WordPress Resources

Recommended Domain Registrars

Your domain name is one of the most important pieces of your website. Here are some places where you can purchase your .com for $10 per year or less and has good service and easy to access domain management.

Recommended Hosts

These web hosts have an easy install for WordPress through Fantastico Deluxe and/or Simple Scripts. They also use the popular cPanel software to help you manage your hosting account and cost $10 per month or less.

Email list management

Using your website to gather contact information and build your list is extremely important. Here are some great resources to help you do that.

  • Aweber- one of the premiere email mailing list services out there. Manage multiple email lists, autoresponders, and even convert your blog to email. You can also sign up for a free trial to test the service out.

  • Kickstart Cart- great shopping cart with some really great email list management features as well. You can sign up for a free 30 day trial to test it out

Recommended Tools, Services, and Software

If you’re going to be building a website, there are some essential software and tools that will help make your website building go a whole lot easier.

  • Filezilla- a free FTP program for PC and Mac

  • Smultron- a free plain text editor for Mac OSX

  • Textpad- a plain text editor for PC

  • NoteTab Light- a free plain text editor for PC

  • Open Office- a free word processing program for PC and Mac. Is a great replacement for Microsoft Office.

  • Gimp- a free image editor software for PC and Mac

  • Adobe Photoshop Elements 8 [PC]
    - a simpler version of the popular image editing software Photoshop

  • Adobe Photoshop Elements 8 [Mac]- a simpler version of the popular image editing software Photoshop

  • Stock.XCHNG- a free online stock photo directory

  • iStock Photo- a premium stock photo service. Get royalty free images, illustrations, and video clips for your website

  • Picnik- an online photo editing service that allows you to edit your photos and other graphics over the Internet. No software required. Free and premium services available.

  • MPEG Streamclip- a free video encoding software that allows you to convert your videos into the most popular video and audio formats. For PC and Mac.

  • Encoding.com- an online video encoding service. This service allows you to convert your videos in any of the popular video formats available for web use, mobile devices, and more.

Recommended WordPress Plugins and Addons

  • All in One SEO Pack- great plugin that makes optimizing individual blog posts and pages for search engines a lot easier

  • Feed Footer- Use this plug to provide ads and special offers to your RSS subscribers

  • Twitter Tools- A must have if you’re a Twitter user. This tool tweets out your new blog posts and more!

  • Action Comments- Get more mailing list sign ups through your blog comments…a great way to build your mailing list

  • Wishlist Member- a great plugin to transform your website into a membership site. I’m currently using Wishlist for this site

  • Thesis Openhook- a must have if you’re using the Thesis theme. Helps you customize and manage your Thesis theme

  • Broken Link Checker- keeps track of broken links on your website…an absolute must have, especially if you have have a large website with a lot of links.

  • Page Links To- a useful little plugin that allows you to link a WordPress page to any link you wish. Note:: you won’t need this plugin if you’re using Thesis 1.7 or WordPress 3.0

  • Core Tweaks WordPress Setup- helps you quickly pick the most optimal settings for your brand new WordPress installation. Also includes a Privacy Policy generator!

  • Events Calendar- allows you to create a calendar of events for your WordPress blog or website. Note: I use Events Calendar on this site

  • Link to Post- this handy little plugin adds a button to your post and pages editor that allows you to link to any page or post on your site. Great timesaver if you do lot of linking inside your own website.

  • Ultimate Footer Ad- While not strictly speaking a WordPress plugin, this is a great popup footer ad that help you increase your sales and/or mailing list sign ups

  • Simple Press- A great, full featured forum plugin for WordPress 3.0. This plugin runs the student forums on this site

  • Gravity Forms- A great plugin that allows you to easily create and manage forms on your WordPress website/blog. This plugin also stores all of your form information and allows you to easily export or email your form data. I use this plugin to manage my forms on all of my WordPress websites

  • FV WordPress Flowplayer- A handy plugin that allows you to easily add your own videos to your website. Works with your Media Library or with some other hosting service like Amazon S3.

  • podPress- This plugin will help you turn your WordPress blog or website into a podcasting platform. You can also use podPress as a way to play your own audio clips on your website.

Recommended WordPress themes

  • Atahualpa- free customizable theme. Works great for WordPress-based websites (you can download this theme automatically through WordPress)

  • Thesis- customizable premium theme. Looks great even without any configuration and has great SEO features

  • Flexx- a customizable premium theme

Reports, Checklists, and Ebooks

Here are a few reports and ebooks that can help you with various different topics such as setting up your mailing list, how to avoid website mistakes, and other information.

  • Website Planning List- Use this list to help plan out your new website; everything from structure, pages, marketing, and budget.

  • 10 Website Mistakes You MUST Avoid- Here are 10 mistakes that you absolutely must avoid when starting your website.

  • How to Pick a Shopping Cart- Picking a shopping cart that simply works can be a study in frustration. There are so many systems and choices out there now it’s hard to know what to pick. That’s why before you choose anything, you need to download and read this guide.

  • How to Plan and Start a Great Email Newsletter- Gives you the information you need in order to plan and start an email newsletter for your business.

  • How to Use Video to Promote Your Website- Online video is a great way to help you promote your website. In this free guide, you’ll learn what you need in order to get started with video online.