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A domain name is a name and URL that represents your website’s presence on the internet. Domain names are unique and can be registered with a domain registrar. Once you register your domain name, you can ‘claim’ your part of the internet. You can use your domain name for your website address, email address, or both (which most people tend to do).

If you’ve made a start on creating your own website, you won’t be able to publish any of the content without a domain name. When you sign up to a great web host, you’ll need to provide your domain name (or buy one) to launch your website. Without a domain name, your web host’s servers have nothing to reference.

Some web hosts actually offer domain names for free, but we’ll come back to that in a moment.

Even if you haven’t started building your website yet, it’s worth getting a domain name. Maybe you’ve been sat down watching TV having a coffee and inspiration has sparkled. If it has, don’t wait around! Domain names are like gold dust, so if you’ve thought of a good one, grab it whilst you can.

Web hosts like BlueHost give you a domain for FREE when you sign up to web hosting. It doesn’t matter which package you go for, starting from £2.25 per month, you’ll get unlimited web hosting and a domain name.

Different Levels of Domain

Okay so this may sound like it’s going to be confusing, but I promise you it’s not. I’m going to use my own website as an example in explaining this one. When you, or anyone else, visits my website, you’ll type in http://www.ukwebhostreview.com and you’ll land here. The whole URL is known as the web address.

Top-Level Domain

The top-level domain is the part after the dot. In the case of our website, it’s .com and in the case of the example above it is too. There are plenty of top-level domains to choose from which I’m sure you’re aware of. Government websites will often have a top-level domain of .gov and non-profit organisations will have .org.

Most top-level domains (TLDs) are used to represent where a website or business is located. If your target market is based in the U.K. it’s worth having a .co.uk domain. TLDs like .ca and .us also tend to represent the location. If your business isn’t location-specific or you want to attract a wider audience-base then .com is a safe bet to go for.

Second-Level Domain

The second-level domain is located left of the dot. This is also simply known as the domain name. Like I mentioned earlier, this represents the identity of the individual’s website, business, or what it does. My own website represents what I do and what my website is about. Second-level domains should be memorable and easy to type so that visitors don’t end up navigating somewhere else.

Domain Name Usage

According to Singapore Data Company, there are estimated to be 137 million .com domains registered. Around 1/3 are in use and contain relevant content and 1/3 appear to be unused. There’s also a 1/3 that seem to be in ‘limbo’, used for other purposes that they’ve speculated.

In 2016 Verisign reported 334.6 million registered domain names. The registration of these TLDs had increased around 7.9 million from the previous quarter. This represented a growth of around 38.2 million domain names each year. Unfortunately, it’s very hard to get completely accurate figures regarding registered domain names.

Registering a Domain

When you register a domain name, it will be regulated by Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). You can actually use the ICANN website to locate a domain name registrar and register a domain with them. The cost of doing so will depend on the TLD and the registrar that you choose.

Registering a domain name can be done in a number of ways. Like I mentioned earlier, you can register a domain with your chosen web host. Most web hosts will offer domain names at competitive prices as they can sell them onto you for discounted prices. As you’ve already seen, many of them offer domains for free as part of your web hosting package. But, you don’t have to use a web host if you want to register a domain.

There are plenty of domain name registrars that are independent to web hosting or other services. The main reason web hosts or web development/design companies sell domain names is because it makes sense to get everything together. You’ll need to create your website (or use a website builder), purchase web hosting and a domain name in order to make your website live.

I’ll let you into a little secret. You can get domain names for free from certain domain name registrars.

Step-by-step to Register a Domain

Registering a domain name is pretty simple once you know what you’re doing. To ensure that you know how to register a domain name, I’ve put together a simple step-by-step guide.

1. Choose your domain name registrar or web host. If you’re feeling a little stuck as to where to go, you can check ICANN’s list of domain registrars who they deem reputable.
2. Check your domain name. Your domain name registrar or hosting service will have a domain search function. This tool will check whether your chosen domain name is available. If your domain name isn’t available, they may suggest some alternative domain names to give you some inspiration.
3. Provide your details. When you register a domain name, you will probably be asked for some personal details. This is completely normal and your details will be registered against the WHOIS database. You can select whether your profile is public or private, however, you may have to pay to keep your details private (which I recommend).
4. Purchase your domain. When you’re ready to go ahead with your domain name, you’ll need to pay for it. Most domain name registrars or web hosting will allow you to register your domain for a certain amount of time. This is usually 1 year, but some allow 2 years or more. Prices will depend on your TLD and how ‘valuable’ your domain name is considered.
5. Link your domain. In order for your website to be visible online, you’ll need to link your domain name to it. Domain name registrars and web hosts will have the tools you need to do this. Most of them will have FAQs if you’re not sure how to proceed.

