WordPress Plugins

• Formidable Forms Pro

  Versatile forms plugin with database storage, conditional logic, registration, and the best support I’ve seen anywhere. Much cheaper than Gravity Forms. See my Formidable Forms vs. Gravity Forms comparison.

• The Events Calendar

  The free version is solid out of the box for simple to use events listings and calendar. The Pro version is worth the money for extra features and very good support.

• WordPress SEO

  This is the best SEO plugin out there for WordPress. I’ve got a basic WordPress SEO primer here.

• Membership Plugins Comparison

  Spreadsheet of popular membership plugins and what they can and can’t do.

Hosting

• Flywheel $15/month

  Good value in the up-and-coming managed WordPress hosting space. They have one-click staging sites in Beta currently, but can be turned on for your account if you ask. Free migrations, auto-backups, nice interface, and super-friendly, competent support.

• MediaTemple WordPress Hosting $20/month

  At $20/month for 2 installations this plan also represents good value with some nice security features. Similar speeds to Flywheel, but not as fast as WP Engine. Note that you cannot use their CDN with SSL/https on this plan. If you need more installs you can scale up to 10 sites for $60/month.

• WP Engine Personal Plan $29/month

  One of the first to offer WordPress-specific hosting, and their servers are fast. The Personal Plan gets you one WordPress install, but you can add another for an additional fee if necessary. Plus, the Personal Plan now offers SSL support – using their own certificates with SNI – which is perfect for most sites. (If you have a lot of IE8 users, please look into it). If you need a dedicated IP or a third-party certificate, you’ll have to fork over $99/month for their Professional plan which hosts up to 10 WordPress installs.

• SiteGround GoGeek Plan $15/month

  What SiteGround lacks in blazing fast speed, they make up for in solid features such as staging sites, email, solid performance, and fast customer service. If you’re on WordPress definitely go with their GoGeek plan as it is great value for what you’re getting.

• Namecheap.com

  Hassle-free domain name registrar that care about net neutrality and has excellent support. No up-selling, fair pricing.

Small Business Resources

• Wave Apps

  Accounting, invoices and estimates in one place. No monthly fees, accept credit card payments through Stripe, reconcile bank accounts, etc.

• Domai.nr

  Great way to find unique domain names that are actually available.