This weblog earns cash through internet online affiliate marketing – that means that I’ll earn a fee whenever you buy a services or products after clicking a hyperlink on this website (at no further value to you). As an Amazon affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
It’s humorous how my life as an web marketer has advanced over time. I’ve been running a blog and creating web sites and attempting to determine how one can strike it wealthy on-line for about 10 years now! I’m nonetheless not an web millionaire – however I certain am having enjoyable alongside the way in which, whereas I attempt to obtain that elusive purpose.
I really like creating WordPress web sites. A lot has modified with WordPress and running a blog within the 10 years that I’ve been at it. Immediately, the choices and instruments that now we have accessible have made it simpler than ever earlier than to create wonderful blogs and web sites. I’ve used so many different instruments and plugins over time. I made a decision to create this revealing put up itemizing out my prime 8 must-haves for constructing a WordPress weblog in 2021.
Listed beneath are the instruments that I take advantage of (or have used) on my present web sites. I do know there are good alternate options to many of those and I may embody these as nicely. However for simplicity’s sake, I made a decision to solely embody the instruments that I really use on this put up.
1) WordPress Internet hosting
An excellent host is the place all of it begins. In case you have crappy internet hosting – it’s only a matter of time earlier than you will have complications that you just want you didn’t need to take care of.
My prime suggestion for internet hosting is what I’m utilizing on this weblog proper now!
WP Engine – Managed WordPress Internet hosting
WP Engine is definitely my prime suggestion for internet hosting. They don’t seem to be low cost – however like I at all times say – you get what you pay for. I’ve been with WP Engine for 7 or 8 years now and I’ve by no means appeared again. I’ve been extraordinarily happy with WP Engine as my internet hosting supplier, for a lot of causes.
CLICK HERE to take a look at WP Engine internet hosting
SiteGround – Internet hosting
SiteGround is my 2nd selection for internet hosting – when you don’t wish to pay WP Engine costs. I used SiteGround for a number of of my websites for about 3 years and had no complaints. I’d nonetheless have websites on SiteGround internet hosting if I didn’t resolve to downsize my web site portfolio and consolidate every thing over to my WP Engine account. SiteGround is a implausible host with cheap pricing.
CLICK HERE to take a look at SiteGround internet hosting
Bluehost – Internet hosting
Bluehost just isn’t a nasty internet hosting platform for a model new blogger. If you happen to’re on the lookout for extraordinarily low cost internet hosting, simply to get began, Bluehost may be a superb choice for you. I’ve identified a lot of bloggers over time who began on Bluehost and caught with them and by no means had any points. I used Bluehost myself once I began out – one in every of their low cost shared internet hosting plans. Customer support and assist was nice. I ended up shifting away once I upgraded to a a lot better host at WP Engine. However – when you’re on a price range, Bluehost is a good host for newbie bloggers!
CLICK HERE to take a look at Bluehost internet hosting
2) A Good WordPress Theme
After internet hosting, the subsequent most necessary side of beginning a WordPress weblog is choosing a superb theme. After attempting many, many themes during the last decade – I’ve settled on only one WordPress theme that I now use on all of my WordPress websites. Previously, I’d select totally different themes based mostly on their options and what I needed to perform for every website. Now – I take advantage of only one extremely customizable and light-weight theme that will get the job finished for each single one in every of my websites!
GeneratePress – WordPress Theme
GeneratePress is definitely a FREE theme you can obtain within the WordPress repository! The free model is ample – particularly for newcomers! They do have a Premium improve accessible that provides you a LOT extra customization choices and performance. GeneratePress’s Premium improve is cheap and price each single penny! You may actually change each final side of your website, from colours & fonts, to layouts & sizes, and each different primary perform of WordPress.
After utilizing GeneratePress for a number of years now – I can’t see why I’d ever want to contemplate a unique theme. GeneratePress is blazing quick, light-weight on the again finish, 100% customizable, and intensely straightforward to grasp and use.
CLICK HERE to take a look at GeneratePress
3) Straightforward-to-Use Web page Builder
Including a web page builder instrument to your WordPress weblog just isn’t essential – relying on what you wish to accomplish and what your theme already gives. However – if you need to have the ability to create 100% customizable touchdown pages and different parts in your website – a superb web page builder simply may be the way in which to go.
Elementor – Web page Builder
Elementor might be THE #1 web page builder for WordPress proper now. Elementor is a FREE plugin within the WordPress repository with an accessible paid improve so as to add a great deal of performance. One nice side about Elementor – they’re open supply, that means different builders can create add-ons and plugins that work with Elementor so as to add much more performance!
I’ve been utilizing Elementor fairly a bit over the previous couple of years. I’ve Elementor Professional (their paid premium improve) and I now set up Elementor on each single website that I run. It’s simply SO straightforward to make use of and I can simply create pages with superior parts that I previously would have paid knowledgeable WordPress developer to create for me.