Why it’s useful to have a Registered Domain

Apart from the obvious, there are several advantages to having a registered domain name. In some cases, you won’t have to register a domain name for your website to be accessible on the internet. Some companies like website builders will offer sub-domains as part of their free packages. For example, Wix has a free plan where you create and host a website for free. They will provide you with a sub-domain that looks something like http://www.mywebsite.wix.com.

1. Looks professional. Having a registered domain name (as oposed to a sub-domain) looks professional and adds credibility to your site. Sub-domains are known to be offered for free and therefore don’t look very credible.
2. Easy to find. A domain name makes it easier for visitors and potential visitors to find your website. Regardless of whether you change website builder, web developer, or web host, your domain name stays the same.
3. Email address. Registering a domain name often means you’ll be able to get a professional email address for your site. If a customer visits your site and wants to contact you, it looks a lot better if they can email you with a recognisable domain name.

Cost of Domain Names

Now that we’ve covered what a domain name is and where to get one, it’s worth talking about the cost of registering a domain. As I mentioned earlier, you can actually get a domain name for free, but there may be restrictions on length of term, TLD etc.

If you’re serious about registering a domain name with a reputable registrar or web host, let’s understand the cost behind it:

• Choice of TLD
• Length of words or word combinations
• Length of registration term
• Extras
• Domain auctions

Above are some factors which can affect the cost of your domain. Certain TLDs may be more expensive to register than others. Often .com domains are more costly because they are more sought after. This is also the case when using popular words or keywords within your domain name.

When you register a domain name, you’ll be asked for the length of time you want to register it for. If you’re confident about your domain, it’s worth registering it for the longest time possible. On average, you’re looking at anywhere between 99p and £9.99 to register a domain name for a 12 month period.

If you want to protect your WHOIS privacy, most registrars will allow you to do this at an additional cost. This is entirely at the discretion of the domain registrar but usually comes in at around £5.99. As I said before, I really recommend protecting your privacy.

Unfortunately sometimes your perfect domain name can already be taken. There are a range of domain name auction sites out there, as well as domain registrars. You can often find the domain name you want but may have to bid on it or buy it outright at a high cost.

What is an SSL Certificate?

Do you remember Netscape? If you’ve been around the tech space since the 90’s, then you might remember Google’s humble predecessor – Netscape, the creator of the original SSL Protocol. 

Netscape released the first SSL (Secure Socket Layer) certificates in 1995. As the name suggests, SSL certificates are used to make internet transactions more secure. Without this extra security layer the internet is like an unprotected safe that anyone can access. Cyber security is essential for keeping online transactions safe and to protect your data against threats. 

When people talk about SSL certificates in 2019 they are normally referring to Transport Layer Security (TLS), the protocol that is now used to keep us safe online.

How do SSL Certificates Work?

An SSL certificate is a code that is used to encrypt the data traveling from a server to a browser. The server sends the key and if accepted the data that is sent is protected by encryption. Basically that means that all of the digits sent over a secure (SSL) connection are jumbled in a way that only a computer can understand. Making the data transfer hard, if not impossible to make sense of. 

Initially his type of security was only used with logins and shopping carts, before being adopted more widely as people became aware of cyber threats and the requirement for data sent over the web to be secure.

What is the Difference between TLS and SSL?

TLS has evolved by building on the initial SSL specifications developed by Netscape. Both security methods use encryption and appear as the prefix “HTTPS” when seen in a URL.

 The two parts of a TLS are as follows:-

1. TLS Handshake Layer – Performed once in a session selects encryption method (cipher) to use.

2. TLS record layer – Gathers and encrypts data prior to sending through encrypted tunnel.

TLS replaced the SSL protocol back in 1999 to make it free and available for everyone to use. Prior to this Netscape owned the SSL protocol. However, most people still refer to TLS as SSL.

SSL certificates have come a long way since their release in 1995. We are now on TLS v1.2 and the SSL protocol is being phased out. SSL certificates still work in most browsers, but they will be deprecated and replaced with TLS in the near future.

What is HTTP/ HTTPs?

Http means HyperText Transfer Protocol and is the mechanics behind sending information over the internet. “Http” appears as the suffix before a domain name (http://www.sitename.com). When there is an “s” at the end of http, for example https://ift.tt/1mDXID7 then the data is being sent over a secure (encrypted) tunnel. The “s” stands for secure.

An increasing amount of websites are choosing to encrypt their whole website. While previously an SSL certificate was only used to keep specific data secure. There are many reasons for companies to make this choice, not least the fact that people are becoming more aware of cybercrime and demanding website owners to use secure connections. Also there has been some whispers of Google favouring secure sites, making using an SSL certificate a good idea for search engine optimization (SEO).

Pro’s and Con’s of using an SSL/ TLS Certificates on your website

Pros

• Protect sensitive data such as credit card details and emails
• Keep data, whether verbal or written from being intercepted by intruders
• Stop unwanted adverts from being injected onto websites
• Increased trust from customers
• Required for PCI Compliance
• Prevents a warning that states the site is not secure, which could make customers turn away.
• Prevents Formjacking 

A good SSL certificate will also provide authentication so that imposters cannot “formjack” your website. Formjacking is when a hacker creates a form that looks like it is on your site to gather payment or sensitive data. Instead of the money going to you, the hacker intercepts the transaction with their own payment form that takes payment or details.

