Essential WordPress Plugins
- BackUpWordPress – Keep your site safe with automated backups.
- Enable Media Replace – Allows you to replace media files.
- Health Check & Troubleshooting – To make sure all is well, and to help debug when there is a problem.
- Shortcoder – Add snippets of text or HTML to your pages and posts.
- Smart Slider 3 – Simple, flexible slider system.
- Super Socializer – Add sharing icons to your pages and posts.
- Wordfence Security – Helps keep the bad guys out of your site. This is the first plugin I always install.
Free WordPress Themes
- GeneratePress – My favorite theme right now! The premium version gives all the tools needed to create a great site, fast.
Website Health and Info
- DNS Checker – A bunch of tools.
- DNS Stuff – Check your DNS records.
- DNS Trails – See the history of DNS records.
- DownDetector – Learn about outages.
- Down For Everyone Or Just Me – Check if your site is working.
- Reverse DNS – See the domain of an IP address.
- SSL Certificate Decoder – See the contents of a .crt file.
- SSL Checker – Make sure your SSL certificates are OK.
- Talos Reputation Checker – IP reputation lookup.
- What’s My DNS? – Global DNS propagation checker.
- Whois – Look up domain name registration info.
Development & Documentation
- Color Calculator – Get colors matching a particular color.
- Color Palette Generator – Put in two colors and get a palette.
- Optimizilla – Online image compressor.
- RegExr – Create & test regular expressions, with a reference guide.
- Screen Shot Machine – Take screen shots of websites.
Email Tools
- DKIM Core – Validate DKIM records.
- IsNotSpam – Check your email message to see if it’s considered spam.
- Mail Tester – Test the spaminess of your email.
- MX Toolbox – Make sure your mail server settings are OK.
- SPF Wizard – Easily build your SPF record.
Security, Etc.
- Avast Hack Check – See if your accounts have been compromised.
- Gravity Scan – Malware and vulnerability scanner for any website.
- Is It Hacked? – Analyzes websites for infection.
- Sucuri – How to clean up a hacked WordPress site.
- What to do if your website is hacked – Guide from WordPress.
- WordPress Security Guide – From Sucuri.
Technical Resources
- WPScan – Website security scanner for Linux.
Other Stuff We Like
- FotoJet – Online photo editor.
- Cyber Background Checks – People search.
- TruePeopleSearch – Useful people search site. Don’t go too deep, it will lead to pay sites.
Examples of Beautiful Web Design
- Crystal Kayak – Kayak sales.
- Firewatch – Game site with great parallax effects.
- Flock Marketing – Kevin is an awesome designer.
- Logo Crisp – Online logo creator.
- Superior Sales – The flipping cards are really neat.
Plugin Development Resources
- Plugin Boilerplate Customizer – Quickly customize the boilerplate plugin.