Resources

Welcome to the Resources page!

I created this page to provide you with a one-stop shop to find all of the Canva and Website related tools, programs and services I currently actively recommend to my clients and subscribers.

You will find both free and paid resources listed below and I have indicated whether each one is free, paid, or offers a combination of both paid and free options.

Note that some of the resources below may be affiliate links. I only ever recommend tools and resources that my team, my clients or I have used and found to be effective.

If you do use one of the affiliate links, it will cost you nothing to use but I will receive a small commission …. which I will use to fund my Starbucks habit!

Email & Email Marketing

  • Google G-Suite: This is the email hosting provider I recommend if you are looking to set up a professional domain email address for your business. You can learn more here about why it’s best practice not to use your website hosting provider for your email hosting. This is a paid service.
  • ConvertKit: This is my preferred email marketing provider and it is what I use at Bon Accord Creative to manage all of my own list building activities. If you have ever joined one of my free courses and received emails from me as a result, you’ve seen ConvertKit in action. This is a paid service.
  • Convert Pro: Convert Pro is a great tool to look into if you’re looking to add a pop-up to your WordPress website (e.g. for exit intent offers or opt-ins). This is a paid service.

Canva Resources

  • Canva: An amazing online graphics design program that allows business owners to create a wide array of graphics and marketing materials. It is available on web and mobile, and integrates millions of images, fonts, templates and illustrations. They have both free and paid subscriptions.
  • Conquer Your Canva: My affordable step-by-step Canva course will show you how you can quickly and easily create images that attract your ideal customer. This is a paid course.
  • How to Use Canva Facebook Group: Join our free community of Canva lovers on Facebook! This is a free resource.
  • Create Your Canva Brand Kit in 5 Days Mini Course: In this free mini course, you’ll receive daily short video lessons that will show you step-by-step how to setup your brand kit in Canva in just 5 days. This is a free resource.
  • Stock Photos Resource: Looking for some awesome stock photo options? Grab a free copy of my stock photo list (no opt-in needed). This is a free resource.

Organization & Project Management

  • Asana: Asana is a fantastic online project management tool that helps teams organize, track, and manage their tasks and projects. It is what we use internally at Bon Accord Creative to stay on top of our internal administration, marketing and website development projects. They have both free and paid subscriptions.
  • Basecamp: Basecamp is also designed to help organize projects, tasks and teams and it’s what we use for client facing project management. It’s a super intuitive interface that my clients love. This is a paid resource.
  • Google Drive: Google Drive is a file storage service that allows you to access your documents, pictures and files and it’s incredibly handy for collaborating with team members and clients for content planning and sharing documents. This is a free tool.
  • Dropbox: DropBox is an online, cloud storage system that allows you to access your documents wherever you are. It is definitely one of the easiest ways to organize and share files with colleagues and clients. They have both free and paid subscriptions.
  • Evernote: Evernote is an app designed for note taking, organizing, task management, and archiving. It’s a handy way to streamline your office environment and organize all of those little post-it notes that are likely covering your desk. from a jumble of notes and folders into a single digital storehouse. They have both free and paid subscriptions.

Domains & Hosting

  • Namecheap: This is my preferred domain name registrar. Solid customer support, without the crazy upsells like certain other domain providers that shall remain nameless. 😉 This is a paid service.
  • Siteground: If your website is self-hosted (e.g., if you have a WordPress based website), you will want to have a solid website hosting provider, as lot of the cheapie hosts can result in a slower page speed. Siteground is the hosting provider I use for my own websites. This is a paid service.
  • WPEngine: Other than Siteground, the only other hosting company I currently recommend for WordPress based websites is WP Engine. I do not currently use them for my own websites, but many of my clients are on their services and they have been very solid. This is a paid service.

Backups & Security

  • VaultPress: If your website is WordPress based, make sure you have a reliable backups service in place before you begin any of your page speed optimization efforts. This is the only backups service I use for my own websites, as well as my clients’ websites. This is a paid service.
  • Sucuri: This is the security plugin I recommend. Sucuri is a web monitoring and malware cleanup service that frequently scans your website and alerts you if you’ve been hacked or infected. As part of its services, it also provides advanced protection services, and I can tell you that every client we have on Sucuri has been spared entirely from security threats. This is a paid service.
  • Wordfence: This security plugin requires a bit of website tech knowledge (or the support of a developer) and it provides login security, security scanning and other solutions that are beneficial to your websites security. This is a paid service.
  • iThemes Security Pro: If you’re DIYing your site without a developer to support you, this is the route I’d probably recommend to easily add a layer of protection to your website. It should be noted that iThemes Security Pro is a plugin for preventative measures but does not fully protect your website. It only has partial spam protection and malware cleaning. This is a paid service.
  • LastPass: Some people like to use a Google spreadsheet, while others like to use a physical notebook, but my professional advice would be to use a password management tool like LastPass.com to help you manage all of your passwords so that you have them all in one place and never have to worry about forgetting them. They have both free and paid subscriptions.
  • Logins Checklist: This checklist contains all of the key website logins that you as a business owner need to always have easy access to, in order to maintain proper control over your website. regardless of the platform you’ve used to build your site. This is a free resource.

Page Speed Optimization

  • Googe Page Speed Insights: PageSpeed Insights is the tool you’ll use to determine how your website currently scores in terms of page speed. Be sure to make a note (or take a screenshot) of your initial page speed scores, so that you can create a benchmark from which to make improvements. This is a free resource.
  • Imagify: If your website is on WordPress, I highly recommend getting an image optimization plugin, and Imagify is the tool that I use for my websites and my clients’ sites. They have both free and paid subscriptions (and you may need a small one-time paid plan to start.)
  • Kraken: If your website is not on WordPress, you won’t be able to take advantage of image optimization plugins, but you can still optimize your images before you upload them. Kraken has a web interface that you can use for this purpose. They have both free and paid options.
  • WP Rocket: If your website is on WordPress, I highly recommend getting a premium caching plugin, and WP Rocket is the tool that I use for my websites and my clients’ sites. Currently the cost for a single website is $49/year, and in my opinion, it’s very worth it for the results. This is a paid service.

additional website support:

  • Ultimate Guide to Planning Your Next Website: There’s more to your website than just being pretty. If you’re looking for guidance on how to plan your business website, be sure to download a copy of this guide and checklist. This is a free resource.
  • Questions to Ask When Hiring a Website Developer: By simply asking your prospective developers the right questions, you can significantly improve the likelihood that your website journey will be as smooth as possible, and leave you with a website that will effectively support your growing business. This checklist gives you the questions you should be asking. This is a free resource.
  • Monthly Website Maintenance Checklist: Setting aside a bit of time every month to review and tweak your website needed will help your site run more smoothly. So, to help you stay on top of your maintenance, I’ve put together a checklist for you. This is a free resource.
  • Websites 101 Facebook Group: In the brand new Websites 101 group on Facebook, you’ll join other course creators, coaches, creatives and non-techies to ask questions, support each other and learn how to create a website that converts traffic into clients. This is a free resource.
  • WordPress Health Checkup: Once you’ve created an attractive, effective and conversion-driving website, you can’t forget the importance of regular checkups to ensure it’s being well-maintained. Monitoring and maintaining your website’s security and page speed is an important step in the website creation process that so many business owners fail to take. This is a paid service.
  • Website Support Plans: Whether you’re DIY’ing your site, or you had it professionally built, chances are that you’re going to need help, either periodically or on a regular basis. We’re here to jump in and help you with the tasks that require technical expertise beyond your comfort level. This is a paid service.