Https is great for SEO

Google has now confirmed the correlation between HTTPS and a higher ranking on their search engines. This relationship was backed up by a study carried out by Brian Dean of Backlinko.com. In the study 1 million Google searches were analysed by Eric Van Buskirk to find out what factors meant that sites would appear on the first page of Google. Having an SSL certificate was found to help boost rankings.

Cons of SSL Certificates

Now that it is so easy to install free SSL certificates with many hosting providers, we need to decide if there are any disadvantages to installing a SSL certificate on your own website. Realistically there are not many, however there are a few very minor downsides to installing an SSL certificate on your site as follows: 

• Cost – it is now easier than ever to get a free SSL certificate, however the gold standard EV certificates do come at a cost.
• Performance – Due to the extra authentication step required, SSL certificates can make websites take a bit longer to load.
• Some older browsers don’t support SSL certificates (See below)

Types of SSL Certificate

There are several types of SSL certificate to choose from. Depending on your website requirements, you’ll want to select the appropriate SSL certificate. An SSL certificate is issued by a third party security company and as well as having an added “s” in the browser bar a secure site will show a padlock next to the domain name.

Some certificates are cheap and issued immediately, whereas others like EV take 3-5 days to be activated. SSL certificates come in either 128-, 256-, or 2048-bit encryption. The rule when choosing an SSL certificate is select the highest level of encryption that you can afford. 

There are three main types of SSL as follows:

1. Domain Validation (DV)

2. Organization Validation (OV)

3. Extended Validation (EV)

4. SAN/UC certs

5. Wildcard Certificates

Domain Validation (DV) – Basic

DV is an affordable SSL certificate designed for info/ non-ecommerce and test sites. DV is the cheapest of SSL certificates and is issued immediately in most cases. DV SSL certificates are normally cheap or free thanks to the Let’s Encrypt program.

Organization Validation (OV) – Good 

OV is used by eCommerce stores and is issued in around about 24hrs. OV SSL certificates come with 128-, 256-, or 2048-bit encryption. As the name suggests OV is used to validate business details and is a more trusted solution when compared to DV.

Extended Validation (EV) – Premium

EV SSL certificates are used for eCommerce sites, sensitive data and increased customer trust. This is the gold standard of online trust used by banks and massive websites like Twitter. EV offers 2048-bit encryption and a green bar to reassure customers that the website is safe and their data is protected.

SAN/UC certs

SAN/UC certs are used by people who have several domains that they want to secure. These multi-domain SSL certificates save time and money. They can be used on as many domains as your provider allows.

Wildcard Certificates

Wildcard Certificates are extremely easy to deploy and perfect if you have several subdomains on your site. Wildcard Certificates come in both DV and OV, however unfortunately there are no EV wildcards.

Where do I buy an SSL Certificate?

SSL certificates are issued by a Certificate Authority (CA) and can normally be purchased through your hosting provider. Some hosting providers offer a free SSL certificate tool called Let’s Encrypt. Let’s Encrypt was launched in 2014 to provide free DV SSL certificates.

In the future all legitimate sites will be protected at least by the basic DV SSL certificate.  Let’s Encrypt made some great headway in the free SSL certificate for all websites arena and is continuing to do so. Now a newer initiative, launched in 2016 is leading the way. The new project is called Encryption Everywhere and was developed by Symantec, the leading digital security company.  

What is an SSL Certificate Authority?

SSL certificates are issued digitally by a certificate authority or certification authority (CA). A CA is a trusted third party that issues certificates for a specific purpose, normally to secure connections over the World Wide Web. The most popular SSL certificate provider with 39.7% of the market share is IdenTrust, closely followed by Comodo who own 34.9% of the market share. You can normally get an SSL certificate from your hosting provider.

What SSL Certificates are not good for…

Although SSL certificates are great they can’t protect against all Identity breaches. Identity breaches are a huge issue for both businesses and consumers and 63% of breaches are due to a weak password. SSL certificates won’t protect users from weak passwords, so always ensure that you use secure passwords on your account and take measures to help your website members do so. The average cost of identity breach is a massive $3.7M.

Another instance where an SSL certificate won’t provide you with security is when the data reaches your server. To protect the data on your server you’ll need server side protection. Some servers come with built in server side encryption. If you are storing sensitive data on your server then look for a server with server side encryption that meets the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES-256).

Some Browsers Don’t Support SSL Certificates

It is important to note that some older browsers don’t support SSL certificates. This means you’re your website cannot be accessed on these older browsers. Below I have outlined some of these out dated browsers

Unsupported browsers include: 

• Google Chrome (older than version 6)
• Internet (older than version 7)
• Firefox (older than version 2.0)
• Safari (older than version 2.1)
• All Internet Explorer versions on Windows XP

Unsupported mobile browsers include:

• Safari browsers ( iOS version older than 4.0)
• Android browsers ( older than 3.0 (Honeycomb)
• Windows Phone browsers ( version older than 7)

Is an SSL Certificate Free?

