Blogging Resources

There are a lot of tools out there that will make your life so much easier. The tough part is coming up with which ones are the best. I’ve had my fair share of trial and error with everything from hosting to themes to plugins and editing software.

I rounded up my list of tried and true best resources for bloggers. I have used the products listed below and only recommend them because I trust these companies. If you’re just getting started, this might be a good one for you to bookmark and continue to come back to as you set up your site and start growing!

Please note that some of the links below are affiliate links and I will earn a commission if you purchase through those links. Links like this allow me to keep this site up and running and there is no additional cost to you! Thanks for your support!

PRODUCT RESOURCES

Bluehost

I use Bluehost for all of my hosting and always recommend this host to my clients. It’s been the most reliable host I’ve used and they have amazing customer service! You won’t regret hosting your site here.

MailChimp

I use MailChimp for my email newsletters. You can start with a free account and move up as your list grows. It’s easy to design a professional looking email and allows you to set up RSS-based campaigns if you’re wanting to send weekly or daily round ups of your posts. They also have an automation tool that lets you set up a series of emails to automatically be sent out to new subscribers!

Pre-Fab Blog Design

These pre-fab themes are designed with style publishers and mind (and created by me!). Hundreds of bloggers have purchased my themes for their fashion and lifestyle blogs. With a little CSS, you can easily customize the theme to your liking! And their just a fraction of the cost of a custom design!

Themeforest

If you’re looking for a huge selection of themes, ThemeForest is one of the biggest collections of premium themes out there. They have everything from blogs to business themes, so depending on what’s right for you, you’re bound to find something slick.

StudioPress Themes

At StudioPress you’ll find gorgeous, minimalist themes built on the Genesis framework!

PREMIUM PLUGINS

When I’m looking to add a specific functionality to a site or a cool plugin, I usually go here. WordPress offers a lot of free plugins, but they’re not all that great. The plugins found at Code Canyon are inexpensive and work really well! If you do install some free plugins, make sure to check the reviews before installing. If stuff starts going wrong on your blog, it’s probably time to ditch that free plugin.

SOCIAL SHARING BUTTONS

There are so many sharing plugins out there, but Social Warfare has quickly become my favorite. You can read all about the functionalities of it here, but it’s inexpensive and is super easy to integrate into your site!

Adobe CC Photography Package

Adobe makes the best photo editing programs and I would literally be lost without the photography package. I credit the improvement of my images not only to learning how to use my manual settings, but learning how to properly edit a photo in Lightroom and Photoshop. The Adobe Creative Cloud Photography plan is only $9.99/mo and worth every penny!

Adobe CC Illustrator

Illustrator is my number one most used program. That’s most likely because I design blogs within Illustrator, but it’s also great for creating graphics and collages. The Creative Cloud version makes sure you always have the most up-to-date version of Illustrator which is a huge bonus considering how cheap it is!

Blogger to WordPress Migration

Transferring your blog from Blogger to WordPress can be a total headache. Content, comments and photos can get lost and you can lose traffic once you make the switch. To avoid those issues, I recommend hiring someone that knows what they’re doing. rtCamp offers in Blogger to WordPress for a very reasonable cost (some companies charge upwards of $2K for the transfer).

Premium Tech Support for Style Publishers

ChloeDigital (the tech guru behind RewardStyle’s The Feed) offers an amazing support plan for style publishers on the self-hosted WordPress platform. The support plan is $99/mo with a 3-month minimum. They do small updates, keep your site backed up, keep your plugins, themes and WordPress installation up to date and they send you strategies to make your site better. Truly an amazing deal for such a low price. Sign up here!