Recommended Tools & Software

Tools & Software I’ve Used

Below are a list of all the tools that I use or have used in the past to help grow my business.

Server & Hosting Stack

Your server isn’t just a parking spot for your website; it’s the engine. Early in my career, I lost revenue because I tried to save money cheap shared hosting. It wasn’t worth the stress. Today, my priority is stability and speed. I use a specific stack that allows me to host affordably and deliver instant load times to website visitors across the world. The tools below are what I use and recommend.

xCloud

This is the control panel I use to manage my VPS servers. It connects to providers like Hostinger or Vultr and handles the technical server management. It allows me to avoid the high markups of managed hosting while keeping the performance of a dedicated server.

Hostinger

A very reliable hosting provider, with whom I’ve had no issues with. They have data centres all across the world which are important for local latency. When paired with a panel like xCloud, it’s a very cost-effective way to get high-performance hosting.

Contabo

Sometimes you need a powerful server with a lot of storage for a very low price, and that is when I look here. It is a great option if you are on a tight budget but still need plenty of resources for your projects.

RackNerd

This is another solid option for very affordable servers. I often use them for smaller projects or when I need to test something out quickly and don’t want to spend a lot of money on a long-term contract.

WordPress Themes & Builders

A website needs to look professional to build trust, but it also needs to load instantly to keep attention. Many beginners get stuck with themes that look great in a demo but are a nightmare to manage and slow to load. I prefer the ones that are not bloated, lightweight and easy to use. The resources I recommend below are my go to themes and builders to help me build fast, and dynamic websites.

Kadence Theme & Kadence Blocks

Theme & Blocks This is my current daily driver. I use the Pro version for Antlov Digital. It’s fast, accessible, and the blocks plugin lets me build custom layouts without needing a heavy page builder. It strikes a good balance between performance and design flexibility.

GeneratePress & GenerateBlocks

I used this for years before trying Kadence. It is extremely stable and lightweight. If you prefer a more developer-focused theme or want the absolute minimum CSS footprint, this is still a top-tier choice.

MetaBox

I prefer this tool for adding custom data to my pages. It is lightweight, which means it doesn’t slow down the admin area of your website. I use the All-In-One package to manage special content types on this site.

Advanced Custom Fields

This is a very popular tool for custom fields. While I mostly use Meta Box now, ACF is still very good. You will often see this used on client websites. It is reliable and works with almost every other tool out there.

Speed & Delivery

You can have the best content in the world, but if your site takes 3 seconds to load, half your visitors are gone. I’ve learned that speed isn’t just a “nice to have” – it’s a core SEO metric. My approach to optimisation goes beyond basic caching. I look for tools that intelligently handle heavy assets like images and scripts without breaking the site’s functionality. These recommendations below are what I use to ensure every page load is snappy, keeping bounce rates low and Google happy.

Cloudflare

A must-have for all website owners. I use the free plan with the proxy enabled as my first line of defence. It protects my site from bad traffic and helps it load faster, acting as an essential security layer for all my projects.

FlyingPress

I use this plugin for caching my website, and enabling Cloudflare Full page caching. It helps make sure my websites load lightning fast globally. It is a critical part of my speed setup.

Bunny.net

To ensure my images load instantly regardless of where the visitor lives, I use Bunny.net with “Perma-cache” enabled. It stores copies of my files in different countries, making it a cheaper and easier alternative to complex options like AWS.

LiteSpeed Cache

If you have no budget for a paid caching tool, I recommend this tool. It’s a bit more complex because there are so many settings, but you can find tutorials online to see the best settings. It works best if you are using an OpenLitespeed Server.

WP Rocket

If I am not using FlyingPress, this is often my top choice. It is the gold standard for premium caching plugins because it is so easy to use. You just turn it on, and it instantly makes a website faster without needing you to understand complicated settings.

Imagify

I use this tool to automatically compress my images so they load faster without losing quality. It also converts them to the modern WebP format, which Google prefers for better performance.

Security & Anti-Malware

Most people don’t think about security until they see the dreaded “this site is infected” warning. By then, the damage may already be done. I prefer to stay ahead of the hackers. The tools I use below work quietly in the background to harden login points, patch vulnerabilities, and scan for malware off-server. It’s about having the confidence that the site is protecting itself 24/7, so I don’t have to constantly worry about it.

Block Bad Queries (BBQ)

A hidden gem and honestly, a superb firewall app that instantly gives your WordPress an application level firewall to protect it from attacks. Even the free plan is good to use, but if you get the paid Pro version you get advanced protection.

Solid Security

I use the Basic version to harden the login process and block brute force attempts. It’s a standard security measure I put on most sites, and for important sites I use the Pro version.

Wordfence

Similar to Solid Security, the firewall and security features are very robust. As a plus, this also has a malware scanner, although the malware database is 30 days delayed. For most people, the free version is more than enough.