The great news is YES, you can get a free SSL certificate within minutes. Several domain and hosting providers offer free SSL certificates. We’ve listed our top 5 hosting providers that offer FREE SSL certificates below

If you’re trying to find an easy way to build your WordPress website, we’ve put together the best WordPress page builders and compared them. WordPress page builder plugins are super handy if you want a professional-looking website FAST!

WordPress page builders enable you to create, edit and customise your website without the need to learn code. But with the amount of page builder plugins available, how will you know which is the best one to use? That’s why we’ve taken the time to install each page builder plugin mentioned in this article to give you an honest and unbiased opinion of it.

Why use a drag and drop page builder for WordPress?

If you’ve never created a blog or website before, building your website from scratch can be overwhelming. Although WordPress is a powerful place to build a website, it can take sometime to learn. Even now I still struggle with elements of it and I’ve been using it for years.

When you download a theme from WordPress or other sources, customising it can be difficult without any coding knowledge. When you’ve used other website builders like Wix and Weebly, you may wish that WordPress had drag and drop functionality.

Although WordPress isn’t a drag and drop website builder, you can install plugins that make it so. As you can imagine, because WordPress is open-source, there’s plenty of great (and not so great) plugins available. This is why I felt the need to compare them! Below is a list of the best drag and drop page builders for WordPress (in no particular order).

What about WordPress block editor (Gutenberg)?

The WordPress block editor (also known as Gutenberg), recently became WordPress’s default editor. As the name suggests, the block editor uses blocks (or elements) that you can drag and drop onto your site.

People seem to be questioning whether the block editor counts as a page builder in itself. If so, would there be any need for other drag and drop page builder plugins?

If you’re looking to create beautifully designed WordPress websites and layouts, my suggestion is to use a page builder plugin. The block editor, although good, isn’t a match for the list below.

Potentially in the future you could combine some plugins with Gutenberg and not have to spend money on a drag and drop editor. However, in its current state, I would suggest using one of the recommended plugins below.

#1: Divi

Divi is a plugin for WordPress that combines a drag and drop theme creator and page builder. Divi is incredibly easy to use which is why I love it so much (and recommend it). There’s well over 20 templates to get started with to kickstart your inspiration.

Divi is a perfect option for beginners due to its WYSIWYG nature. It’s visual editor makes it easy to get started on any website in minutes. Whilst you’re developing your site, you can preview all of your work immediately without having to save drafts and click on separate previews.

There’s almost 50 content modules to play around with (and use of course). You can drag and drop these anywhere on the layout of your site, and remove them in the same way. You can customise each element and there’s even advanced settings if you’re feeling adventurous.

One the features I find unique about Divi is the fact you can save layouts for later use. If you’ve created something that you love but don’t want to use it right now, simply save your Divi layout and retrieve it another time.

Although the Divi builder supports the Divi theme, you can use it with any WordPress theme making it very versatile.

For just $89 per year, you’ll have unlimited access to Divi, Extra, Bloom, Monarch and more. Alternatively if you want lifetime access it will cost you $249 as a one off fee. This is easily one of the most affordable page builder plugins on the market.

#2: Elementor

You’ve probably heard of Elementor before. It’s extremely popular for many WordPress users. Elementor is a live drag and drop page builder. You can see your changes in real-time as you’re creating and editing your website.

Creating sections is really easy. All you need to do is choose the number of columns for each section and get cracking! The drag and drop functionality is pretty self explanatory. A selection of widgets are available to use; simply drag and drop them onto your site.

One of Elementor’s defining features for me is the extent of their widgets. There’s SO many to choose from including basic text widgets, sliders, testimonials, icons and social media. You can customise each widget within its own settings, as well as using third party widgets. By third party I mean other plugins that aren’t Elementor.

Much like Divi, Elementor comes with a selection of templates to start building from. If you’re stuck for inspiration, these are a good place to start. You can edit any of the elements on the templates or replace them with a choice of your own.

Elementor does have a FREE version, but it’s limited. You’ll have access to 30 basic widgets and the page builder, but nothing else. The pro version starts from $49 per year for 1 site. Or $99 per year for 3 sites. If you want to use Elementor on up to 1,000 sites it will cost you $199 which is only slightly less than Divi’s unlimited lifetime plan.

#3: Beaver Builder

Beaver Builders is pretty great from the offset. There’s an onboarding tour to get you stared so you can quickly learn the interface. The premium page builder is very fast and powerful and boasts a live drag and drop interface.

As with some other drag and drop page builders, you can see your changes as you make them. I found it was really easy to use, dragging and dropping elements from the sidebar. You can also customise any of the elements by clicking on them to make them more to your own liking.

