My #1 Recommended Resources
I’ve used an extensive library of tools, equipment and resources and I’d love to share that with you. I only share resources that I can personally can vouch for because I’ve either used them or created them. This is a list of the best tools in the market that I consider essential to achieveing online business success
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The best tools and gear in the market that we have tried and tested.
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- DISCLOSURE: PLEASE READ
I am an affiliate of some of the services and tools mentioned here. This means that if you click on a service and make a purchase I will receive a commission which comes at no additional cost. In fact, as a bonus, I have a discount agreements with some of the companies if you use my link! I only recommend a product I believe is functional and effective. You can trust that extensive test and research was conducted before using any of these. I only recommend these product because I believe they can help you in your business not for the commission.
Website Hosting Services
Cloudways - My #1 Hosting Choice for "anything"
If you're serious about your business and looking for a lighting speed performance and a feature-packed hosting service then you NEED to get Cloudways. I am completely blown away by their service and I cannot recommend them enough to all my clients, students, and errybody! This website is currently hosted on Cloudways and I don't see myself switching any time soon, in fact I intend to upgrade soon. Try Cloudways. You won't regret it! Use my discount code UDOXFAMILY - 10% Off for 3 months
SiteGround - Reliable Hosting, Great Performance
Siteground has consistently remained one of the most reliable hosting services to date. At 70% off considering the benefits that they provide such as caching and frequent backups, it definitely deserves a spot in the hosting discussion. If you have the budget I would choose Siteground over Bluehost as they run your website on managed cloud hosting servers. This simply means you're getting faster speeds, reliability, better support, security, better resources and better website performance overall. If you really want to scale your business and future proof your website choose Siteground or go with my favorite offer of Cloudways linked above.
Bluehost - Beginner's Choice
Bluehost is one of the most affordable options for web hosting. If you're going with WordPress as your platform of choice for your website then this is a great budget option. In fact, I started off with Bluehost for my first three websites. They offer great reliable 24/7 customer service and you can host more than one website on one account. If you use my link you will have access to the discounted price of $2.75/month!
WordPress Themes
Buddyboss
Hands down, Buddyboss is the best platform and theme for your WordPress website if you run a course program and/or run an online community or membership. It's powerful enough to setup a community platform similar to Facebook. I use Buddyboss on my website to run my course programs and my online community. It's extremely flexible and grows with you as you grow your business. Use my code UDOX10 for a 10% discount.
ASTRA
The Astra theme is one of the most popular themes currently on the market. They offer a free theme that has over 2 million downloads. I use the Astra theme on the majority of my clients' websites. In 2021 they launched Astra 3.0 which has improved performance and loads of features that will make creating a website that much easier for literally anyone! Brainstorm Force is the parent company and they also offer Astra Pro, if you want to customize your website even further you can buy a license for Astra Pro and not even require a page builder.
WordPress Page Builder
Elementor
I have never been a bigger advocate for any other service than I am for Elementor. This website builder is one of the main reasons I decided to give up coding and build websites using a drag and drop builder. If you want to create a website having Elementor is a MUST! It makes creating websites easy peasy. They have a free version but I'd strongly recommend purchasing a paid license to really take advantage of the best features. For one website it starts at $50USD /per year which is beyond reasonable for what they offer. If you'd like to learn how to use Elementor to create a custom website then check out my course program and I'll show you just how amazing this page builder is.
Ultimate Addons for Elementor
As amazing as Elementor is, there are some drawbacks. If you really want to add some additional widgets and features to fit your business needs you need to get Elementor Pro however there are also other plugins that work with Elementor like UAE. I use UAE because they offer additional features outside of Elementor Pro that makes things easier like..table of contents etc
Email Marketing & Automation
Fluent CRM
If you run a business you know that Email Marketing is super duper important or at least you should know this. Emails are still very relevant and people use them on a daily basis. It it paramount that you have a working ESP managing your email contacts for future sales and campaigns. The Email Service Provider (ESP) that I use and have been completely blown away with FluentCRM. It is by far the most cost-effective ESP using Amazon SES service costing me $0.01 per 1000 emails sent. It gets better! FluentCRM is packed with automation features and for you funnel creators out there who have a WordPress website you will be pleased to know it integrates right into your dashboard and works with WordPress plugins. If you opt for my free my email marketing beginner's course you will learn how to use FluentCRM to scale your business and take it to the next level with email. Use my discount code "UDOX20" BUY FLUENTCRM.
Fluent Forms
The older sibling as far as release date Fluent Forms is a form plugin that is also created by the smae folks who did FLuentCRM. It is the older brother so it has been developed and they continue to develop the form plugin. I use the Pro version to capture email in FluentCRM. I currently don't use all the features but you can also use it to allow your customers to make payments, run polls, receive testimonials, receive uploaded file data, complete job listings, applications forms...it's pretty darn neat!
CartFlows
If you want to increase your leads and increase conversions on your website then you need to get this plugin for your online store hosted on WordPress.This is the #1 Funnel Builder for WordPress users that rivals ClickFunnels.
Uncanny Automator
This is essentially the glue that sticks all WordPress plugins together. This plugin integrates with almost all native WordPress plugins and allows them to communicate with each other without coding. Simply set up a trigger like "purchase made" and you can automatically send someone a "thank you" email or give them access to a course. The possibilities are almost endless.
Graphic Design Tools
Figma
My choice of web design wireframe tool. I talk about this tool in my course. Essentially Frame.io allows me to design the layout of my client's websites before I develop them fully on a server. It allows my client to visually see what the website will look like before I start building it on WordPress. I can easily make changes to the design rather than making changes on the WordPress site. Once approved I build out the site using Elementor.
Canva
Looking for a free graphic design tool (as a non-designer)??? If you're just starting out Canva is a great tool. Canva offers tons of professional graphic templates for many use cases. (E.g Facebook posts, covers, etc & IG posts as well). If you want to churn out designs quickly then Canva is gonna be the tool for you. The paid option has even more stock templates, graphics, and photos. You'll have access to more features and benefits as well.
Affinity Designer
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Affinity Photo
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Affinity Publisher
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Online Course Plugins
LearnDash
In order to run courses on your WordPress hosted website, you need to have an LMS (Learning Management System) plugin. There are many plugins like this however LeardnDash in my opinion is still the most formidable option. I use LearnDash to run my course programs on the buddyboss theme. It integrates well with may other plugins.
Buddyboss
Hands down, Buddyboss is the best platform and theme for your WordPress website if you run a course program and/or run an online community or membership. It's powerful enough to setup a community platform similar to Facebook. I use Buddyboss on my website to run my course programs and my online community. It's extremely flexible and grows with you as you grow your business.
PRESTO PLAYER
If you are looking for a customizable feature-packed video player for WordPress then Prestoplayer is the newest kid on the block. Upload to YouTube, Vimeo, Bunney.net or even Publitio. Simply take those links and add them inside WordPress using Prestoplayer. This is the perfect solution for course creators hosting their courses on WordPress.
Video Tools
Final Cut Pro X
I use Final Cut Pro to edit my video.
Apple Motion
If I ever need to make quick graphic animations or movement I use Apple Motion. Works well with Final Cut Pro X
ScreenFlow
Awesome editing software, with powerful screen capture tools built-in. Great for anyone who isn't interested in the advanced Premiere / Final Cut editing functions, or even those who need solid screen capture software. Try screenflow.
Audiio
Audiio is a subscription service that offers royalty-free music. I have a lifetime subscription that I only had to pay once. If you want to have lifetime access to music that you can use on YouTube, podcast...anywhere then get this great deal now before it ends. LIFETIME DEAL.