I’m may be feeling just way too excited about sharing these awesome resources with you!
The blogging resources on this page are the exact tools I used to build my blogging business from scratch. If you want to start a successful blog and make money with it, keep reading.
I have tested and used every tool on this page. Some of them are absolutely necessary for both you and your visitors – others are optional.
Disclosure: This page contains affiliate links, meaning I receive a commission if you decide to purchase using my links, but at no additional cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more information.
Start a blog in 2023: My recommended blogging tools
To start a blog from scratch, here are the tools I recommend:
- Bluehost for blog hosting
- WordPress as your blogging software
- Divi Theme for customizing your blog design
These are the easiest and fastest tools to start, grow, and monetize your blog.
Ready to start?
First, click here to read a full tutorial on how to setup a blog using Bluehost and WordPress.
Then, head over to my complete beginner’s tutorial on how to design your WordPress blog with the Divi WordPress theme.
What are the best blogging tools?
If you are a beginner, what are the best blogging tools you should use right now?
Here are the blogging tools I use and recommend:
1: Bluehost (for blog hosting)
Bluehost is the best blog hosting provider out there for beginner bloggers.
If you thought starting a blog is difficult and too technical, you haven’t heard of Bluehost yet!
When you host your blog with them, you don’t have to spend hours figuring out how to setup your WordPress blog properly. I mean, you have better things to do with your time.
Bluehost has an insanely easy and quick signup process, and it only takes 10 minutes.
Here are just a few reasons why I host my blogs on Bluehost:
- It’s super easy to set up: when you signup for hosting, Bluehost takes care of everything for you.
- It’s fast: you only need 10 minutes to set everything up the RIGHT way.
- It’s very affordable: their hosting plans start at just $2.95 per month, and…
- You get a FREE domain for your blog for the 1st year!
- Their friendly and fast helpdesk will answer all of your questions – 24/7 of course.
- They give you a FREE SSL Certificate to protect your blog and your visitors.
Bluehost is just about as good as it can get!
To start your blog the RIGHT way from the beginning, head over to my step-by-step tutorial on how to start a WordPress blog on Bluehost in just 10 minutes. See you there!
Find your blog domain name here:
2: Divi Theme (for blog design)
Divi Theme is an incredibly user-friendly and intuitive but still extremely powerful theme by Elegant Themes.
Divi has been my #1 recommendation for quite a while now and I use it for all my WordPress projects.
Divi lets you easily customize the design of your pages and post, even as a complete beginner. Elegant Themes has a solid customer service in place for any questions you may have.
Also, Divi comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee, no questions asked. So, there is no risk whatsoever in trying it.
3: Tailwind (for automating Pinterest and Instagram)
Tailwind is the ultimate traffic tool for your blog.
I use Tailwind to automate my generate quick traffic to my blogs from Pinterest and Instagram.
It’s an all-in-one Pinterest automation tool that helps me save heaps of time compared to manual pinning. Tailwind plays a huge role in my Pinterest traffic strategy.
Tailwind automatically finds the best time slots to pin and post your content on Pinterest and Instagram. All you need to do is select what you wish to post and Tailwind will take care of the rest.
Schedule your first free 100 pins here‘
4: Social Warfare Plugins (for social sharing buttons)
Time to pull out the big guns! Social Warfare is the plugin to make your blog posts easily shareable.
Social Warface allows you to add beautiful and easy-to-use social sharing buttons to your posts and pages. I’ve tried a handful of social sharing plugins in the past few years – this is the best you can get.
You can start with the free version, but I recommend upgrading to the premium version right away. If you’re serious about growing your blog through social media (which we both know you are!), investing a few bucks in a solid sharing plugin will pay itself back in no time. I mean, it’s like $2.42 per month.
Start with the FREE version here
5: MailerLite (for email marketing)
MailerLite is my #1 email marketing tool I use for my blogs and websites.
It’s a solid all-in-one solution for making money from your blog by building a massive list of subscribers the EASY and QUICK way.
What makes MailerLite better than its competitors are their more advanced features for automation that are really easy and intuitive to setup.
You’re looking for a free email marketing tool to get started? Great! MailerLite offers a 100% free plan with helpful features such as automation, tagging, and segmentation. Use it to start building your email list from scratch when you start your blog. As your list grows, you have the option to upgrade to a paid plan.
Set up MailerLite for 100% FREE today
6: Canva (for graphics)
Canva is a free, amazing web app where you can create stunning blog post images, Pinterest pins, ebook covers, and much more.
