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I get many questions about which vendors and partners we use to run our online business. Everything on this page I’ve personally tested and highly recommend.

Please note that most links on this page are affiliate links, meaning that if you decide to purchase using my link I may receive an referral fee. Rest assured that this referral fee is never added on top of the price, in fact some of these links contain special discounts for the community. Also, everything that I recommend because the products are very helpful and are from companies that I trust, not because of the commissions that I may earn from you using these tools.

EMAIL MARKETING

MailChimp
I use MailChimp, mainly because their logo is a monkey. I kid, I kid. I have found that MailChimp is extra easy to use and you can create some great emails to mail to your clients, plus for small business you can use it for free. As long as you have less than 2,000 people on your list and send less than 12,000 messages per month, it’s free!

Benchmark Email
If you want the best, easiest way to incorporate a newsletter with WordPress, Benchmark is your answer. Benchmark Email has a plugin that you can collect up to 35 different fields from your subscribers and you can send a newsletter with your blog content right from the WordPress Post editor page. Try out their 30 day free trial today!

SCREENCAST VIDEOS

ScreenFlow
Ever need to show someone exactly how to do something on the computer? If you have a mac (and you all should:) ) you can use ScreenFlow. It records everything you do on the screens along with your voice. Publish to YouTube and someone can see exactly how to do something.

WORDPRESS THEMES

ThemeForest.net, WooThemes
Who wants to create their own theme from scratch? I certainly don’t, because it takes lots of time. Uses these places to find great themes for the fraction of the price of hiring someone to make a custom theme. Don’t worry, once you own the theme you can make customizations to make the theme your very own.

SHOPPING CART PLUGINS

WooCommerce
WooCommerce is a free solution that you can use to create a fully functional eCommerce website. Plus it’s easy to customize and works great!

WEB HOSTING

GreenGeeks, WP Engine
Every site I set up with shared hosting is with Green Geeks. They have great support and the pricing is excellent. I highly recommend Green Geeks to anyone who is just getting started. Use the link above and coupon code TODAYOFFER to save $30!

If you are interested in high powered managed hosting specifically designed for WordPress then check out WP Engine. I use them on this site and they provide first class premium Virtual Private Server (VPS) hosting.

DOMAIN NAMES

Hover, use this link and save $2!
I use Hover because they make purchasing a domain super easy. There are other domain registering sites that make it extra confusing to know what to buy, but not with Hover.

BLOGGING/CONTENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

WordPress.org
I used to hand code websites, while it was fun, it was a tedious process. Every little change affected so many other things. WordPress makes running a website simple. Want to add a new menu? No problem. Four clicks and you are finished. Great for small business owner to keep their site up-to-date.

CONTACT FORMS

Gravity Forms
Gravity Forms is a great plugin for WordPress that allows you to create complex, custom forms. This is a great product that I am proud to support and well worth the premium price.

PHONE AND VIDEO CONFERENCING

Skype
Man, I love Skype. It’s an instant messenger, phone and video chat all in one package. I use it to talk to friends in different cities. I use it to communicate with my wife when she’s upstairs and I’m downstairs. It’s completely free. Check it out, you’ll be glad you did.

FILE SHARING AND STORAGE

Dropbox, use this link and get extra storage for free!
Need somewhere to store files that you can get to them where ever you are in the world? Dropbox is your solution. Store contents on your hard drive and they will be sync’d with the cloud. If you away from your computer and need the files, log on to Dropbox.com and there they are, problem solved.

BACKUP

Backup Buddy
How often to do you remember to backup your WordPress site? Every time it crashes? That’s when I remember. Now you don’t have to. Install Backup Buddy and have piece of mind that your website is safe, even if it gets hacked!

Backblaze
Do you have your computer backed up? Is your backup drive sitting right next to your computer? What happens if you house burns down or is broken into? Back your digital content up with Backblaze and you won’t have to worry. Backblaze runs in the background and keeps your computer always backed up. And it’s only $5 a month, you can’t beat it.

GREAT DAILY DEALS

Moolala
Have you heard of Groupon? Well, Moolala is very similar idea, except you can earn money every time someone you refer to Moolala purchases a deal of the day. There is no limit to the number that you can invite, so click on the link above and let the money begin to roll in!