasting 99.9% uptime and fantastic support. Huge fan!!
WP Engine
The best “managed” WordPress host around. Never worry about keeping up with your WordPress site again. Save $120 with our link!
Productivity
Teamwork
Our favorite project management software. It has everything we need as a team and stores our files and documents so that we can find them easily. It also tracks our time, so we’re accurate in our billing, and it tells us when a project is nearing the budget.
Dubsado
A client/business management platform that we use for appointment scheduling, lead management/pipeline overview, contracts, proposals, etc.
Passion Planner
Only the best planner ever created. Different layouts to choose from, all with the same idea: plan your passions. Set yearly goals and break them down into monthly and daily tasks and watch your dreams come true. Seriously love this planner!
Slack
We love Slack and use it to communicate amongst ourselves. It’s an app for messaging and other shenanigans.