Products, services and companies on this page have proven their worth to us over relationships that span years, in most cases.
They’re here because we trust them.
Resources listed below are ones we personally use and pay for (unless they’re free). Where we’ve established an affiliate relationship with a company, using the link we provide pays us a small commission when you buy.
Website Hosting
Lightning Base* – Read our post about managed WordPress hosting to see why we recommend it in general, and Lightning Base specifically.
WordPress.com*– This is a blogging/small website platform and not traditional hosting. Still, it’s often a good place for beginners. (free to start, with limits)
Domain Names
NameSilo* – Inexpensive, easy and secure. Domain privacy included at no additional charge. Use Promo Code FEARLESS to get $1 off any domain registration or transfer.
Spam Prevention
OOPSpam – Cloud-based service that protects your site from spam, hackers & bots that abuse your comments, forms, login & registration – without annoying legitimate users. (free and paid plans)
WordPress Security
AFV Site Care – Monitors your site for malware, plugin, theme and WordPress core vulnerabilities, and handles them for you. Automatic backups, stored offsite, safe from hackers, hosting glitches, and other disasters. Done-for-you software and security updates/patches, as well as quick malware removal and post-incident site restore. (paid service)
Wordfence – Monitors your site for malware and other threats, and notifies you via e-mail when plugin updates are needed. (free and paid plans) Note: Don’t enable the Live Traffic feature. Almost no one needs it and it will tax your server and slow your site.
Website Form Builder
Gravity Forms* – Pro-level forms solution that lets us take payments, sell simple products, send e-mail signups to ConvertKit, do client intake, offer quizzes, set up coupons and about a hundred other things. (paid)
WP Forms* – Lightweight forms plugin we use and recommend for most of our clients. Base plugin is free and great for simple contact forms. Upgrading adds features & integrations, but is pricey for what you get. Gravity Forms (above) is a better value.
E-Mail Marketing
SendFox – ConvertKit alternative with much of what CK offers that we actually use, for a significantly lower price. SendFox also offers an inexpensive, single-payment lifetime plan, as well as a limited free plan that’s great for getting started on a $0 budget.
Business E-Mail
Zoho – Professional e-mail with your own domain name, along with a whole suite of helper apps. Free and paid plans (so there’s no excuse for not getting legit business e-mail).
Privacy Policy
Termageddon* – Simple, done-for-you, always updated privacy policies specific to your website communicate trust to your visitors and keep you in compliance with the law. Use promo code FEARLESS1 for 10% off your first year. Free onboarding available on request.
Productivity
Focus@Will – Scientifically-designed productivity-boosting soundtracks that help maintain focus regardless of surroundings. Teresa’s secret weapon against ADHD. Works on any device. (paid subscription)
AI Writing Assistance
Bertha AI* – Bertha is an AI-based writing tool that will help you create engaging website copy more quickly than writing all on your own. Available as both a WordPress plugin and a Chrome extension that can be used wherever on the web you write. (paid; free trial available)
WordPress Optimization – Professional
ShortPixel Speed Assessment & Optimization* – Full assessment of your site by a ShortPixel specialist (currently $76 US) includes reports with actionable recommendations, plus the option to DIY their recs or enlist their help. Use Promo Code FEARLESS5 for 5% off of Assessment or Optimization.
WordPress Optimization – DIY
Perfmatters* – A performance-enhancing Swiss Army knife of options that simplifies numerous otherwise complicated WordPress tweaks. We use it in conjunction with WP Rocket. (paid, but inexpensive)
WP Rocket* – Simple to use premium caching and optimization plugin. We often include WP Rocket as part of our WordPress Website Optimization service, because it’s the best WordPress optimization plugin we’ve found. (paid; included on request with our full-service Site Care plan)
Image Optimization
ShortPixel* – Compresses images better than any plugin we’ve used, free or paid. Zero detectable loss of quality. Most affordable, easiest & best way to optimize an entire WordPress Media Library. (“freemium” WordPress plugin)
ShortPixel Adaptive Images (SPAI)* – Speeds up your website by serving visitors right-sized images for their device. Eliminates slow, bloated pages serving the same large images to everyone, just in case. We use and recommend SPAI for most websites. (free & paid plans)
WordPress Tutorials
WP101* – Professionally done, always up-to-date, easy WordPress tutorial videos to help beginners quickly learn WordPress basics, plus how-to videos for Yoast SEO and other popular WordPress plugins. (paid)
Search Engine Optimization (DIY)
SEOPress* – Powerful yet simple to use tools to help increase your chances of bringing the right visitors to your website. Free and Pro options. Pro adds time-saving features like AI generation of optimized metadata, and integration with Google Search Console.
Social Media Management
MissingLettr* – Automatically creates year-long drip campaigns for your blog posts & shares them out to all of your connected social profiles. Huge time saver + traffic driver. 50% off the 1st three months when you use our link to sign up for any plan.
Social Media Graphics
Canva* – User-friendly web-based design tool with loads of templates and project types. Good for creating social share images and downloadable products & incentives. Free and paid options. Use our link & get a Canva Credit good for a premium design element.
Security
LastPass – For the love of Pete, please use a password manager! LastPass makes it easy to use the good, strong passwords that keep you safe. All you have to do is remember a single password to unlock and use anything you’ve saved. (free and paid options)
* These are products, services and companies with which we have affiliate relationships. We recommend them because we use and trust them and know they will serve you well. Not because we get paid. We think you should do business with them whether you use our links or not.