For any new blogger finding the best blogging tools & resources can be a challenge if you don’t know where to find.
Blogging Tools and Resources for new bloggers are like essentials because they help you grow your blog. I use a lot of these resources myself so thought why not share this with you guys.
None of these links or resources are affiliates, not am I making any money out of this post. Just some good Karma. That’s like my theme for this year’s #MYFriendAlexa.
Okay, so you have decided to start a Lifestyle Blog and have Designed your own Logo for the blog. Let’s make the blog pretty and robust!
Okay, so what are we looking for here? What Resources are you yapping about?
Do you remember those computer application classes in school (if you are a 2002-2004 pass out, you will get it). We learned designing webpages on HTML! Please, they looked hideous! Mine did at least. We have come a long way. You don’t need to know designing, coding blah blah blah to run a smooth robust blog.
This post is about Blogging Tools & Resources to make your blog pretty. The next post will be about some essential plugins that you might need.
Best Blogging Tools & Resources for new bloggers in 2020
#1 Get some Themes for your Blog, half the work is done
If your platform is on Wordpress and you have a domain you have loads of options even in free themes. I would suggest buying a theme for your blog if you are serious about it, else pick a free theme with a clean design.
The secret to good design ANYWHERE – is it being user friendly, and clean. Remember Less is More.
Here are a few places you can get a theme for your blog. Upload it in your themes section and you are good to go. But, always keep a backup first, then do tweaks on your blog, if its not a new blog.
- Creative Market – Looking for chic themes, visit them, register and get free goods too!
- Evanto Market – It is like THE place for web related stuffs – themes, social media packs, UI, graphics – you name it they have it. It’s the place Graphic Designers visit!
- Wordpress.org – Or just check Wordpress, they have some clean themes too, but you can face customization limitations.
#2 Visual Content Generation
If “content is king” then the crown jewels are visual content.
A blog will look pretty when you have a good mix of text and photos. Try to take your own photos in good lighting else use some stock photos. But just putting up a standard stock photo is not enough. Try and make engaging visual content. These online Blogging Tools and Resources will be very helpful, believe me.
You need to upload images in correct sizes for each platform so that when they are shared you get the best out of it. Leave the size customization to these apps and sites!
- Canva – Like I even need to say, everyone knows Canva – its super easy and you practically need to just drag and drop. You have all the possible formats and sizes found under the sun in Canva. I use it too sometimes.
- PicMonkey – Just start a Free Trial and start using it. You can even edit photos for Instagram or your Blog
- Snappa – It’s very similar to Canva. Have lots of free images in the library too
- PiktoChart – If you want to make pictorials, infographics, statistics, data for your post please use this.
#3 Stock Photos
I love using stock photos! I really love them. When I am not creating my own photos, I just use stock photos. Easy! There are few places where I hardly use stock photos – like my Instagram. I like to take credit of my photos on my Feed, so it is stock photo free. But for the blog – please use as much.
You can find photos of all kinds of categories in some of these stock photo sites. But use them the correct way.
- Give credit – wherever required.
- No need to credit if photos are under CC0 licensing – check when you download
- If you have a food blog and do recipes – DO NOT use stock photos – use your own photos
- If you review products for a lifestyle blog, beauty blog – use your own photos
- Travel reviews – use own photos
If you are doing a general post, article post where you are not doing a review – please use stock photos.
Here are some sites that will help you.
You might also like: 13 Best Free Stock Photo Sites
- Unsplash
- Pexels
- Pixabay
- Stocksnap.io
- Freestocks.org
- FoodiesFeed (for Food Bloggers)
#4 Feminine Stock Photos
Pic Courtesy – Elle Drouin
I absolutely love white flat lays! It is so soothing t the eyes. If you are someone who likes feminine stock photos, look for memberships or freebies in the below-mentioned places.
