Stock Images
These are professional-grade photographs that are available for a range of purposes.
Sites with free stock images:
pexels.com
pngegg.com
unsplash.com
Graphic Tools
Canva.com – Simple to use interface with thousands of templates to use, background removal, and collaborative-edit feature. Both free and paid plans available.
Crello.com – I love their professional looking templates and their high-quality media assets.
Unfold.com – A mobile app to make your stories look more professional.
Image Optimization
Every image you put on your website MUST be optimized to make sure it doesn’t slow down the page! You can do this using a professional tool such as Photoshop, or use one of these free, web-based tools that I’ve grown to love!
tinypng.com – upload up to 20 images at once, with a maximum file size of 5MB. This site does an excellent job of reducing the file size while keeping the quality of the photos.
bulkresizephotos.com –Â this site resizes without needing to upload, so it can, like it’s name implies, do a bulk resize. You can choose how much of the image quality you want to keep (I keep it at 100%) and there are a few other options if you need to accomplish more than just reducing the actual size of the images. (It’s always best to upload a photo to your website as close to the actual size it will appear on screen so as to optimize loading times, so if a photo will appear at 400×400, there’s certainly no reason to load an image that’s 4000×4000!
File Storage
Google Drive – Easily create folders for storage and sharing, create sheets (like Excel), slides (think Powerpoint), and word documents (well, like Word😉 ). Every Google account comes with 15GB of free storage; upgrade to Google Workforce and get even more space!
Dropbox – The user experience with Dropbox has definitely improved over the years. File folders can be created with relative ease, with subfolders as well. They’ve even simplified file sharing / file requests.
Project Management
Trello – Trello users create boards, lists, and cards. Boards can be shared by an unlimited number of team members or collaborators.
Asana – My favorite app for project management. Can be used kanban-style (like Trello) or with lists. Assign tasks, due dates, and even connect one list/board to another. The possibilities are endless!
Google Sheets – This one is the all-around favorite, and most-used, among my team and my clients. It’s easily accessible and connected to your Google account, so no need to create another account elsewhere.
Websites
WordPress – Over 60% of websites are built on WordPress, and for good reason. It’s free, highly customizable and flexible – it is not tied to one platform, so if you decide to move web hosts you can take it with you.
Shopify – Perfect for e-commerce businesses. This platform that has everything you need to start, sell, market, and manage your business.
Yes, you can sell on WordPress and I have many clients who use WooCommerce on WordPress, but for the startup, DIYer, Shopify is a much easier platform to get started on. Whichever platform you choose, even if you will be building and maintaining the websites yourself, it’s highly advisable to find a reliable developer to consult with about the different choices available. I’ve seen too many people waste too much valuable time (which of course translates to lost money) by trying to start off with a free theme, or not sizing pictures properly, or one of a hundred other things that, if done right to begin with, would save tons of headaches and get their stores up and running and making money much quicker!
If you are thinking of getting started and don’t have someone already to go over your plans with, I’m here for you! Get your ideas down and book a call with me. I promise you’ll have much more clarity after our call!