Simply upload a photo to Canva and use it as a beautiful background. Then, just write a catchy headline on top, adjust the fonts and colors – and you’re done!
Or, if that’s not easy and quick enough, choose one of Canva’s pre-made layouts and designs, change the text, and boom, your pin is ready!
Canva is extremely user-friendly and easy to learn. Love it.
7: Stock Photos: Unsplash and Pexels
Unsplash and Pexels are both amazing, generous communities where you can find FREE, high-quality photos you can use on your blog.
All images on Unsplash and Pexels are high-resolution, professional photos. So, before you use them on your blog, remember to resize and compress them! (See tool below)
8: Resize Images: Reduceimages.com
Reduce Images is an easy, quick tool for resizing your stock photos and images.
Simply drag and drop the image files into the browser window, choose the dimensions you want, the quality, and hit “Resize”. Then, just download the image file and upload it to your blog!
9: Compress Images: TinyJPG and Optimizilla
TinyJPG and Optimizilla let you compress your photos before you upload them to your blog. They don’t lose in quality, but their file size is reduced a LOT.
Always optimize your images before uploading them. Your visitors will have a smoother experience with reduced loading times. Also, Google will reward you with better rankings when your page speed improves.
10: Grammarly (for proofreading)
Grammarly is the #1 tool for checking your spelling and grammar quickly and easily. The free version is super helpful for a final proofreading round to check that your articles are easy to read and your spelling is on point.
I use Grammarly for pretty much anything I write nowadays: blog posts, project propositions for my clients, and much more. I know you’ll love it just as much as I do, trust me. Give it a shot, it’s free!
11: Dropbox (cloud storage)
Dropbox lets you store and backup your files easily. Trust me, that day will come when your laptop just doesn’t want to cooperate anymore.
If you’re not using Dropbox, listen up, because you’re missing out! Firstly, Dropbox is 100% FREE to use. Second, it will save you heaps of time, money, and grey hair. What’s even better is that you can access your files anywhere, anytime.
12: Coggle.it
Coggle is by far the best mind mapping tool available. It’s free, easy to use, and sooooo powerful! Use it to gather your ideas, plan your content, and structure your posts quickly.
If you are a visual person, you will LOVE Coggle! Try it right away!
13: Trello
I use Trello about 24 hours a day. It’s an all-in-one project manager, to-do tracker, and so much more. When a mind map doesn’t do the job, you can use to gather your thoughts into lists and tables.
Add comments, track your progress with your to-dos, give them a timestamp and see how everything just falls into place.
If you’re just starting out with your blog, you can easily build lists with ideas for new posts, for example. Label your lists “Ideas”, “Drafts”, “Ready for review”, and “Scheduled”, for example.
14: EverNote
EverNote is just about the best tool for managing your notes and entire projects (with all your devices, that is).
Tip: If you want to save time and write a blog post extremely fast, use Evernote to dictate your post. The app will turn your speech into text, which you can import into WordPress. Then, all you need to do is proofread and format your post. I’ve written several 2,000-word posts in 30 minutes like this!
15: Adobe Express (Ad Creator)
The Ad Creator in Adobe Express is a free tool for creating your own, individual ad designs quckly and easily.
If you are planning to start your own advertising campaign and want to create stunning ads that appeal to your target audience, Adobe Express is the best tool to get started.
Using professional, pre-made templates, you can easily create graphics, collages, flyers, videos, and animations with access to millions of images, icons, and effects.
The best part: you can get started with Adobe Express for free with thousands of templates, Adobe Stock photos, Adobe Fonts, design assets, quick actions, and nifty features. It’s more than enough to create beautiful ads, but you can always upgrade to a paid Premium plan to unlock all content and premium features.
Price: FREE (with upgrade to Premium plan available)
Udemy (for e-learning)
Udemy is an online learning platform where you can learn anything, including blogging and online marketing, for example.
Investing a few bucks in learning new, powerful skills gives you a huge advantage over other bloggers out there.
Depending on your blog niche, you can stand out from your competitors with even a few basic skills in copywriting and content creation, for example.
I used Udemy to teach myself coding and web development a few years ago. After just a few weeks, I got my first coding freelance job. And a few months later, I started my own web design business. Money well spent!
Here are a few course categories you might be interested in:
- Top Blogging courses
- Copywriting and content creation
- Video marketing courses
- HTML and CSS courses for bloggers
- Graphic Design courses for beginners
(If you’re not familiar with Udemy yet, check out my Udemy Review post on my other blog.)