WP 2FA

A strong password isn’t enough anymore. I mandate Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) on all administrator accounts for my clients. This plugin is easy to set up and supports Google Authenticator. It effectively neutralizes brute-force attacks on the login page because even if they guess the password, they can’t get in.

MalCare

For ongoing malware monitoring, MalCare has a good free plan, and even better paid one. The biggest selling point for me is that it performs the heavy lifting on their servers, not mine. This means deep scanning happens daily without eating up my server resources or slowing down the site for visitors.

NinjaScanner

I keep this tool for deep file integrity checks. This checks your site’s files against the official WordPress repository to make sure they match. If a hacker tries to hide a backdoor by modifying a core file, NinjaScanner flags it immediately. It’s lightweight and integrates well with the other tools here.

Simple History

Ever logged in and found something broken, wondering “Who changed that?” Simple History helps you understand who makes changes on a site: who updated a post, who installed a plugin, and who failed a login. It is essential for troubleshooting and accountability.

WPVulnerability

You can’t patch what you don’t know is broken. This tool connects to a central database to check if any of your installed plugins or themes have known security vulnerabilities. It alerts me immediately if a plugin I’m using has been compromised so I can update or replace it before hackers exploit it. Think of it as a free Patchstack alerter with no limits.

GOTMLS (Anti-Malware Security)

If a client comes to me with a site that is already infected, this is the first tool I install. It is aggressive and incredibly effective at digging out known threats and backdoor scripts that other scanners often miss. It’s not the prettiest interface, but it works when it matters most.

Web Maintenance & Management

Managing one WordPress site is easy; managing multiple becomes more challenging. To handle my portfolio and client sites efficiently, I use centralized management tools that allow me to update plugins, monitor health, and run reports across dozens of sites simultaneously. I also have tools that help keep the website clean, fast, and responsive, by helping me clean database, or update links at scale.

WP Umbrella

This is my main dashboard for managing client sites. It monitors uptime and PHP errors, and lets me push plugin updates to multiple sites at once. It simplifies the maintenance side of my business, especially with checking if a website has changed after plugin updates.

WP Remote

Similar to WP Umbrella, if you need a simple way to manage updates and security for several sites without spending a lot of money, this is a good option to look at. It helps you keep everything updated from one dashboard.

WPVivid

I use this for backups. It sends site backups directly to cloud storage like Google Drive or pCloud. It’s reliable for migrations and ensuring I have a clean restore point if something goes wrong.

Meow Media Cleaner

Over time, websites accumulate unused images that take up space. This tool scans your library to find those junk files and helps you clean them up to keep your server tidy.

Better Search Replace

This tool is a lifesaver when I am moving a website or changing a domain name. It allows me to find and replace text across the entire database safely without breaking the site.

WPCodeBox

I use this plugin to add custom code snippets to my site safely. It is much better than editing theme files directly and helps keep the site organized.

Meow Database Cleaner

This plugin helps clean up the “behind the scenes” data that can slow down your site. It removes old post revisions and spam comments to keep your database running smoothly.

SEO & Content Tools

The days of simply stuffing keywords into a post and hoping for the best are long gone. Search engines have gotten smarter, and our tools need to keep up. My workflow has evolved to focus heavily on “semantic SEO”, understanding the intent and context behind a search, not just the word itself. I use this specific software stack to help make sure content I write follows best practices, and is not too overly optimsed.

SEO PowerSuite

A must-have for all website owners. I use the free plan with the proxy enabled as my first line of defence. It protects my site from bad traffic and helps it load faster, acting as an essential security layer for all my projects.

Slim SEO

I use the Pro version on my site. It handles the essential meta tags, sitemaps, and schema without the feature bloat or dashboard ads found in some other SEO plugins. It’s quiet and efficient.

SEOPress

Another solid alternative to Slim SEO, if I need specific features that Slim SEO doesn’t cover for a particular client. The Pro version is cost-effective and offers good local SEO features.

NeuronWriter

I use this for content optimisation. It analyses top-ranking pages to suggest terms and structure for my articles. It’s helpful for ensuring I have missed no key topics that competitors are covering. I don’t use it as much these days as I try to not over optimise content, just check if it’s good enough.

Altext.ai

This tool uses AI to generate alt text for images at scale. It saves time on manual entry and ensures accessibility compliance, which is often overlooked but important for SEO.

ProWritingAid

I use this tool to double check my writing before I hit publish. It helps me catch grammar mistakes and makes my sentences easier to read. It is very helpful for keeping my emails and reports professional. You can also buy the lifetime version, saving you an expensive subscription.

Design & Media Tools

Managing media across dozens of client sites can quickly become very complex. The tools I use help me ensure fast delivery, work efficiently, and scalable. These tools are good for automating compression, streaming video without ads, and ensuring that assets look crisp on any device automatically.

Canva

I use this to make graphics and generate other important documents like invoices. You don’t need to be a professional designer to make your social media posts or blog images look good. It is simple and has tons of templates to get you started.