Regardless of what you want to use Beaver Builder for, there’s elements to suit almost every user. From sliders to carousels, buttons to content blocks. You’ll find over 30 templates to get you started if you want something pre-built.

Beaver Builder is compatible with the latest version of WordPress (which is always a relief). You can try out a live demo of Beaver Builder before you buy it. The standard plan will cost you $99 but won’t include Beaver Builder themes or be multisite capable. The Pro version costs $199 and Agency costs $399.

#4: Visual Composer

Visual Composer‘s site builder is very user friendly and offers a simple drag and drop tool. You can use the available elements to build your website the way you want it.

It offers a front end editor so you can see your changes as you make them. Unlike any of the other plugins mentioned in this list so far, Visual Composer gives you the option of advanced editing. You can edit your logo, headers and footers, menus and more.

When you drag and drop an element on your site, you can edit the element. This allows you to customise anything in the way you want to. The editor itself is easy to use and understand. You can add and edit backgrounds, carousels, slideshows, videos etc.

I’ve used Visual Composer with many WordPress themes and can vouch for its compatibility. You can switch and change themes without worrying about losing your data. There’s support for the new Gutenberg editor, Yoast SEO, and Google Fonts.

Visual Composer have a free version of their plugin which gives you lifetime access but of course has limitations. Pricing plans start from $59 per year which gives you access for one website, premium elements, templates etc. For 3 websites it will cost you $149, or $349 for agencies with unlimited websites.

#5: Themify

Themify is actually a theme shop where you can purchase said themes. Themify Builder is included with all themes but you can install it separately as a solo page builder.

Themify Builder has a selection of pre-built modules to get you started with straight away. My experience of it is that it’s very intuitive and easy to use. My only real gripe with it is that a lot of the modules require you to install other plugins for them to work.

Themify comes with over 40 layouts that are ready to use. Of course you can customise them, but if you want something out of the box, it’s there for the taking. There’s plenty of versatility, with themes covering gyms, restaurants and even online stores.

Themify Builder is quick to get the hang of. You can build landing pages within minutes and get your site live in a few simple steps. Similar to Divi, you can make changes to your site in the live environment. I’ve never had any issues with Themify and found it to be very reliable.

The Themify Builder is free to download and works with any WordPress theme. If you want a theme to go with it, 1 theme will cost $59 and offer 1 year support. If you want a bit more for your money the Master Club will cost you $89 and comes with 42 themes, photoshop files, plugins and more. The Lifetime Club costs $249 and as it says on the tin, lasts a lifetime.

#6: SiteOrigin

SiteOrigin is one of the more popular site builder plugins, statistically. It has over 1 million active installations as it offers a responsive drag and drop page builder experience that’s easy to use. When I’ve used SiteOrigin, regardless of the device I was using, the page builder ensured the layout was responsive (great for SEO).

One of the main reasons SiteOrigin is so popular is because it’s free. Who doesn’t love free?! Some users have reported that they’ve struggled with getting used to the plugin to begin with, but once you get used to it there shouldn’t be any issues.

With SiteOrigin you can use WordPress’s own widgets to your hearts desire. The plugin comes with a few of its own widgets too, but you can install any others should you wish. One of my favourite features of SiteOrigin is the history tool. You can undo and redo changes you’ve made so you don’t have to worry about losing any work.

The Best WordPress Page Builder Plugins

Comparing the best page builder plugins for WordPress was very enjoyable. I mean, at times it wasn’t easy, as they all have really good points to them. Going through each one, the clear winner for me has to be Divi.

Divi is ideal for beginners and experts alike. There’s plenty of content modules, templates, and their drag and drop functionality is one of the best. A lifetime licence will cost you $249 and gives you some awesome features. If you’re building lots of sites, I’d highly recommend it.

That being said, I certainly wouldn’t dismiss the other drag and drop page builder plugins. They all have their own unique features which may suit some users better than others. They are most definitely worth a look at, even if you opt for a free version (or trial if they offer it).

So, that’s it – the best WordPress Page Builders compared (for 2019 so far). I’m going to keep my eyes peeled and will keep testing out and installing plugins throughout the year. If things change or if I discover anything new, I’ll be sure to update this list.

Choosing a domain name can sometimes be the most difficult part of building a website. A domain name should be memorable but should also reflect what your brand or business represents. Unfortunately, a lot of the time you’ll spend hours figuring out your domain name only to find the name isn’t available. Sometimes it will be available for .co.uk but not for .com. You then have to go back to square one.

But, the good news is choosing a domain name doesn’t have to take forever. I’ve searched high and low for the best domain name generators to save you time!

Domain Name Generator #1: Shopify Business Name Generator

Shopify’s business name generator isn’t just for businesses. They suggest domain names that suit your needs. When you start off using Shopify business name generator you’ll be asked to enter a keyword. This keyword should have something to do with your website or business. For example if you run a bakery, your keyword might be cupcakes.