CLICK HERE to take a look at Elementor
4) Amazon Affiliate WordPress Plugin
If you happen to plan to earn money along with your weblog as an Amazon affiliate (and why wouldn’t you?) – then you’ll positively desire a good WordPress plugin that connects your weblog to Amazon through their API. Amazon offers just a few free choices so that you can add affiliate hyperlinks to your weblog – however they aren’t excellent. An excellent WordPress plugin will mechanically pull in pictures and information from Amazon which can hold you compliant with Amazon’s insurance policies and make it THAT a lot simpler to insert affiliate hyperlinks.
AmaLinks Professional – Premium WordPress Plugin for Amazon Associates
AmaLinks Professional is a PAID WordPress plugin that does every thing I discussed within the earlier paragraph, and extra! Normally, I’d solely advocate spending cash on a instrument (like a WordPress plugin) when you assume it’s going that can assist you earn more cash than it prices. That is precisely the case with AmaLinks Professional. If used accurately on a weblog that will get visitors – AmaLinks Professional pays for itself over and time and again!
In case you didn’t know – I’m really the co-founder of AmaLinks Professional. I beforehand used and beloved and promoted a unique plugin for Amazon associates – however that plugin fell by the wayside. I searched for an additional good answer and couldn’t discover one – so I teamed up with a WordPress developer and we created AmaLinks Professional! Immediately – AmaLinks Professional is THE main WordPress plugin for Amazon associates. It’s the simplest to make use of, by far – and the performance it offers is second to none.
CLICK HERE to take a look at AmaLinks Professional
5) WordPress web optimization Plugin
In order for you free visitors from serps (and who doesn’t?) – a superb web optimization plugin for WordPress is crucial. An excellent one will just about stroll you thru all the on-page web optimization issues that it’s worthwhile to do for every put up or web page. Along with this primary stuff – a superb WordPress web optimization plugin can even do the backend web optimization stuff mechanically – like making a sitemap for the major search engines.
RankMath web optimization
For a few years, Yoast web optimization was the go-to WordPress web optimization plugin that nearly all people used and most of the people beneficial. Nothing else even got here shut. However that’s not the case anymore. There’s a new sheriff on the town and it is called RankMath web optimization.
You see – when Yoast first began, it was fully free and it had a great deal of helpful performance. Through the years, the free performance appeared to dwindle and a few of the finest options for Yoast had been now hidden behind a paywall for his or her Premium model.
RankMath additionally has a FREE and a paid model – however their free model is greater than ample for MOST bloggers who simply want some primary web optimization performance. RankMath as we speak is what Yoast was a few years in the past… the BEST (free) web optimization WordPress plugin that exists.
If you happen to’re already utilizing Yoast in your website – RankMath has a easy one-click import instrument. It’s tremendous straightforward to change over to RankMath! If you happen to’re simply beginning out with a model new website – I HIGHLY advocate utilizing RankMath from the very starting. RankMath may be discovered and put in instantly from the WordPress repository, or you possibly can…
CLICK HERE to take a look at RankMath
6) Inside Linking Device
If you’re severe about web optimization, one factor that you’ll be taught (when you don’t understand it already) is that inner linking is essential. That means, you need to be linking to different posts/pages in your weblog from every of your posts/pages. That is tremendously useful for web optimization for a lot of causes. You would do that manually – by utilizing your head to recollect what posts you printed previously and ensuring you hyperlink to them out of your new content material. Likewise, you possibly can add hyperlinks out of your outdated (current) posts pointing to your new content material. Doing this manually is ineffective and actually difficult! Fortunately, there’s a useful gizmo to assist with this course of.
Hyperlink Whisper
Hyperlink Whisper is a premium WordPress plugin (that means it’s not free) that works phenomenally nicely to help you along with your inner linking. You may run a report in your whole website and it provides you hyperlinks options. Then, you merely examine just a few packing containers and click on a button and it mechanically provides all the hyperlinks to your current posts!
Moreover, Hyperlink Whisper provides inner linking performance to your Publish or Web page edit screens. As you’re writing an article – hyperlink options seem instantly on the edit display screen!
If I’m beginning a model new web site in 2021 and I wish to optimize for search engine visitors – Hyperlinks Whisper is completely one of many must-have instruments that I counsel anyone add to their WordPress web site.
CLICK HERE to take a look at Hyperlink Whisper
7) WordPress Kinds Plugin
Most WordPress web sites will possible want a type someplace or one other. On the very least, on the Contact web page. All through the years, I’ve used many alternative plugins to simply create and embed varieties on my websites. There are a number of free choices within the WordPress repository – and for many bloggers, one in every of these free choices is greater than ample. Two of the extra well-liked ones off the highest of my head are Contact Type 7 and WP Kinds. They’re each good. However my WordPress wants have advanced from getting by with ‘ok’ and I wanted to maneuver as much as the easiest.