DepositPhotos

When I need high-quality photos for a client’s website or ads, I go to DepositPhotos. They have a huge library of professional images, and I often grab their deals to stock up on credits so I always have good photos ready.

Gumlet Video

I stopped embedding YouTube videos on landing pages a long time ago. YouTube is heavy, tracks user data, and shows competitors’ ads. Gumlet is my favourite alternative. It offers professional, ad-free video hosting that streams instantly and optimizes bitrate automatically. This keeps the site professional and the load times fast.

Presto Player

If you put videos on your site, this tool is much better than the standard WordPress player because it has many more features. It is great for marketing pages, and I use it often for my client projects. Host videos with Bunny.net offload server resources.

Marketing & Analytics

Attracting a visitor is only the first step; keeping them is the real challenge. When working with ad platforms to get visitors you also need to make sure platforms can get user events to optimise for better use quality. These are the tools I use to understand user behaviour, how to improve conversion rates, and ensure users stay engaged as they explore the website.

Google Tag Manager

This is the most important tool for accurate tracking. I use it to capture user actions like button clicks and form fills and pass event data back to marketing platforms. It is how I ensure tracking data is 100% accurate.

Mixpanel

This is another analytics tool I use, specifically for tracking user behaviour in mobile apps or websites. It helps me see and analyse user behaviour on platforms to see what they do, and how to increase conversion rates to business goals.

LinkCentral

I use this tool to create and manage my marketing links. It helps me turn long, ugly URLs into clean links that look professional. Most importantly, it tracks exactly how many people click on them so I can see which campaigns are working.

pxl.to

This is the tool I use to create short links for my social media profiles and emails. It allows me to use my own brand name in the link, which builds trust. It also gives me data on who is clicking my content.

WP Social Ninja

This is the most efficient way I have found to embed social channels or reviews on a website. It’s connected to platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and Google without slowing down the site with heavy scripts.

Fluent Forms

I use the Pro version of this plugin for everything from simple contact forms to complex surveys. Its lightweight code ensures it doesn’t drag down page speeds while still offering powerful features.

FluentBooking

I used to pay monthly for Calendly until I found this. FluentBooking is a native WordPress solution that does everything the big SaaS platforms do, but without the recurring monthly fees per user. It handles unlimited calendars, syncs perfectly with Google and Outlook, and keeps all client data right on my own server.

Business Operations & Automation

Clients don’t just pay for results; they pay for reliability as well. That means accurate billing, clear communication about uptime, and respecting laws around the world. The tools below are selected because they provide clarity for both me and my clients. Whether it’s tracking my hours to keep projects profitable, or ensuring transactional emails actually arrive, these tools help me keep the business running smoothly.

n8n

I use this for automation. It is a powerful alternative to Zapier/Make that gives me more control over my data. It helps me connect different apps, enabling you to create connections between them, and automating manual workflows. I recommend to self-host it to save cost as it’s free.

EmailIT

This is a helpful tool for email delivery. I use it to ensure emails are sent reliably and land in the inbox instead of the spam folder. It is simple to set up and works well for transactional emails.

Garmingo Status

I use this tool to create status pages so my clients can see if their websites and services are up and running in real-time. It builds trust by showing uptime clearly for clients.

GetTerms.io

Privacy is important. I use this tool to generate simple, compliant cookie consent banners and privacy policies for my own and client websites.

Toggl

As a freelancer, I need to know exactly where my time goes. I use this to track how many hours I spend on different client projects. It keeps me organised, ensures time is spent correctly, and if a project is profitable or not.

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

There is a lot of noise in the AI space right now, but one thing is clear: AI is here to stay and if we don’t use it we will fall behind. Everyone claims to have the “best” model, but the truth is they all have different strengths. Instead of using one tool for all, I use 3 main tools, each with their own function. One is for deep research, one is for creative drafting, and another is specifically for coding logic or bouncing ideas. Below is how I split my workflow between the top players to get the best possible output for every task.

Gemini

My go-to chat LLM. I use Gemini for drafting and brainstorming, especially given its integration with other Google Workspace tools I use.

Perplexity

I use this for research. It provides citations for its answers, which helps when I need to verify information quickly without opening multiple search tabs.

Claude

I often use Claude for coding help or analysing data. In my experience, it tends to be quite accurate with code snippets and follows complex instructions well.

Freelancing & Mentorship

Trust is the hardest currency to earn online. Anyone can put up a website and claim to be an expert, but platform statistics don’t lie. I focus my external efforts on platforms that prioritise transparency and client reviews. These have helped me provide a stable income and build my personal brand to where it is. It’s also where potential leads can see all the feedback and reviews people I’ve helped have given me. If you want to work with me or learn from me, this is where to do it.

GrowthMentor

I offer 1-on-1 mentorship sessions here. I’ve done over 150 sessions helping founders and marketers with their growth challenges. It’s a great platform if you need specific, personalised advice.

Upwork

I have been active on Upwork for some time and hold a Top Rated Plus status. It’s a reliable platform for finding freelance projects, and also freelancers to help you.