I have been in this line of work for over two decades. And I say that in order to make 2 points: (1) I have used, tested and reviewed a helluva lot of tools, and (2) I see right through shiny objects and hypey launches and make it part of my job to help my clients, students and readers avoid wasting money as they build their blogs and businesses.
This page contains my top, official recommendations for various tools that are necessary for pretty much all online businesses.
Nothing goes on this page without me having personally owned and used it. These are tools that I use, recommend and stand behind. Some of the links are affiliate links which means if you click and buy, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you.
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WordPress Themes
Kadence Theme & Blocks
Kadence Theme is a full site builder based on the Gutenberg block builder. It is now what is powering this very site. It is powerful and lightning fast since it is based on the native block builder.
BuddyBoss Theme
The BuddyBoss theme is purpose-built for robust membership sites and community learning sites. If you want a full-featured membership site with all the bells and whistles, this is the perfect membership site theme.
Thrive Theme Builder
Much more than a theme. Theme Builder is a platform. Take full visual control of your site design and mold it into anything you want without knowing a lick of code.
Elementor
Elementor is the most popular page builder, allowing you to visually design any page you want. With Elementor Pro and the Hello Theme, you can use Elementor to build any site design you want… visually and without coding.
Email Marketing
FluentCRM
FluentCRM is a marketing automation system that runs right inside of WordPress. It now rivals the “big boys” of marketing automation. It is what I use personally and what I now recommend as my top tool for managing your email list. Read my review.
ConvertKit
If you don’t want to self-host your email list inside of Wordpress, ConvertKit is the best all-around fit for bloggers for email list hosting. It offers the right balance of power and simplicity.
Web Hosting
Cloudways
Cloudways is my top hosting recommendation… and I use personally. It is far more cost-effective because you are getting a virtual private server with far more horsepower and flexibility than most consumer web hosts. I use Cloudways. I have switched many of my clients to Cloudways. I stand behind it fully.
Siteground
Siteground is my secondary recommendation for web hosting. They’re solid as a rock and a great solution for people who want it all in one place. They are also very friendly to newbies.
Ecommerce
WooCommerce
WooCommerce is the most popular eCommerce platform online and built to work right inside Wordpress. It is also free! Has tons of extensions to give it almost any capability you’d ever want.
CartFlows
Cartflows works alongside WooCommerce to enable full sales funnels, upsells, order bumps, and more. Essentially, all the power of Thrivecart, but right inside of Wordpress itself and far more customizable through your favorite page builder.
Thrivecart
Thrivecart is my top recommendation for a hosted shopping cart. They are easy to use, supports any kind of funnel you’d like to do, and is (currently) available as a lifetime license.
Must-Haves
WP Fusion
Builds a tight integration between Wordpress and your CRM. Protects Wordpress content based on user tags. It is the “swiss army knife” for Wordpress marketers and absolutely in my list of top plugins.
Fluent Forms
My top recommendation for Wordpress forms. I use it across all my sites. Everything from simple contact forms to fancy surveys and payment forms can be built with it.
RankMath SEO
RankMath is my Wordpress SEO plugin of choice. It offers a way better value than Yoast, in my opinion, and has a much nicer interface. The free version is enough for most people, but PRO gives even more capability.