I get asked pretty frequently what I use for my site.  Over the past 6 years I’ve tried a variety of different tools to make my website more appealing, interesting and of course user-friendly.  Some tools were easier to use than others, so I’m here today to share with you what I’ve used to make, edit and maintain this website.  Comment below and share with me the tools that you use.  I’d love to test out some more and add to this list. 

The host I use for this blog is Bluehost.  A blog host is important because it provides you with a place to display your blog.  You can always host your blog for free using WordPress, but the URL with a free account will have a “wordpress” tag at the end (i.e. simply-nicole.wordpress.com).  I’ve stayed with Bluehost over the years because it’s very easy to use and they have AMAZING customer service.  Sometimes I’ll even tweet to them and they handle my questions and concerns that way!

 

When I bought simply-nicole.com a few years ago, I purchased it the domain name from GoDaddy.  In my opinion and from personal experience, GoDaddy offers the best prices out there.  The company offers an easy to use platform that enables you to search for the availability of the name you want, but also offers you alternatives if your top choice is already taken.  GoDaddy offers domains from standards like .COM and .NET to specialized domains like .BIZ, .ME and many others.

 

After you have your blog purchased, you’ll need to make it pretty of course!  There are tons of free WordPress themes to choose from if you want to save money.  I have always downloaded a free theme and edited the CSS style sheet on my own to make it as personalized to my brand as possible. 

 

 

The most essential tool I use is Windows Live Writer.  I use Windows Live Writer to write and edit all of my posts, and it’s FREE to download!  I save it right to my desktop so it’s accessible every time I need it.  Windows Live Writer makes it easy to preview everything you’re adding to your blog and see how the fonts, colors, spacing, and images will look like before you publish.  My favorite aspect of Windows  Live Writer is that you can write your posts without internet connection and save them for later! 

 

I’m no CSS/HTML genius.  I didn’t go to school for coding, however over the years I have taught myself a lot in terms of editing code and making my website look exactly the way that I want it.  I couldn’t have done this without the help of W3Schools.  This website is my #1 resource for coding help.  I keep the homepage bookmarked and visit it quite frequently.  They offer tutorials on HTML, CSS, Javascript, JQuery, SQL, PHP and much more!