Being in webdesign business as WordPress developer and designer for over 10 years, I have used several products and services that help in running and maintaining a successful website. I have consistently used and recommended these products & services to my clients for the kind of trust and quality these services offer.
Here are some of my favorite links and I highly recommend these products for running a successful business website.
WordPress Themes
Elegant Themes
Elegant Themes has a rich collection of beautiful WordPress themes for every purpose. If you are just starting out, pick one of the themes from there. Each of the Elegant themes feature a theme options panel which allows you to quickly set up a site all by yourself. It features logo uploader, newsletter integration settings, social media connect, ad management panel, easy layout settings, SEO settings and much more. Divi is the latest sensation from Elegant Themes and it comes with in-built page builder. Before finally purchasing a WordPress theme for your website, do check out Elegant Themes.
Must Have WordPress Plugins
WooCommerce
For setting up online store on your website, WooCommerce is the best option. You can have a store with physical as well as digital goods. I personally use WooCommerce on my site and all my themes are also WooCommerce ready.
OptinMonster
Just having a sign-up form for converting your site visitors into subscribers doesn’t cut it. This is where OptinMonster comes into the picture. It allows you to create beautiful lead capture forms and enables you to strategically place them on your site. You can easily integrating Optinmonster with whatever email marketing service you use. It works with Aweber, MailChimp, MadMimi, InfusionSoft, etc.
Yoast
To optimize your site for search engines, Yoast SEO is your best bet. It is the best SEO plugin for WordPress which enables you to make your site search friendly and it’s free. Yoat SEO features in-page / in-post meta-box which enables you to optimize each and every page and post on your site. Yoast SEO is a must have plugin for your WordPress site.
W3TotalCache
Just like Yoast SEO, W3Total cache is also a must have plugin for your WordPress site. W3 Total Cache improves the user experience of your site by increasing server performance in terms of site loading speed. Install the plugin, configure the settings and you are good to go…
BeaverBuilder
Being a coder, I am not a big fan of drag and drop page builders, but for non-coders, Beaver page builder is a great tool for easily building great looking pages in WordPress; no matter which WordPress theme you use.
Newsletter Services
Aweber
Building email marketing list is a must for growing your business. Your subscribers are your loyal customers and Aweber helps you by providing you email marketing services to do just that. You are just starting out a new service, launching a new product or simply publishing your new blog post, Aweber makes it easy to reach out to your subscribers. I personally use and recommend Aweber to all my customers. It makes creating sign-up forms and publishing newsletters a breeze.
Other Useful Resources
Creative Market
If you are looking for stock photos, logo templates, product mockups, business cards, flyers and any other creative stuff for your business, just head on to Creative Market.
Shopify
If you want to have a dedicated online store, Shopify is the way to go. You can quickly configure, build and customize an online store with Shopify and easily integrate with your WordPress sites by using Shopify widgets for WordPress.
