Tools & Resources - Chad Fullerton
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Tools & Resources

Tech can be complicated.

There are so many options out there to choose from! Which are the best?

The answer is… there is no perfect combination. It depends on your business, your budget, what features you need, and your taste in terms of design and ease-of-use.

I’ve compiled this document to be a resource for you to start with your tech tools research. These are hand-picked by me, and I have personally used these or have clients who have used them and I recommend them as being ‘best in class’.

I’ve tried to include a range of tools from free to premium paid options, and made some notes about each tool where appropriate.

Disclosure: Bear in mind that some of the links in this document are affiliate links and if you go through them to make a purchase I will earn a commission. However, I’ve included these companies and their products because of their quality and not because of the commission I receive from your purchases. The decision is yours, and whether or not you decide to buy something is completely up to you.

In this post we cover...
  1. IDEATION TOOLS
  2. DOMAIN NAMES
  3. WEBSITE PLATFORMS
  4. E-COMMERCE PLATFORMS
  5. MANAGED WORDPRESS WEBSITE HOSTING
  6. ALL-IN-ONE BUSINESS MANAGEMENT TOOLS
  7. PROJECT / TASK MANAGEMENT
  8. E-MAIL TOOLS
  9. CRM TOOLS
  10. SEO TOOLS
  11. CONTENT MARKETING TOOLS
  12. AI WRITING TOOLS
  13. SURVEY/QUESTIONNAIRE TOOLS
  14. FORM TOOLS
  15. FORM PLUGINS FOR WORDPRESS
  16. GRAPHIC TOOLS & STOCK PHOTO SITES
  17. VIDEO TOOLS
  18. PODCAST TOOLS
  19. SOCIAL MEDIA TOOLS
  20. APPOINTMENT SCHEDULING SERVICES
  21. APPOINTMENT SCHEDULING WORDPRESS PLUGINS
  22. VIDEO CONFERENCING SERVICES FOR YOUR CALLS
  23. PAYMENTS & INVOICING
  24. LEARNING MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (LMS)
  25. PROJECT ASSETS (TEMPLATES, AUDIO, GRAPHICS, PLUGINS, ETC)
  26. PLR CONTENT

IDEATION TOOLS

DOMAIN NAMES

1. NameCheap

My fav domain registrar hands down. Great service. Clutter-free interface. Smooth checkout experience with minimal upsells. They’ve been around since 2000 and are the world’s second largest domain registrar. I’ve used them for over 10 years and highly recommend them. Check their coupons page for deals on new .com registrations.

2. GoDaddy

You’ve probably seen their superbowl ads. Largest domain registrar in the world. Easy to use domain name interface. Great ‘Auctions’ service for picking up domains that are for sale. Good pricing if you use coupons. However, GoDaddy doesn’t have the best reputation in the world, just search Google.

WEBSITE PLATFORMS

E-COMMERCE PLATFORMS

MANAGED WORDPRESS WEBSITE HOSTING

When it comes to website hosting, I’ve used dozens of them with my agency and clients. If you’re planning to use WordPress for your website, then I highly recommend using one of the two options below.

There are dozens of web hosting companies out there, but when it comes down to it you want a company that:

a) Has very fast servers so your website loads quickly

b) Provides an easy-to-use interface to manage your site and set it up

c) Has excellent support in case something goes wrong

d) Includes a lot of features that are necessary these days for SEO and e-commerce such as Free SSL certificate setup, a CDN service, and backups.

1. Kinsta

Kinsta is a great hosting company I recommend for my clients. They work with massive brands including Ubisoft, Intuit, Ricoh, GE, and more. Ranked one of the fastest hosts, uses Google Cloud Servers, super easy to set up WordPress sites, excellent support.

$30/month starter plan (https://chadfullerton.com/kinsta)

2. SiteGround

I host a lot of sites with SiteGround. Great quality for the price. Hosting features specifically designed for WordPress.

