18 Blogging Tools For Beginners
Have you ever thought of becoming a blogger? If the answer is yes, then this post is for you. This post will also be good for you if you are a beginning blogger. I want to share with you 18 blogging tools for beginners.
18 Blogging Tools for Beginners
1. Domain & Hosting
If you are serious about becoming a blogger, purchase your own hosting and domain. Don’t get me wrong, there are some decent free options for setting up a blog, but the things you can do with them are limited. By having your own domain and hosting, you can create your site in any way you want. You also don’t have to worry about your URL looking like www.blogname.blogspot.com. If you plan to monetize your site eventually, it must be self-hosted.
I suggest Bluehost for new bloggers. I used their services for seven years. They have a great deal for new bloggers right now. Hosting starts at $3.95 per month if you purchase a yearly plan with them. A domain also comes with that deal.
If you’re ready to start your blog today, check out my step-by-step guide here. I will go into detail and show you just how easy it is to create.
2. WordPress
This next one is one of the most important blogging tools for beginners. WordPress s a blogging platform that a lot of us bloggers use. After you get your hosting and domain taken care of, you should add the WordPress software to your blog. WordPress is straightforward to use. It has hundreds of themes for you to choose from. The themes are user-friendly.
3. Grammarly
Grammarly is a free plugin that automatically identifies and corrects common grammatical errors in your writing. This plugin works great for times when you’re typing out an article or even a tweet, as it scans your writing for spelling and grammar errors and plagiarism.
Grammarly has a free and premium account, which is relatively inexpensive. If you’re not a grammar expert, it’s worth using.
Grammarly can save you countless hours going through your post to fix errors. Plus, it can make you look like a professional writer.
Sign up for Grammarly today!
4. Canva
Canva is a graphic design platform that can be used to make visual graphics and more. Canva has predetermined design templates available, which is a game changer if you need to improve at designing. They have templates for Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest posts, to name a few. You can also see any previous design you created and any picture you uploaded to their site.
Sign up for Canva here!
5. Unsplash
Unsplash is a great place to find images for your blog posts. All the photos on Unsplash are free to use, and there are thousands of high-quality, royalty-free images for you to choose from.
The platform makes it easy to sort through these photos by keyword, category, or even color, so you can find exactly what you need in no time.
You’ll also get full attribution for each image you use, which makes it easy to give credit where credit is due. Bloggers always need images for their posts, and having a great site like Unsplash to turn to can be a considerable time and money saver.
6. Social Media
If you plan on growing your blog, you should have some social media. I have a Twitter account, a Pinterest account, and a Facebook page. You may or may not need all three in the beginning. I would choose one that I was familiar with and start promoting my blog on it.
7. Hootsuite
Hootsuite is a social media management platform that allows you to schedule and post stuff to your social media feeds. This site can be a lifesaver if you’re busy. Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube are social media networks that can be integrated with Hootsuite.
8. E-mail List
Every blogger needs to start collecting e-mails eventually. Doing that can eventually be huge for you. You can create a newsletter for your most engaged readers. Your readers could turn into potential customers depending on what you plan to do with your blog. ConvertKit and Mailchimp are two of the top e-mail marketing tools out there.
9. ConvertKit
ConvertKit is a powerful e-mail marketing platform that makes it easy to build and manage your e-mail subscriber list.
Thanks to features like a drag-and-drop e-mail editor, automated drip marketing campaigns, and detailed analytics reports, you’ll be able to create and send e-mails that get results.
The tool also makes it easy to segment your e-mail lists, which allows you to send more personalized and relevant e-mails that are likely to encourage more conversions.
Learn more about ConvertKit here!
10. SumoMe
SumoMe is a tool that can help grow your website. They have a fantastic WordPress plugin. SumoMe helps you build your e-mail list by offering several tools that are designed to help you collect e-mails.
11. Google Analytics
Google Analytics is a tool that shows you your website statistics. It shows you the type of traffic that you have come to your site. It also shows you the most popular sections, amongst other things. Google Analytics also has a plugin. It is a MUST-HAVE!
12. Share plugin
WordPress offers several share plugins. Have you ever been on a website and seen tabs on a post that allows you to share it on Twitter or Facebook? That website had a share plugin. There are many of them around. Some work better than others. They are imperative to have on your blog.
If someone likes one of your articles, you want them to share it with their friends and followers. Share plugins allow that to happen. Having the opportunity to have your posts shared equals more readers.
13. Ahrefs
Ahrefs is one of the most popular SEO tools for a blogger. Many people use this tool to check their competitor’s backlinks and find link opportunities for their blogs. Ahrefs boasts that it has the largest index of live backlinks on the Internet, and it’s true because you can easily find tons of valuable link opportunities with this tool.
Another great thing about Ahrefs is that it tracks your brand mentions and alerts you whenever someone talks about your site, brand, or products. So if a blogger mentions your blog and you find it valuable, you can use it as a way to connect with the blogger and build relationships.
Ahrefs also makes searching for your competitors’ keywords a breeze. You can find their top keywords and their rankings to help you identify the best opportunities for your blog.
14. Link Whisper
Link Whisper is a powerful WordPress plugin that allows you to discover new possibilities for interlinking your posts quickly and easily.
For bloggers new to the game, a tool like Link Whisper can significantly improve your chances of ranking well in search results.
The plugin makes it easy to see which posts are related to the one you’re currently writing and allows you to insert links to these relevant posts in your article easily.
This not only helps keep visitors engaged as they read through your content, but it also helps you create a stronger internal linking structure that search engines love.
Sign up for Link Whisper here!
15. Rankmath
Rankmath is another excellent WordPress plugin for beginners looking to improve their site’s search engine optimization.
This tool makes it easy to identify areas where you could improve your on-page SEO and even offers detailed suggestions on improving these factors.
Whether you’re improving your keyword usage, URL structure, or content length, Rankmath is an excellent tool at your disposal.
The plugin is also very user-friendly, so you don’t need to be an SEO expert to use it.
16. KeySearch
Keysearch is a powerful keyword research tool that helps you identify relevant and popular keywords.
This unique blend of features makes it easy to land on keywords that potential customers are actively searching for.
Plus, the tool provides insights into how well your website ranks in search engines, which allows you to gauge how much work you still have ahead of you.
It’s not just about keywords, but keywords that are relevant to your niche.
There are plenty of keyword research tools on the market, but Keysearch is one of the best ones out there because it’s easy to use, provides you with detailed information, and is super affordable.
Sign up for KeySearch here!
17. Revive Old Posts
Revive Old Posts is a WordPress plugin that automatically shares your old posts on social media. This saves you time from actively sharing your old posts on Twitter, Facebook, and other social platforms.
When you share your older posts on social media repeatedly, it can help you drive more traffic to your site and boost your overall engagement on these platforms.
You have all those old posts on your blog, so why not put them to work? Your social media followers might not know they exist, so give them a nudge.
18. Google Trends
Google Trends allows you to search for keywords related to your niche and see how popular they are on Google. This helps determine which keywords you want to target.
Google Trends also allows you to search for trends around these keywords and see how they change over time. You can use this information to fine-tune your keyword strategy and target relevant and popular keywords.
Google Trends is free to use and is an excellent tool for helping you find keywords that people are searching for.
You just finished reading about 13 blogging tools for beginners. These all should help you to create the best website possible.
Are you a blogger? Have you used any of these blogging tools for beginners before?
Jason Butler is the owner of My Money Chronicles, a website where he discusses personal finance, side hustles, travel, and more. Jason is from Atlanta, Georgia. He graduated from Savannah State University with his BA in Marketing. Jason has been featured in Forbes, Discover, and Investopedia.