Recommended WordPress Products and Services
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My WordPress ToolKit
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The Products and Services I Use and Rely On
With all the noise online, how do you know which companies back their products with the support and updates you need to rely on? I know how to identify credible companies and reliable products, and I do that by using their products for my sites.
Below are the needed plugins, services, and providers you can rely on to grow your website or Blog. I’ve also included a few impressive ones that I’ve helped clients integrate. I can vouch for these products and their support, so you know you’re in good hands.
If a product or service is not good enough for my websites or my clients, they are not good enough for you and, therefore, will not earn a mention on this page.
WordPress Products and Services
I Can Vouch for…
When it comes to WordPress, hosting is one of the most critical decisions you must make. This is because WordPress is a database-driven platform with unique resource requirements.
Only a WordPress-specific hosting platform can ensure that security and performance issues are precisely and appropriately managed. Below are four different hosts that I’ve used and worked on, and they can meet any hosting need.
You may have read that my favorite WordPress theme is Kadence (if not, I highly recommend reading this). Now, the same company, StellarWP, offers hosting, StellarSites. Worth your time to check out, especially if you’re just starting your website journey.
WPMU Managed Hosting: A++ on Support
WPMU hosts this website. I’ve been a member for over a decade due to their great plugins (see below), and now I am using their premium hosting, which includes domain email services.
BONUS! Plugins & More…
“Your All-In-One WordPress Platform:
Super-powered hosting, support, site management, and plugins!”
If you invest in a premium WordPress product membership — WPMU should be at the top of your list.
If you are a web designer, WPMU offers numerous valuable tools to help you manage your business effectively.
💰 SiteGround 💰
88% OFF All WordPress Web Hosting Plans
I’ve used and can recommend SiteGround WordPress hosting for new and small to mid-sized websites. Hosting includes domain email services.
Kinsta Premium Hosting
Kinsta is a premium WordPress web hosting service. As they say on their website: “WordPress hosting plans for sites that mean business.” If you run a busy eCom or membership website, you need hosting to meet that challenge. That’s where Kinsta comes in.
“The tools you need to grow your business shouldn’t put you out of business.” AppSumo’s mission is to offer software deals that give small businesses the energy of big companies, so I decided to check them out.
Sick of subscriptions?
Pay once, not monthly. Get quality business software with no monthly fees.
I use several products I found on AppSumo, and I bet you’ll be surprised at what you see if you stop by for a quick visit. AppSumo has the apps you need to run your business and website at reasonable prices.
Check out AppSumo and bookmark it!
Start with a Premium WordPress Theme. KadenceWP — the best WordPress Theme ever! (StellarWP)
You can choose from numerous starter templates to customize to your vision. Just replace the theme’s images and text with your own. No code is necessary.
Restored 316 also offers some outstanding Kadence themes.
Your theme is the most essential choice you will make! Using a premium theme with a solid framework that offers child themes for every look and application is a must-have. Click here to review the themes I trust for my sites.
You can also check out Divi: The Ultimate WordPress Toolkit now with AI!
Create a stunning coming soon landing page and collect email addresses before launching your new site with SeedProd.
SeedProd can be used for much more, too:
You Need Wordfence
Security plugins can check your WordPress installation for vulnerabilities and suggest corrective actions. Things like:
But they aren’t the be-all and end-all. For example, I’ve seen sites with a “security plugin” exploited anyway. So, I use WordFence to help keep my sites secure and monitor any concerning activity.
Having a zippy website is critical to the user experience and SEO. Here are the plugins I use and recommend:
BrightLocal Local SEO: 14-Day Free Trial
Never guess your way through local SEO again. Whether you’re looking to boost local rankings, increase online visibility, build citations, develop an exceptional online reputation, or even grow your marketing agency, BrightLocal’s powerful tools make local marketing success simple.
There are many tools to choose from for SEO. Keep in mind, however, they are tools or guides. Your content, how you format it, and whether it is of value, combined with consistency, are key.
AIOSEO
AIOSEO says it all — All In One SEO. All in One SEO has all the features you need to optimize your WordPress site and unlock maximum search traffic.
SEOBILITY
Seobility is an SEO Software and Tool that helps webmasters, SEOs, bloggers, and more optimize websites and rank in the top places on Google.
Their SEO checker helps you instantly understand your website’s search performance and provides a ready list of improvements. Check out the Seobility Quick Start Guide that will help you create your first project, analyse your backlink profile, track your Google rankings, and more.
SEMRush
SEO doesn’t just “happen.” Nothing happens by osmosis online. You work it, but how do you know if your efforts are paying off if you aren’t tracking the results (or lack thereof)?
SEMRush offers all the tools you need in one dashboard. This includes a Social Media Toolkit, which enables automated posting, tracking, promotion, and analytics across the primary social channels. Test, track, and react!