$24.99/month for GrowBig plan recommended

Promo: Save 73% and pay $6.69/month for your first year… https://www.siteground.com/go/wpcoupon


IF YOU’RE ON A BUDGET AND DON’T CARE ABOUT SPEED:

When you select a budget hosting service you get what you pay for, it won’t be the fastest server and your website will likely not load the quickest, but easy to set up WordPress or a simple website if you’re just getting started on a tight budget. If you have a very basic, static HTML website, or a basic WordPress site that you don’t expect a lot of people to visit (low traffic), these low budget options might be enough for your purposes. If running a more complicated WordPress website with lots of plugins, an e-commerce store on WooCommerce, membership site, or anything where you expect to have a good amount of traffic and you’re making money with your website… invest in better quality website hosting! The loading speed of your website is critical both for user experience but also for ranking in Google. Google considers page speed (site loading time) a critical factor for ranking, and it is even more important for visitors to your website from a mobile phone. This is where upgrading your hosting to cloud servers or a VPS is a worthwhile investment in your business.

3. BlueHost

As low as $2.95/mo on 12-month term, for first year. Then goes to regular rates of $9.99/month on 12-month term. Note: There isn’t a month-to-month payment option.  (https://chadfullerton.com/bluehost)

4. HostGator

As low as $2.75/mo for their Hatchling plan for 36-months paid upfront promotion for first bill (renews at 6.95/mo). 12 months is $3.95/mo for first bill (renews at 8.95/mo). Note: They do have a month-to-month payment option at 10.95/mo.  (https://chadfullerton.com/hostgator)

ALL-IN-ONE BUSINESS MANAGEMENT TOOLS

1. Plutio

Starts at only $15/month for all features except client portals, which is on the $20/month plan.

2. Dubsato

Free plan with 3 clients. 20% off your first month or year: https://chadfullerton.com/dubsado

PROJECT / TASK MANAGEMENT

E-MAIL TOOLS

CRM TOOLS

SEO TOOLS

CONTENT MARKETING TOOLS

AI WRITING TOOLS

SURVEY/QUESTIONNAIRE TOOLS

  • Typeform – free account but it’s very limited.
  • SurveySparrow – free account up to 100 submissions/month, 10 questions per form.
  • Involve.me – free account up to 100 submissions/month, unlimited questions and forms (15% off your first purchase at this promo link).
  • SurveyMonkey – free account with 10 questions, limited to how many responses you can view.
  • Question Scout – has a free forever plan to get you started

FORM TOOLS

  • Wufoo – free account with 5 forms, 100 submissions/month, 10 questions.
  • Formstack – 14-day free trial, plans start at $19/month. HIPAA Compliance.
  • Jotform – free account with 100 submissions/month, 5 forms, 1k views, unlimited fields, HIPAA Compliance starts at their ‘Silver’ Plan and up.
  • Google Forms – free, limited design options, can save entries into a Google spreadsheet, can automate with Zapier.

FORM PLUGINS FOR WORDPRESS

GRAPHIC TOOLS & STOCK PHOTO SITES

VIDEO TOOLS

PODCAST TOOLS

SOCIAL MEDIA TOOLS

APPOINTMENT SCHEDULING SERVICES

  • Calendly – Free account does everything you’d need for 1 meeting type. Add Zoom integration and unlimited features on Premium plan ($8/mo annual)
  • Bookafy – Pro plan has everything you need, with Zoom, 2-way sync, payments with PayPal/Stripe and more ($7/mo annual)
  • YouCanBook.me ($9/mo annual)
  • Harmonizely ($10/mo annual)
  • BookLikeABoss ($10/mo annual)
  • Acuity Scheduling ($14/mo)

APPOINTMENT SCHEDULING WORDPRESS PLUGINS

VIDEO CONFERENCING SERVICES FOR YOUR CALLS

  • Zoom – worth paying for the Pro account if you do a lot of video meetings with clients.
  • Vectera – Free account for unlimited 1-on-1 meetings
  • LiveStorm.co – Free meetings up to 4 people
  • Join.me
  • BigMarker (‘meeting space’ feature) (Promo link: Save 20%)
  • 24Sessions (~30/month annual, hybrid service with appointment scheduling + video conferencing)
  • WebEx – current free plan is up to 100 people, no time limit in meetings

PAYMENTS & INVOICING

LEARNING MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (LMS)

PROJECT ASSETS (TEMPLATES, AUDIO, GRAPHICS, PLUGINS, ETC)

PLR CONTENT

Further Reading...

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