Stuff
This page is full of products that I not only use, but like enough to recommend to others. Whether it’s a Web hosting service or an awesome book, if I like it enough, I’ll recommend it here.
A couple of things: first, some of these links will be affiliate links, which means if you buy or sign up, I get a few dollars. Second, I will never, ever recommend a product I don’t love and use. I’ve been to too many places where they recommend crappy stuff just to make a few bucks, and I hate it. I’d rather not make a nickel than turn you on to bad products.
Here’s some of the stuff I love:
Clicky Web Analytics: this is how I track the visitors to this site, and a number of others I own. With Clicky, I can track who comes to my blog, where they come from, what they do, and where they go next. There’s all kinds of useful information about my readers, and it’s infinitely useful in figuring out how to better address readers’ needs. There’s a great free option, and an even better paid option for a few bucks a month.
Thesis Theme: I used the Thesis Theme for Wordpress for a long time, and I can’t recommend it highly enough. It’s an optimized, clean theme that works perfectly right out of the box if you’ve got no coding know-how, and is incredibly customizable if you’re into that. The theme keeps getting better and better, and if you get in now, you’ll get free upgrades for life. If you ever buy a Wordpress theme, buy Thesis.
Dreamhost: Dreamhost is a popular Web hosting service, and every site I own and run runs on Dreamhost. A great host is one you never notice, because you don’t have to, and Dreamhost definitely fits that bill. Dreamhost can install Wordpress or other software onto your site automatically, has great support and even better reliability, and simply works. Well worth the $8/month to host my own site.
Dropbox: Who doesn’t know about my love affair with Dropbox? It’s a way to keep all your important files backed up, in sync, and constantly available anywhere there’s an Internet connection. Using Dropbox means I don’t have to worry about backups, or hard drive crashes, or flash drives – everything I need is synced, backed up, and available to me at all times.