By the way, I use Yoast SEO Premium on all my websites. All of these products will help you with your SEO efforts. The key is to find one that works for you and stick with it. Constantly swapping out different SEO plugins won’t enhance your rankings unless you integrate the necessary steps in the first place.
PeepSo is a lightweight, free social network plugin for WordPress that enables you to quickly and effortlessly integrate a social network or online community, similar to Facebook, directly within your WordPress site. How much fun is that!?
In the modern business landscape, creating an online community is one of the most powerful strategies for growing your brand and fostering customer loyalty. However, building this community where you host matters immensely. While social media platforms like Facebook and X offer convenient tools for group discussions, they have significant downsides, including potential distractions, competitor ads, and a lack of control over your audience.
Keeping your community on your WordPress website can create a centralized hub that fosters engagement, drives repeat traffic, builds customer trust, and increases sales. Here’s how to effectively develop and nurture an online community on your WordPress site.
Divi Theme and Builder All in One
For less technical DIYers, Divi is an option worth considering. (I wrote about Divi here.)
If you know nothing about code but want to try a DIY approach, Divi is the theme and builder for you. Divi constantly adds new “theme packs” for every possible business type. They’ve made incredible performance improvements worth checking out—more on Divi and considerations.
READ MY ARTICLE ABOUT DIVI
Sign up today and discover why 800,000+ customers have chosen to build their websites with Divi.
Already a Divi customer? It’s time to upgrade to Lifetime and lock in your Divi membership for life. Upgrade today and save big.
Are you not sure if Divi is right for you? Check out Divi’s 30-Day Money Back Guarantee, which makes signing up Risk-Free.
Plus, Divi AI, Cloud, VIPs, Teams, and Marketplace
Divi VIP is a new service offering VIP Support and additional member benefits. Divi AI empowers WordPress creators with the power of AI. It can write fantastic content and generate spectacular images out of thin air.
Divi Cloud is like Dropbox for Divi websites, allowing you, freelancers, and agencies to access their Divi assets on every new website they build. And don’t forget about the Divi Marketplace, full of third-party Divi modules, child themes, and layouts.
As you may know, I am not a fan of builders. However, now that WordPress has introduced the new Gutenberg editor and is transitioning to almost full-site editing (FSE), why add another plugin and unnecessarily consume more resources?
That said, if I were to use a builder, it would be Elementor.
I have worked on many sites using this plugin. Its difference from other builders is that it uses blocks, like Gutenberg, instead of locking you into other “builders,” where your entire website is built on that builder’s proprietary shortcodes. You can still get “locked” into Elementor-specific blocks (or check out Kadence).
Other carts and eCom plugins are available. But if you want a full-fledged eCommerce operation made to work with WordPress and tons of extensions and add-ons, WooCommerce is it.
Kit is a full-featured email service provider. Thanks to its ease of use, automation, and other features, it’s one of the fastest-growing email marketing companies. It also offers customizable sign-up forms, email automation, and landing pages to help attract more subscribers.
After testing dozens of email platforms, Kit stands out as the ideal choice for professional creators. Unlike traditional ESPs, Kit brings everything you need into one platform—email marketing, automation, digital product sales, and audience management.
Their Visual Automation builder is particularly impressive, making it easy to create sophisticated workflows without any coding knowledge. Whether you’re a YouTuber, course creator, or newsletter writer, Kit grows with your business without requiring platform changes as you scale.
As a creator, you’ve likely been on a journey and have come a long way since your first blog post or podcast.
You should be proud because you have grown, changed, and evolved — from timidly sharing your work to becoming a professional creator on a mission.
But now, it’s time to level up that mission with a fresh start.
The tools that once “worked just fine” no longer serve you because you’ve developed processes that fuel your growth as a creator. It’s time to focus on your continued growth and simplify what it takes to run your business successfully.
Being a professional creator doesn’t have to come with the baggage of complicated tech stacks. If your business is ready to grow, there’s no reason to stay stuck in your current tool. Your fresh start is just a click away!
OptinMonster
Check out OptinMonster, too! Convert and Monetize Your Website Traffic. Stop losing visitors! Instantly grow your email list, get more leads, and increase sales with the world’s #1 most powerful conversion optimization toolkit.
Membership sites are a great way to monetize a community and offer different levels of service offerings to your target market. Adding a membership area to your site is a great way to add a service hub for your established customers.
WP Courseware is a powerful Learning Management System, yet it is as easy as drag-and-drop. You have a business-in-a-box with a built-in shopping cart, payment gateways, and membership functionality.
Offering courses is one lucrative way to share your knowledge and expertise. WPCourseware makes the process user-friendly and easy to set up, with numerous how-to guides and support available.
Both of these plugins will work great. Investigate what will work best for you.
Gravity Forms covers all the bases!