Gravity Kinds
I wanted the power to create extra advanced varieties with heaps extra integration choices and type options. I moved as much as Gravity Kinds and I’ve by no means appeared again! After utilizing Gravity Kinds on one in every of my websites for my extra advanced wants – I began utilizing it on all of my websites simply because I like how straightforward it really works. It doesn’t harm that there are tons and tons of free WP plugin add-ons designed particularly to work together with Gravity Kinds for a lot of varied wants. Gravity Kinds just isn’t free – however to me, it’s now on my checklist of ‘must-haves’ for all of my WordPress web sites.
CLICK HERE to take a look at Gravity Kinds
8) Hyperlink Shortening Plugin
A hyperlink shortening plugin is nearly important for any WordPress web site. What does it do? It permits you to create shorter (better-looking) hyperlinks utilizing your individual area identify for choose hyperlinks (inner or exterior). Listed below are 2 examples of shortened hyperlinks that I take advantage of on this weblog…
Inside Shortened Hyperlink (hyperlink to my ‘ Begin Your Personal Weblog’ put up)
- Precise URL: https://dumbpassiveincome.com/how-to-start-your-own-blog/
- Quick URL: https://dumbpassiveincome.com/start-blog
Exterior Shortened Hyperlink (affiliate hyperlink for SiteGround internet hosting)
- Precise URL: https://www.siteground.com/index.htm?afcode=49119b176b26f3d311fa6e30ea18b46f
- Quick URL: https://dumbpassiveincome.com/siteground
As you possibly can see, the shortened hyperlinks look higher and simply make every thing simpler. I’ve been utilizing one instrument to create and handle all these shortened hyperlinks for just about my whole time on WordPress.
Fairly Hyperlinks
Fairly Hyperlinks is a FREE WordPress plugin (within the WP repository) with a paid improve choice if you need extra performance. I’ve used solely the free model on all of my websites for the previous 10 years! It does what I would like it to do. It’s easy. It simply works!
The fantastic thing about utilizing a instrument like Fairly Hyperlinks for affiliate hyperlinks is you can simply change out the goal URL everytime you need. For instance… say I used that SiteGround brief URL (created with Fairly Hyperlinks) on 37 totally different posts on my weblog. Then in the future SiteGround decides to alter up their associates program and my affiliate hyperlink URL for them adjustments. As a result of I used Fairly Hyperlinks to create this shortened URL, and I used the brief URL in all 37 posts, I solely want to alter my goal URL as soon as in Fairly Hyperlinks and it mechanically adjustments for all 37 posts the place the brief URL already exists! It will be an absolute nightmare to attempt to discover and alter that hyperlink in 37 totally different posts.
This is the reason a plugin like Fairly Hyperlinks is completely important when you plan to do any form of internet online affiliate marketing out of your WordPress web site or weblog.
CLICK HERE to take a look at Fairly Hyperlinks
Honorable Mentions
Listed below are just a few different WordPress plugins or instruments that I take advantage of. These will not be essentially “must-haves” for ALL of my websites, however they’re actually helpful instruments which are price mentioning.
- ManageWP – when you run a number of WordPress web sites – this instrument helps you keep on prime of all of it. Replace ALL plugins on your whole websites with only one click on! And it does a lot extra… Undoubtedly price trying out
- Social Warfare – solely one of the best social sharing plugin for WordPress that exists! Tremendous quick, very slick person interface, and intensely straightforward to make use of.
- WP Affiliate Disclosure – for associates who want to stay compliant with FTC tips and/or Amazon Affiliate insurance policies – as defined right here on the AmaLinks Professional weblog
- Traditional Editor – as a result of I simply don’t just like the default Block ‘Gutenberg’ Editor that WordPress determined to set because the default editor in 2019 – I ‘grew up’ on the Traditional Editor and I nonetheless want it as a result of I can work SO a lot sooner with it. Writing a weblog put up within the Traditional Editor is extra like typing in a phrase processor. The brand new Block Editor is like working with a web page builder instrument.
Constructing a WordPress Weblog in 2021
Given the circumstances that befell the planet in 2020… 2021 is shaping as much as be one of the phenomenal durations of time to be an web entrepreneur! Contactless buying is on the rise and it’s not going away anytime quickly. Individuals are spending cash on-line anyway – so why not begin a weblog and direct individuals to on-line retailers so you possibly can earn some commissions alongside the way in which?!?
If you have already got a weblog – think about attempting out a few of the instruments listed above. Take it from me, based mostly on years of expertise. Many of those instruments will vastly enhance your WordPress expertise. Now get to it. Good Day!
Picture Credit score: “The Artwork of WordPress” by mkhmarketing through Flickr
Matthew Allen is a full-time trucker, part-time blogger, and imaginary entrepreneur. He’s the one identified trucker who’s running a blog about creating passive revenue on-line. He’s additionally the co-founder and co-creator of the most well-liked WordPress plugin for Amazon associates – AmaLinks Professional.