The generator will produce hundreds of results for you to choose from. The suggestions presented will be .com domains, but of course you can search on other domain registration sites for alternatives. The idea behind the generator is that it gives you suggestions of domain names that might work for you. Alternatively if you don’t like any of them, you should have been given enough inspiration to come up with your ultimate domain name.

Shopify will encourage you to sign up to their Shopify Shop with the domain names that have been suggested. You don’t have to sign up to Shopify; you can register your domain elsewhere and do as you please!

Domain Name Generator #2: Lean Domain Search

Similar to Shopify, Lean Domain Search asks for a keyword to get started. Their generator will produce hundreds (and even thousands) of domain name options for you. All of the domain names that are suggested are available as .com domains, so you won’t have to worry about whether they’ve been registered or not.

Shopify Lean Search includes some cool features too, making the process even more simple. You can filter using the following options:

• Alphabetically
• By name length
• By popularity of domain name

If you like a few domain names you can save them as a list to revisit later on. If you’ve forgotten to save them but can’t remember what you searched for, you can go back through your search history!

Lean Domain Search will allow you to search for your own domain name ideas too, to see if they’re available. This saves time using multiple websites, making it an all in one tool.

Domain Name Generator #3: Nameboy

A little throw back to the 90s in the name! Nameboy encourages users to enter two keywords into their generator. This opens the door to a few more possibilities and combinations. Similar to the other generators, Nameboy will produce a wide selection of domain name ideas based on your keywords.

Their list is extensive and easy to navigate. You can easily see if a domain name that you like is available or not. Sometimes a .com name might not be available but .co.uk or .net is. They’ll also display a list of domain names that are up for resale, so you may still be able to nab your perfect domain name.

Nameboy’s tool can cleverly produce hyphenated or rhyming words based on your keyword input. Sometimes you may have an idea in mind but it doesn’t quite work. This tool can give you the ideas and inspiration you need to make a firm decision.

Domain Name Generator #4: Name Mesh

If you have a few keywords in mind but can’t make a decision, Name Mesh is your friend. You can enter 2-3 keywords for the generator to work its magic.

The tool can generate domain names based on a selection of variables. These include common domain names, different categories, short or similar names, domain names that are good for SEO, etc. If that wasn’t enough and you want to start a new search, Name Mesh will even provide you with some keywords to use. Search using the new keywords and see how it goes!

When you’ve concluded your search, you can filter the results by different types, including:

• Domain name extension (.com, .co.uk, etc.)
• Domain names that are unregistered
• Domain name length

Domain Name Generator #5: Bust A Name

Bust A Name has a wide range of tools to help you find your perfect domain name. You can enter in keywords to start with in order to produce a list of results. You can then choose whether you want your domain name to start or end with your keyword (or neither).

Bust A Name allows you to choose how natural you want your domain name to be. You can also define a character limit (long domains can affect SEO). You can select whether or not you want to see taken domain names (perhaps for inspiration) and filter by extension like .com or .org.

If you have no clue where to start and don’t have any keywords, you can make a random domain name search. This will show available domain names and may give you the push you need to get creative.

Domain Name Generator #6: NameStall

You can start searching for a domain name with NameStall’s domain name generator. Simply enter a keyword and add your own filters to help you find the right domain. You can filter by popular keywords, categories, or types of words.

Similar to Bust A Name, you can choose whether the keyword should go at the start or end of the domain name. You may opt to have a hyphen in your domain name if it makes it easier to read or remember.

Once you’ve entered the relevant details, the list will show both taken and available domain names. If you want to register a new domain name you can do so through NameStall. Again, you don’t have to go through them if you don’t want to.

Domain Name Generator #7: Panabee

It’s cute interface will surely get a look in. Panabee provides a wealth of features including a domain search tool, domain name generator and a business name generator. You can enter in two keywords to start the domain name search.

The generator will present a wealth of suggestions for you to start deliberating over. If your chosen extension or domain name isn’t available, you can use a domain name registrar to search for more.

If you’re not interested in the search results from Panabee, you can search for similar or related names. This may spark some inspiration to hammer the nail in the coffin. Uniquely, Panabee will tell you if your domain name is being used across any social media accounts as a user or profile name (snazzy)!

Domain Name Generator #8: Name Station

Name Station has been mentioned on various popular platforms like SEOMoz, Mashable and TechCrunch to name a few. For this reason, I wanted to check it out (can you blame me)!

When you land at Name Station you’ll need to create a free account to get started. A bit annoying but it’s free so I can’t really complain too much. You can sign up using your email address or via social media on Facebook.

Once you’re signed up you’ll be able to use their domain name generator, check the availability of domains, and get keyword suggestions. Like most other generators, you can filter by extension, name length, and even search by categories.

Domain Name Generator #9: Domains Bot

At Domains Bot you can search for domain names as well as getting suggestions for domain names. Using their domain name generator is easy; enter a keyword and let the tool do the rest! You’ll get a list of domains related to your keyword, similar to your keyword, and even combining your keyword.