Ninja Forms is sufficient for most needs right out of the box. However, if you need particular functionality or integration with other services, you can purchase add-ons as needed.
I use WP Mail SMTP on my websites to ensure WordPress sends emails correctly.
I cannot speak highly enough about CleanTalk for Spam Protection against form spam for a couple of my sites, including this one.
I use Canva for everything. For social media images, they have the correct sizes and templates for you to embellish and customize. For blog images, too, with the Pro plan, you have galleries filled with images and photos to use at no additional charge. You can have all your branding collateral, your palette of colors and fonts, on hand to use with a click. Branding made easy.
Whether it’s a presentation with visuals to share, invitations with graphics to impress your customers, or images for your social media posts, simply drag and drop them into your designs.
Soliloquy makes creating beautiful images, videos, and product sliders easy with just a few simple clicks. I’ve used this plugin many times over the years. Better yet, with a Soliloquy Pro account, you can unlock unique features like:
Soliloquy is a responsive WordPress slider plugin that makes building sliders in WordPress a task you will want to experience over and over again.
You can also customize the look and feel of your sliders using one of Soliloquy’s prebuilt templates. As a side note, my recommended theme, Kadence, includes sliders.
I like FixMySite because they will fix your site or give you a 100% money-back guarantee. They will also install WordFence, my preferred security plugin, and provide a report upon completion of the job.
FixMySite can also help to make your site faster!
OptinMonster is the best lead generation software for marketing agencies, bloggers, eCommerce websites, and small businesses. If you want to grow your email list, improve your website conversions, and reduce cart abandonment, OptinMonster is the solution.
All I can say is WOW! I was beyond surprised to discover how easy it is to create PDFs from WordPress pages and posts! Consider how you can create downloadable marketing materials, sign-up incentives, and mini-ebooks from your existing content. Very cool!
Smash Balloon is the best WordPress social feeds plugin because it lets you create customizable social media feeds tailored to your website.
I write about keyphrases a lot. You have to know what phrases your market uses to find what you have to offer. You then integrate those terms into your pages and posts. That’s how you get rankings. Discover what your potential customers are using and put that data to work.
You create a marketing email that links to your website. But are you linking to a specific page or one that aligns with the particular campaign’s focus? Kit makes creating powerful and converting landing pages easy.
Are you considering migrating to a new email platform but are stressed by the process? My friends at Kit offer comprehensive migrations for professional creators, including bonuses such as workshops and concierge services.
Also, check out SeedProd: Landing Page Builder for WordPress.
The numbers tell you what’s happening, but Hotjar’s visual insights tell you why, so you can make the changes that matter.
Do you know what’s going on on your website? Find out with Hotjar.
I’ve used this plugin on and off for quite a while. Depending on what your website is about, what you are offering, and to whom you are offering it, there are specific legal texts that you should have on your site. Simply enter your business details and click ‘Save’ to generate the 25+ policy pages required for any website—examples include Privacy, Cookies, Terms & Conditions, GDPR, CCPA, affiliate statements, and more.
With this plugin, you can create links using your domain to post on social media or any marketing venue. This is great for covering those ugly long links, including affiliate links. Plus, you can track the click-throughs too!
I have found several unique, feature-rich, and inexpensive WordPress plugins on Envato. When I can’t find what I need, I visit this site to see what’s available. Gravitate only to highly rated plugins that have been tested up to the latest version of WordPress.
A free trial is available to experiment with Envato Elements for seven days before purchasing a subscription. Why not give Envato a whirl?
Reach new audiences to drive more sales with affiliates and influencers. Impact’s Starter Edition is a self-serve brand offering that uses one of its five e-commerce plugins, allowing small brands to create partnership programs in minutes.
If you have a blog, you must write engaging, quality, grammatically correct content. Working on your writing skills is a continuous process. With a continual learning curve. Something I work at with every article I create. Grammarly will help you continually hone your writing skills.
I use Grammarly every single day to improve my content and skills. Love it!
Are you tired of wasting time searching for homemade WordPress tutorial videos on Google? Check out the WordPress 101 tutorial videos, meticulously scripted and professionally produced, to learn how to use WordPress and create your website in just a couple of hours.
I can’t say enough good things about Advanced Database Cleaner Pro. It is easy, efficient, and the best database optimization plugin I’ve encountered. I consider it a must-have for every WordPress website.
What’s cool about Blubrry is that they have a plugin that makes managing your podcast easy, directly from your WordPress site. They also offer hosting with statistics, social media, and monetization options. Plus, you can easily submit to Apple and Google podcasts.
*Some of the links on this page are to companies with which I have a professional affiliation.
Read my complete affiliate statement here.
I don’t recommend a product or service just for the commissions. Unless I have personally used the product or service successfully, it won’t be featured on this page. I confidently recommend these products, services, and plugins only if they meet my high standards. Review my Ethics and Affiliate Statements for more.