Tools for Running Your Small Business
My Favorite Website Builder
Divi By Elegant Themes
We use Divi by Elegant Themes exclusively for ourselves and clients, and highly recommend it! Divi is the most popular WordPress theme in the world and the ultimate visual website builder. Divi is more than just a theme, it’s a website building framework that makes it possible to design beautiful modern websites without ever touching a single line of code. Perfect for bloggers, business owners, DIYers, freelancers, and agencies!
WordPress Ecommerce
SureCart
When you first think of ecommerce and WordPress, you probably think of WooCommerce, which is owned by WordPress’s parent company. But you may also think of “bloat” because it often requires over a dozen addon plugins just to fill in the basic features you need. But now there is a new way to sell on WordPress called SureCart, and I love it! I am using it now and it is so much better and faster and easier and just makes me happy. You need to check it out if you have not heard of it, so go on over to their website and learn more.
Besting Hosting Providers
SiteGround
Proper hosting is the #1 most important part of a good website, and one of the best hosting providers in the industry for standard small business Divi websites is Siteground. They understand Divi and even partnered with Elegant Themes to provide on click installs and have optimized servers specifically for the needs and requirements of Divi. Their great support, performance, value, and commitment to reinvesting into their infrastructure sets them apart.
Besting Hosting Providers
Cloudways
The most serious WordPress and Divi users should absolutely consider using Cloudways hosting. Their system provides the interface for managing an integrated cloud hosting provider of your choice, making it easy to use some of the most high performing servers in the world for your website. If you are looking to get away from shared hosting and move to the cloud for the best speeds and performance, you can’t go wrong with Cloudways!
Email Marketing Plugin
FluentCRM
The emails you receive from our site have been sent using Mailchimp since our business began. But their outrageous pricing continues to increase, and I have wanted to move away from their platform for a long time for other reasons related to their policies. However, it is difficult to move platforms when everything is integrated and working. I have spent way too much time comparing alternatives and trying to find the right solution. And then I found FluentCRM. This incredibly innovative plugin with fully integrated email marketing directly in WordPress. It’s the best thing that happened to my business in a long time.
Privacy Policy/Terms And Conditions/Cookie Policy
Termageddon
Privacy laws are constantly changing and expanding, effecting every website! We use Termageddon to create and automatically update our Privacy Policy and Terms Of Use policy on our website.If you are a freelancer or agency building websites for others, then you absolutely need this incredible resource. I highly recommend it!
Customer Support Helpdesk
Gmelius
I have tried just about every helpdesk on the market, and all of them have deal-breaking issues or are missing basic features and integrations. After many years, I decided to try Gmelius and go back to using good ole’ Gmail – more personal, always works, lots of addons, etc. I am so glad I did! This has been a huge stress receiver knowing that my emails are organized and shared with my team. My teammates reply and we can work together, message each other internally, share drafts, etc. I have asked many questions and asked for feature requests, and so far the company has been very good about answering questions and providing updates. I also realized they are offering $100 to you if you get on a preliminary sales call with them to understand your needs and explain their product.
Stock Photos
Depositphotos
If you need very affordable stock images, be sure to check out Depositphotos. I have been using them for many years and their library has everything I need. They have also been expanding beyond photos to music and video.
Other Divi Plugins
Divi Engine
Peter, the owner and founder of Divi Engine, is a friend and mentor of mine. He leads a great company that produces innovative Divi plugins that you should check out, including the popular Divi Machine (which I named for him),Divi BodyCommerce, and others. Be sure to tell Peter that Nelson sent you!
Disclosure: Some of the links in this page are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, we will receive an affiliate commission.