You may even find that you want to use new search terms after being inspired by some of Domains Bot’s suggestions. If you already have a domain name in mind, you can search to see if it’s available.

If your chosen domain name is available you can register it through the many registrar links, like GoDaddy. You’ll get suggestions on similar domain names before you commit to buying one (or it may confuse you even more)!

Domain Name Generator #10: Dot-o-mator

Dot-o-mator is a solid choice if you have no clue as to what your domain name should be. Trust me, we’ve all been there when you’ve got a business idea but don’t know how to brand it!

Start by choosing two categories – these will form the start and end of your domain name. Click search and you’ll be presented with a whole bunch of random domain names to choose from.

If you’re lucky enough to have some ideas in mind, you can search using your own search terms too. If you have a few domain names you like the sound of you can save them for later. This is always a good option if you’re not sure whether the domain is available or not.

Domain Name Generator #11: Domain Puzzler

Domain Puzzler offers a simple and easy to use interface. There’s plenty of options to choose from, but they do present an ‘easy’ option to get started with. All you need to do is enter your keywords and desired domain extensions (.co.uk, .com, etc.).

Once you hit search you’ll be presented with your list of domain name ideas and suggestions. What’s nice about Domain Puzzler is that they allow you to enter multiple keywords as opposed to one or two like other domain name generators.

Your keywords will be used to combine into multiple variations. You can save the domain names you like to your list so you can come back later if you want. There’s even a tool so you can compare the page rank of different domain names which is very useful!

Domain Name Generator #12: Impossibility

Impossibility is unique in the fact you can do a lot more within your domain name search. Once you’ve entered your keyword you can then add verbs, nouns and adjectives to your search. There’s a range of 4 letter, 5 letter and 6 letter options.

If you don’t want to be constrained you can choose to combine anything with your specified keyword. This makes for a lot more variety and hopefully will make finding your perfect domain name much easier.

If you like one of the domain names suggested it’s easy to click on the link to purchase. You don’t need to purchase through Impossibility, as always you can use a domain name registrar like GoDaddy or 1&1 (IONOS).

Domain Name Generator #13: Cool Name Ideas

A cool name and a cool tool. Cool Name Ideas is a business name generator with a built in domain name search. You can generate business names and it will tell you if the domain name is available or not.

One of the fun things about this generator is that you can enter in filters like:

• Business size
• Customer base

These will then be put into the generator to make even more relevant name ideas in your results. You can play with the advanced features too in order to limit character length and other customisation options.

Similar to some other domain name generators, you can see if social media names like Twitter handles are taken before purchasing your domain name.

Domain Name Generator #14: DomainWheel

DomainWheel has an attractive user interface, entering into the modern world of domain name generators. Start by entering your keyword (there’s already some suggestions) and search your domain.

You don’t just have to pick one keyword, you can enter several to get a good mix of domain names. I personally find more keywords generate more creative ideas. Once you’ve chosen a domain name, other options will appear. For example words that rhyme with your keywords or domain, different combinations, or even just randomly generated domain names.

When you’ve chosen your domain name you can register it to ensure no one else takes it. There are plenty of places to register a domain name, and even some sites that allow you to register a domain for free!

Domain Name Generator #15: Instant Domain Search

Do you already have a domain name in mind? If so, Instant Domain Search is a great place for you. If you know your domain already, simply enter it into the search bar to see if it’s available. The generator won’t give you new domain names based on a keyword search.

It will however provide alternatives if your chosen domain name has already been taken. But, if you desperately want the domain name you had in mind, the site will locate who owns the domain name that’s currently not available.

This might seem a bit strange but often people will buy domain names to sell them on for more. A catchy domain name is gold dust and people will pay a lot to nab a good one on the market.

Domain Name Generator #16: iwantmyname

Very similar to Instant Domain Search, iwantmyname is a place to search to see if your domain name is available. It’s got a simple user interface so you can easily see which domains are available and which ones aren’t. The green smiley face indicates if your domain name is available to purchase.

If your domain name is already taken (which is admittedly a right bummer), it will suggest alternatives through its generator. You can’t enter in keywords to generate new ideas but it will present similar domains.

Unfortunately you can’t track down who owns the domain name if it’s already taken like Instant Domain Search. You’ll just have to find a suitable alternative for now.

Domain Name Generator #17: DomainTyper

DomainTyper is a unique domain name generator and social network checker. I’ve mentioned that a few domain name generators can search to see if your domain name is available as well as checking if the username is available on Twitter or Facebook.

DomainTyper does it all! Type your chosen domain name into the search bar and it will see if it’s available. It will check a wide range of extensions where you can favourite the ones you like. If your name isn’t available you can make an offer to the person who currently owns it.

It also has its own generator to help you come up with some fun ideas. If you’re lacking inspiration this is a good place to start. Once you’ve found the perfect domain name you can check it against social media channels. It will see whether the username is already in use on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Instagram and more.

