Tools to Grow Your Business
- 10 steps to start your business: https://www.sba.gov/business-guide/10-steps-start-your-business
- 150 Free online business courses: http://www.openculture.com/business_free_courses
- 22 best business blogs to read to help grow your business: https://articles.bplans.com/the-22-best-blogs-to-help-grow-your-business-that-you-may-not-be-reading/
- 85 essential resources for business startups: https://articles.bplans.com/business-startup-tools-a-curated-list-of-our-favorite-tools-and-resources-to-build-your-company/
- Adobe reader (needed to download, open and read PDF documents): https://get.adobe.com/reader/
- Books to help you grow your business can be checked out from your local library via your Kindle device if your library participates. https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=200747550. Check to find out if your local library participates here: https://www.overdrive.com/libraries.
- Business cards at Moo (use our referral link to save on your first order): https://refer.moo.com/s/julie576
- Business plan and proposal templates (free!): https://www.bplans.com/downloads/
- Elevator pitch guide: https://articles.bplans.com/elevator-pitch-guide/
- Small Business Resource Center: https://smallbiztrends.com/small-business-resource-center
Business Advice on the Go
Business podcasts: https://soundcloud.com/bplans-podcast
Customer Service Help
Looking for help? Find help easier and faster by using this link: https://gethuman.com/
Cybersecurity
- Cryptomator protects, (encrypts), your files in the cloud for free: https://cryptomator.org
- Data breaches; check to see if your email has been hacked: https://haveibeenpwned.com
- https: Find out why it’s so important here https://howhttps.works/why-do-we-need-https/
- Password strength check: https://www.grc.com/haystack.htm will help you choose more secure passwords
- Website security to protect your business website from hackers and keep your customer’s information secure: https://all-techglobal.com/web-site-maintenance/
Digital Marketing Resources
- Analytics; Top 10 tools for tracking: https://articles.bplans.com/the-top-10-tools-for-tracking-your-web-metrics/
- Auto-responder emails at Aweber: https://aweber.com/?463316
- Calendars (Digital) for clients to schedule time with you: https://www.setmore.com and https://calendly.com.
- Content creation and strategy: https://all-techglobal.com/services/search-engine-optimization/content-strategy/
- Domain name; one of the first things you will need to secure in your digital marketing plan. Your website is “home base” for all of your digital marketing efforts, so choose wisely! We highly recommend NameCheap as almost every domain name you purchase from them comes with free, lifetime domain privacy. https://www.namecheap.com/?aff=88599
- Keyword research; find keywords using Google’s auto-complete feature: https://keywordtool.io/
- Keyword research Ubersuggest: https://neilpatel.com/ubersuggest/
- Mobile marketing guide: https://storage.googleapis.com/think/intl/ALL_uk/docs/Econsultancy-Mobile-Marketing-Short-Guide.pdf
- Search engine optimization: https://all-techglobal.com/services/search-engine-optimization/
- Social media marketing and sales: https://all-techglobal.com/services/digital-marketing/social-media/
- Website design (responsive and SEO optimized): https://all-techglobal.com/services/web-design-development/
Information Evaluation
How to evaluate information for credibility on the Internet: https://guides.library.jhu.edu/evaluate
Research
Find the ideal location for your business services and more at https://cbb.census.gov/sbe/#.
Secure Your Privacy
- Consumer Reports; 66 ways to protect your privacy right now: https://www.consumerreports.org/privacy/66-ways-to-protect-your-privacy-right-now
- Digital Security Guide: https://www.wired.com/2017/12/digital-security-guide/
- How to use Google’s privacy settings: https://www.consumerreports.org/privacy/how-to-use-google-privacy-settings
Browsers
Website Performance Tools
Hosting
- Site Ground is an excellent, inexpensive hosting provider with servers in several different countries. Excellent customer service, security and site speed. Read more web hosting reviews here. Are you an educator or in the field of education? If so, sign up for FREE hosting at SiteGround here: https://www.siteground.com/student-hosting.htm.
- WP Engine could be considered the ultimate in WordPress hosting. While it’s not cheap, you get what you pay for.
Site Security
- Check the validity of any SSL certificate: https://transparencyreport.google.com/https/certificates
- How safe is the site you’re about to visit? Find out here: https://safeweb.norton.com/
Scan any website for malware and blacklists
Scan site at Sucuri: https://sitecheck.sucuri.net
Site Speed and Performance
- AMP page tester: https://search.google.com/test/amp
- Analyze site speed and get recommendations for improvement: https://gtmetrix.com
- Mobile Friendly Test: https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/mobile-friendly
- Mobile site speed tester: https://testmysite.thinkwithgoogle.com/intl/en-us
- Page speed tester: https://developers.google.com/speed/pagespeed/insights/
- Site load speed test: https://performance.sucuri.net/
- Website down: https://down.com/
- Website grader at Hubspot: https://website.grader.com/
- Website performance: https://www.webpagetest.org/
- Who is hosting this site? https://www.whoishostingthis.com
Web Dev
- Cheat sheets, references & resources: https://alansimpson.me/html_css/cheatsheets/
Word Count
Ever wonder how many words are on your website? This tool makes it easy to figure out: https://wordcount.weglot.com/.