Blogging Tools
Tools are the backbone of any great blog or blogger. Our team at Blogging Guide assembled the list of resources below to help new writers and content creators identify the essential tools used by most top bloggers. Additionally, all of the tools listed below have been tested by our team, and many are used across our own website.
Blogging Tools Table of Contents
1. Start a Blog
Read our quick 3 step guide which outlines the basic steps and tools used to create a high powered blog in under an hour.
Step 1. Buy Webhosting & Pick Domain~5 Minutes
The first step in creating a blog is going to Bluehost. Bluehost provides web-hosting services and offers free domains with all their hosting packages. Domain
In this first step you will choose your blog name (domain name) and buy your blog hosting.
- Step 1. Go to the Bluehost website and click the “Get Started Now” button.
- Step 2. Select the Basic plan.
- Step 3. Pick your domain name and enter it into the “New Domain” box.
- Step 4. Create your Bluehost account.
Step 2. Launch WordPress Website~10 Minutes
After you log in to the account, Bluehost will offer a 4-step process to help you create a blog. Instead, scroll down and choose the “Skip this step” button (we will install our own theme later).
Once you click the “Skip the step” button you will be taken to your Bluehost account page.
After you click the “Launch My Site” button, your blog will go live! Bluehost will install WordPress automatically. Once the install is complete click the blue “WordPress” button to be logged-in to the administrator area of your blog.
If you already have hosting, or your own domain, my recommendation would be to use EasyWordPress.
Step 3. Customize and Design Website~30 Minutes
Next you are going to choose a WordPress Theme for your website.
To do this, go to the Elegant Themes website. Elegant Themes offers the WordPress Theme, Divi, which you will be installing on your site. Click on the “Pricing” button in the upper right hand corner of the screen. Using our promotional link, you will see two options:
$89 per Year or $249 for Lifetime Access. Regardless of which option you choose you will be offered a free 30 day trial, allowing you to test Divi absolutely risk free.
Next, download the Divi theme. Upload this theme to WordPress and install it. You will now have the infrastructure in place to create an awesome blog.
2. Popular Tools
Comprehensive reviews of the most popular blogging tools among top content creators.
BlueHost| Affordable Webhosting
Bluehost is one of the largest website hosting providers and powers millions of websites, at some of the lowest prices online, while still remaining user friendly.
Medium Article Title Capitalization Tool
Blogging Guide’s custom capitalization tool automatically formats article titles and subtitles so that they meet the Medium curation requirements.
Adobe Acrobat DC | Create & Edit PDFs
Adobe Acrobat DC is the must have software have for writers and creatives, since it allows you to create, edit, view, sign, fill, and format PDFs.
Fiverr | Affordable Freelance Work
Fiverr is one of the best platforms to find affordable online contractors, specializing in SEO, graphic design, video transcription, writing, and more!
Unsplash | Free Images & Pictures
Unsplash is a compilation of beautiful free images & pictures, that can be used for any purpose or project. Check out Blogging Guide’s free image collections.
Shutterstock | Stock Images, Photos & Videos
Shutterstock give bloggers access a library with more than 320 million images. Click here to get 20% off your first Shutterstock order!
NameCheap | Buy Domains & Create Websites
NameCheap is the perfect balance of affordability and ease of use. You can easily register a domain name, or build a custom WordPress website with EasyWP.
Grammarly | Compose Mistake-Free Writing
From grammar and spelling to style and tone, Grammarly helps you eliminate errors and find the perfect words to express yourself.
Signal | Auto-Tweet Your Articles
Signal is a tool that auto tweets your article links on repeat. This allows writers to spend more time writing and less time on social media marketing.
3. Design Tools
Comprehensive reviews of the top design tools used by bloggers to create article featured images, source stock photos, design their website, and more.
Canva | WYSIWYG Graphic Design
Canva is our top recommended graphic design tool. Create stunning blog images, infographics, and social media posts, in seconds, without coding.
Adobe Spark| Create Stunning Graphics
Get 20% off Adobe Spark by using this link! Create attention-grabbing graphics, videos and social posts, with design guidance from Adobe.
Divi Themes | WordPress Themes
Divi Themes is the best source of custom themes for your WordPress website. Most are drag-and-drop templates and most are visually stunning!
Visme | WYSIWYG Graphic Design
Visme helps bloggers and designers create and share beautiful on-brand presentations, infographics and other visual communications for your team.
Elementor | WordPress Website Builder
Elementor allows anyone to create beautiful sites and pages on WordPress, using an intuitive drag and drop interface. One of the most popular site builders.
SimpleSlides | Custom PowerPoint Slides
SimpleSlides offers a large library of editable custom PowerPoint slide, infographic, and chart templates. Pay once for lifetime access.
4. Marketing Tools
Comprehensive reviews of the best marketing tools used by top bloggers.
Pro Rank Tracker| SEO Tracking & Reporting
Pro Rank Tracker is the most comprehensive SEO Rank Tracking & Reporting solution. Track your blog post rankings in Google’s search results.
ActiveCampaign
ActiveCampaign is an integrated email marketing, marketing automation, and small business CRM.
ConvertKit | Email Marketing Software
ConvertKit helps writer and creators find their audience and turn them into fans with their email marketing software
Signal | Auto-Tweet Your Articles
Signal is a tool that auto tweets your article links on repeat. This allows writers to spend more time writing and less time on social media marketing.
Mailchimp | Email Marketing
Mailchimp is an all-in-one integrated marketing platform for small businesses.
Letterdrop | Paid Newsletter and Blogs
Letterdrop is a newsletter and blog publishing platform, which gives creators multiple monetization options.
Divi Themes | WordPress Themes
Divi Themes is the best source of custom themes for your WordPress website and most are visually stunning!
NameCheap | Buy Domains & Create Websites
NameCheap allows you to easily register a domain name or build a custom WordPress website.
5. Medium Tools
Comprehensive reviews of the best tools for Medium writers.
Medium Article Title Capitalization Tool
Blogging Guide’s custom capitalization tool automatically formats article titles and subtitles so that they meet the Medium curation requirements.
ManyStories | Share Your Articles
ManyStories allows writers to share articles written on any platform with a large audience. There is a large Medium audience on ManyStories.
Medium Course | Master Medium
Our Medium Writing Course is a course created to help writers learn how to use Medium and how to make money through the Medium Partner Program.
Active Pubs | Find Medium Publications
Active Publications is a compilation of active Medium publications accepting article submissions. The publications are organized by topic and theme.
Add Audio Narration to Medium Blog Posts
Play.ht is an online text to speech & realistic AI voice generator. Simply enter your blog posts’ text and in minutes you will have a realistic narration of your article.
Medium Article Editable Title Templates
Our Custom Medium Title Images consist of a set of 50 editable PowerPoint templates, allowing writers to create custom blog banners for their articles.
6. WordPress Plugins
Comprehensive reviews of popular WordPress plugins used by bloggers.
PeerBoard | Online Community Builder
PeerBoard is a powerful modern community platform. Embed fully white-labeled communities with the PeerBoard WordPress Plugin.
Really Simple SSL | Easy Setup SSL Certificate
Really Simple SSL automatically configures your website to run using https, instead of the unsecured http.
UpdraftPlus | Backup WordPress Website
UpdraftPlus automatically backs up your website, creates clones of your website, and enables easy site restoration.