- Haute Stock
- Pixistock
- Styled Stock Society
- Shutterstock (no free Photos)
- Adobe Creative Stock (no free Photos)
- Create Her Stock
- Ivory Mix
There you go, here’s all that you need to make your blog pretty and chic. Other stuff, you might want to do is create a to-do list on Excel and have it open all the time – works better than a notebook and a pen (for me, at least), good music ( I like to listen to music while writing) and a hot cuppa, or just water!
Now tell me are you enjoying my Blogging Tips series? Tell me what do you want to know more, so that I can prepare a post on it.
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I am sharing some Blogging Tips & Tricks that I practice. Hoping you will enjoy it.
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32 comments
Woww that’s quite an informative and detailed blog for new as well as old bloggers
This one is a handy blog.. keeping it for future reference.. thank you for writing this one.
This is such an informative post! A good theme goes a long way. Visual content is also very important. Canva has become my favorite. Definitely trying out the variety of tools and techniques you have enlisted here.
This is great…I am not a new blogger yet I tend to skip the visual content part of my posts. So this is good, I will bookmark this page.
Man this is one epic list that’s good for bloggers. Thanks for crafting this so everyone can reap the benefits out of it.
Woopie . Just the post I was looking for to make my life easy. Always stuck for images, now I know where to look for it
Tina, you have made it so easy for new bloggers! What a helpful post this is! Yes, a theme is very important and getting the right one is a big plus. Your blog is proof of that! Love it!
This is a very useful piece of writing that is going to be a reference point in the future. Bookmarking it for future use.
I totally agree with you that a good theme does half of the work on your blog. Also, thank you for sharing stock photos sites as I am always in search of good photos.
Thanks for the helpful post!
A good and interactive theme is the key of blog’s visibility and easy reading. I see many blogs that hamper the reading experience due to so many unwanted fliers and banners. Lovely post, Tina.
A very helpful post for new bloggers. I use many of the resources you shared but will try others too.
This is s complete list for all of us, liked the feminine picture websites mention, shall check them out.
Tina, this is yet another helpful post for all the bloggers and like the way you listed all websites for all of us.
Thanks for sharing these. I’m quite sure these resources would be helpful for newbies!
I like how you are building this up. In the previous post, it was about logos, now other tools to get started. Looks like all these posts combined can give any beginners a good direction to get started with their blogging journey.
Great post with good resources listed here. Useful for all the bloggers.
wow this is a list.. thank you for sharing so mich information and making my life easy
Very useful and informative posts for new and established bloggers. I learned a lot about the newer tools from your post. Thanks!
Thanks for sharing this helpful and informative post. I am sharing this article with my few friends. This will definitely going to help them
I write too & this is really help full . I personally use word press & CANVA . I have personally started writing in this pandemic & there must be few more people . Thank you for sharing . Please write on word press & SEO .
Such a helpful blog.i use Canva & picsart for picture editing thanks for mentioning other apps will give it a try!
This is an immense share and thanks for making it easier for so many folks including tips and tricks for some of the more old timers. Thanks for being so generous with your knowledge
Nice tips. I do use pexels and pixabay a few times though I prefer using my own photos most of the time. Will definitely pin this for later reference.
Wow this post has a wealth of information. Blogging keeps changing at the drop of a hat and so do the tools used to optimise one’s blogging experience, however, this list is a comprehensive one to have at hand.
This blog is very helpful for budding bloggers… u r right is content is the kind than images and visual content is also very very crucial to make the blog appealing to the readers.
These are such useful tools for blogging. I am definitely going to use them and let you know the results.
This is indeed a helpful post for all planning to blog, sharing it with some friends, I hope they find it useful too
I have been blogging since 2006 and I have been using many blogging tools and resources you’ve mentioned in this post. The list is certainly useful for bloggers 🙂
Canva is one of my most favorite applications that help and make the designing process so easy.
excellent resources – i had no idea of these different sites and will bookmark this for future reference and use.
This has been a good and helpful series Tina. and as always, well written and with the most pretty and attractive images. I need to learn this skill from you of always selecting the right and nicest pictures and photos for your posts 🙂
This will be very helpful not only for new bloggers but many out there who have been blogging for a while now.