Blog Resources
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Resources & Tools Used to Build Tasty Itinerary Blog
Hosting
Site Ground
Tasty Itinerary and Kathy’s On It are being hosted by Siteground. If you want a hosting site that you can rely on, you can’t go wrong with Siteground. I highly recommend them enough. Siteground’s customer service chat option is a lifesaver.
Bluehost
Blue Host offers a 1-click WordPress installation. It is my #2 choice as it is cost-effective and easy to use. I’d say, great for beginner bloggers. I was with them for 3 years and switched once my contract was up.
ThemE
Currently, this site is using the Generatepress theme. If you’re looking for better page speed and a customizable site, I highly recommend using Generatepress. You may need some knowledge in building a theme or you could use one of their templates.
Need help installing it and getting a basic customized theme up and running. Check out my VA services.
Legally Protecting Your Blog
Legal Bundle
Did you know it’s illegal not to have a Privacy Policy and Disclaimer on your blog? Fortunately, Amira from A Self Guru, a lawyer, who is also a blogger and a business coach offers a Legal Bundle that includes a Privacy Policy, Disclaimer, and Terms and Conditions template at an affordable price.
As a newbie blogger looking to expand your blog, investing in the proper tools is essential, and this legal bundle is a must.
Social Media Tools
Ell’s Pinterest E-Course
To plan my grid, stay up to date with the best times to post and hashtags, I use two apps: Planoly & UNUM.
To drive traffic to my blog, I post to Pinterest. Without Ell’s Pinterest E-course, I would have never been able to triple my traffic through Pinterest.
Tasty Pins
The Tasty Pins plugin assist with optimizing images for SEO and Pinterest. I highly recommend using Tasty Pins if you plan to share Pinterest images with your posts.
Another alternative to Tasty Pins is the Mediavine Grow plugin.
SEO TOOLS
Keysearch Tool is an SEO keyword research tool that is an absolute must when researching SEO for blog content.
Photography & Design
All my photos are edited in Adobe Lightroom. Currently, I pay $9.99 per month for the Adobe Creative Cloud Photography Plan, which includes Lightroom, Photoshop, and full access to Adobe Sparks.
In addition, I use Aggie’s Travel In Her Shoe’s Presets and Michael Moretti Presets. It has made a major difference in the presentation and consistency of my photos.
All my Pinterest pins are created using Adobe Sparks or Canva.
Affiliate Marketing
ShareAsale offers affiliate programs for a variety of merchants, including Tailwind & Viator.
Skimlinks is easy to sign up for and once applied to your site, it monetizes your links.
Amazon is a great start for all bloggers to recommend products they use to their readers.
Awin.com is another affiliate program that costs $5 to sign up but is returned to you with your next payment.