Tools & Resources
Welcome to the Web Design Tools and Resources page. Here’s a list of tried and tested products I use to help run my business. I’ve done all the research and testing for you so you can save valuable time and money.
Just a quick disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links which means I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase. This comes at no additional cost to you and in some cases, you will receive an additional discount.
Table of Contents
- Creative Software
- The Best Free Stock Photography
- Low-Cost Premium Stock Photography
- Vector Graphics
- The Best Web Hosting
- Time Tracking & Invoicing
- Project Management
- Password Manager
Creative Software
Adobe Creative Suite
I have used Adobe products since college in the late 1990s. Adobe products are the industry standard for graphic design, web design & development, video, UI/UX, photography, and more. If you’re serious about being a graphic or web designer, Adobe products are essential.
Here’s a list of the Adobe products I use the most and they are all included with my subscription plan of $52.99/mo. This is just a small portion of products that are included in the plan and they’re always coming out with new software.
- Photoshop
- Illustrator
- InDesign
- Dreamweaver
- Acrobat
- Premiere
- After Effects
- XD
Free Trial Available
Canva
Canva is a Free, easy to use online software to create and publish social media graphics, presentation, and marketing materials. They make it super easy for anyone to start designing from pre-made templates.
The Best Free Stock Photography
Low-Cost Premium Stock Photography
Adobe Stock
Adobe is a little newer to the stock photography field but has great pricing and an extensive library of stock photos. This is my current go-to for premium stock photos.
Free 30-day Trial
Price starts at $29.99/month for 10 assets a month
Credits are also available for purchase
Shutterstock
Another great budget-friendly website for royalty-free stock images, video footage, and music is Shutterstock. They have been around since 2003 and offer various pricing structures to meet the needs of individuals and businesses.
Free 1 Month Trial
Vector Graphics
VectorStock
VectorStock is a great place to get premium vector graphics without breaking the bank. They also have a library of free vectors as well.
Premium paid plans available as pay-per-image, credits, and subscriptions
Vecteezy
Vecteezy has been around for a very long time. Cheezy name but pretty cool website full of free vectors. They do require attribution unless you upgrade to a pro plan and their licensing agreement is pretty lengthy.
Plans start at $9/month
The Best Website Hosting
GreenGeeks
GreenGeeks has been around since 2008 and is the industry-leading eco-friendly hosting provider. They also offer blazing fast hosting and all the features you expect.
- Free Website Transfer
- Free Email Accounts
- Unlimited MySQL DB
- Unlimited Sub and Parked Domains
- cPanel & Softaculous
- SSD Storage
- Free CDN Integration
- PowerCacher
- Power Redundancy
- Hardware Redundancy
- 300% Offset with Renewable Energy
- Optimized LiteSpeed and MariaDB
- Automatic App Updates
- Free SSL
- Nightly Data Backup
- 30 Day Money Back
SiteGround
Siteground is consistently rated as one of the best hosting providers around with some of the best reviews for affordability as well as reliability and uptime. They have a plan suited for any website.
- Free Email Accounts
- Unlimited MySQL DB
- Unlimited Sub and Parked Domains
- 30 Days Money Back
- SSD Storage
- Free CDN with Each Account
- SuperCacher
- Power Redundancy
- Hardware Redundancy
- Anti-Hack Systems & Help
- Proactive updates and patches
- SPAM Experts Spam Prevention
- Automated Daily Backup
InMotion
InMotion is a great value host with fast and reliable SSD (Solid State Drives). I have used InMotion Hosting for a lot of my websites and have been happy with them. They’re often ranked in the top ten web hosting companies and it’s easy to see why. Here are some of the features you can expect from their shared business plan.
FREE SSD Drives
Included with All Hosting Plans
FREE Domain!
New Or Existing Transfer
90-Day Guarantee
Truly Industry Leading
Data Backups
One-Click restore and backup
FREE 1-Click Installer
Install Over 400 Applications
Code in More Languages
PostgreSQL, MySQL, Ruby, PHP
Secure IMAP Email
Access Email from Any Device
Max Speed Zone™
Choose Your Data Center
SSH Access
Work Easier & Faster
Google Apps Integration
Easy to Use 3 Step Wizard
WP Engine
WP Engine is the preferred choice for premium WordPress hosting. Their hosting plans are optimized and catered to WordPress sites. They are a bit pricier but worth it if you want the best in class for your WordPress site. What I like most about WP Engine is the ability to have 3 different environments for development, staging, and production. This lets you make all changes to a test site before going live so you don’t get any unexpected errors. Their automated backup service is easy to use and their customer service is available 24/7. Here are some features that are included with all WP Engine hosting plans.
- 3 environments/site
- CDN & SSL included
- Migrations free
- Page Performance free
- Powerful tools available
- 35+ StudioPress Themes
- Genesis Framework
Time Tracking and Invoicing
Harvest
Harvest is a web-based time tracking and invoicing application for creative businesses. I’ve tried several different time tracking and invoicing apps over the years but this is the one that I like best. Here are some key benefits.
- Simple pricing: $12/month
- Time tracking and invoicing in one place
- Run reports for invoices paid for the year, day, month, etc.
- Track expenses
- Access from web or mobile device
- Different payment options
- Include pdf invoice on invoice emails
- Include a link to pay on invoice emails
Project Management
Trello
When you start getting more clients, you’ll find it hard to keep track of all the different requests coming through your email. Trello is free and allows you to keep track and organize everything in your life, both personal and business. Create boards and to-do lists so you can get more done.
Freedcamp
Freedcamp is a free project management and collaboration platform for getting organized and improving your productivity. There’s a built-in time tracker and add-ons for more features on their paid plans. All plans include unlimited tasks, projects, and storage. It’s a bit like Basecamp but free.
Password Manager
One Time Dead Drop
This is a useful tool to send passwords or other secure information that will expire in 24 hours and is deleted after being viewed.
One Time Secret
Here is another option similar to One Time Dead Drop to send passwords or other secure information that expires and is deleted after being viewed but lets you select the length of time to expire.