Essential Toolkit

I use lots of different tools on my quest to compute better, share information and even make money online. Below, laid out in categories is a Rolodex of sorts, outlining all the different software and services I use.

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Computing Software and Tools

Mozilla Firefox

An essential piece of software for every computer is a good web browser. Go and pick it up here. It also wouldn’t do any harm to update your internet explorer.

Piriform CCleaner and Defraggler

You need to clean out your computer regularly and optimize the data on it. Cleaning your computer is easy, but you need a tools. Grab CCleaner and Defraggler here.

Lastpass

I can’t say enough good things about this free password saving tool. It seriously is the last password you’ll ever need to remember. Go get it!

Personal Development and Productivity Tools

Online Accounting

A very simple way to manage your freelance work, keep track of projects and expenses, file your taxes, and charge clients: FreeAgent !

Workflowy

If you like making lists, you’ll love Workflowy.

750words

The perfect online tool for journalling and writing your Morning Pages.

Blogging and Websites

WordPress

This is the platform upon which this website is running and forms the foundation of all my websites. You can download it from WordPress.org, but most web hosts offer the ability to install WordPress quickly and automatically.

Host Like Toast: Managed WordPress Hosting

I’m a little biased here because I’m operate and use my own hosting service. We’ve been running web hosting for nearly a decade and we’ve been running on WordPress for years. Check us out.Host Like Toast: Managed WordPress Hosting.

worpit

If you have more than 1 WordPress website, this WordPress management tool is essential. And it’s FREE!

WordPress Plugins

Digital Access Pass – WordPress Membership plugin: I have written an article about Digital Access Pass here. Or you can go straight to the Digital Access Pass website here.
Configure SMTP – Allows you to specify SMTP servers from which to send email from the Blog – best of all you can use your Gmail or Google Apps accounts.
Digg Digg – Lots of social networking tools for sharing
Feedburner Feedsmith – I use Google Feedburner to manage my RSS feeds and this plugin is essential.
Gravity Forms – perhaps one of the best tools for creating contact and order forms for WordPress.
Google XML Sitemaps – essential so that search engines can crawl and index your website
Google Analytics – the other half of the Google Analytics equation
Smart Youtube – you can insert Youtube videos very easily with this plugin!
WPtouch – Makes sure your website is easily read and accessed on iPhones and other Smartphones. It has a free version and a paid version.
W3 Total Cache – Optimizes your site for faster access and download by people who visit your site – essential!

WordPress Themes

Thesis Theme – This site, and 3 other websites I have created run on this theme framework.
Press75 – my new website is running on one of the themes from Press75. When you purchase Press75, you get access to all the themes they have. It’s a great resource!

Keyword Tools and SEO

Market Samurai – probably thee standard in Keyword and SEO research for just about any website or project. You can download a fully functional version for absolutely free and once the trial finishes, you get to keep the keyword research tool.