Domain Name Generator #18: WORDOID

If you’re struggling with a business name in the first place, WORDOID is a great starting point. It will generate a huge list of words to get your creative juices flowing. Although this might sound pretty random, sometimes the best names can come from a randomised tool.

Alongside the list of names, WORDOID will search to see if your domain name is available. It will check GoDaddy to see if they are taken or not and then how to buy them. If you want to enter in your own keyword to start the ball rolling, this tool won’t allow you to do so.

You can filter through the domain names to make the search a little less random. Filters include word length, resemblance match to real words, patterns and more. Uniquely, this domain name generator actually works in multiple languages. These include English, Spanish, French, German and Italian.

Domain Name Generator #19: Domainr

Domainr is a tool that is partnered with ICANN. When you search for a domain the list will show you whether a domain is taken or not. It will also display what alternatives there are if it is taken. For example helloworld.com might not be available but helloworld.uk is available.

If you don’t have a domain name in mind already, this won’t be right for you. This isn’t a generator that will make up names for you. It will simply display if your domain names are available or not and allow you to buy them.

Domain Name Generator #20: Domain Hole

Domain Hole is a tool I’d recommend if you don’t have a domain name in mind. Also if you have no keywords this will help you to find the perfect domain name. There’s plenty of features that other generators don’t feature so let’s take a look.

One thing I find is that people will have a domain name they want but it’s not available. Domain Hole can tell you if a domain name is due to expire shortly. You may see this and decide to hold on rather than instantly buy an alternative.

You can search for domains with domain and page ranking authorities. Other feature include backlinks and page flow. Domain Hole does require you to register a free account which is a minor annoyance.

Domain Name Generator #21: NameSmith

NameSmith is advertised as a business name generator. However it works great as a domain name generator which produces fantastic ideas from keywords. With nose domain name generators you can filter names by different types and categories.

With NameSmith they offer quite a bit more! Some of the filters include:

• Prefixes
• Suffixes
• Fantasy names
• Misspelled names
• Rhymes
• Portmanteaus

This makes things a little more interesting. I found that my creative brain started ticking a lot more from what they offered. Although you may not have considered this, NameSmith vow never to use your ideas or keywords by selling them on.

People often ask me how much it costs to build a website. The honest answer is that it varies. The real cost depends on your own wants/needs and your budget. Building a website can be done in a number of ways, not all of which are expensive.

What do you need to build a website?

First it’s important to establish what you actually need to build a website. In most cases you won’t even need to hire a web designer or web developer to do the work for you. You can save a lot of money by doing the work yourself (yes I know that sounds daunting).

Even if you don’t have a tech bone in your body, you can still build a website. That being said, if you don’t have a clue to begin with, you may take the wrong direction. That’s why I’m writing this guide so you don’t overspend and you don’t head the wrong way.

The main elements to start any website are:

• Domain name (the name of your website, e.g. ukwebhostreview.com)
• Web hosting (the people who host your website on the internet)
• Website builder (if you want to create a website yourself)

Domain name

Choosing your website’s domain name should be the first step. You’ll need to know what your website is about and what it’s trying to achieve. Ideally your domain name should give potential visitors an idea of what your site is about before they’ve even landed.

There are plenty of sites that offer domain names for cheap. There’s also somewhere you can get a domain name for free! Most sites will give you the licence to your domain name for 1 year. Some may offer a longer period so take note. Once you purchase a domain name you have the right to use it and host your own website.

Web Hosting

Web hosting provides a secure place for all your website’s content and files to be stored. Choosing the best web hosting shouldn’t be difficult with our help!

When your site visitors type in your domain name, they’ll be taken to your website. Your website is hosted by your web host, therefore should be the best it can be for your needs.

There’s a whole bunch of different web hosting options available. Dependent on what your needs are, you may consider shared hosting, WordPress hosting, cheap hosting, VPS hosting, cloud hosting, or even dedicated hosting.

When deciding on a web host, you may want to consider the following:

• Uptime guarantee (this ensures your website is live and visible to the world. A guarantee of at least 99.9% is recommended)
• Cost (web hosting doesn’t have to be costly, but the cheapest option isn’t always the best. Weigh up the cost with other factors)
• Features (find a web host that offers the right features for you)
• Performance (if your site doesn’t have a good performing web host, you may lose visitors)

Website Builders

If you want to create your own website, I recommend using a website builder like WordPress or Wix. It doesn’t matter what your skill set is, website builders, make it easy to create your own website.

Whether you’re a seasoned developer or a newbie, making a website the way you want it has never been easier. What’s more, when you sign up to a website builder, you’ll likely have access to handy SEO tools. Although website builders won’t be able to do it all for you, they’re a great way to pick up some hints and tips. Basic SEO features can be learned quickly and expanded on.

I recommend using the self-hosted version of WordPress. With over 30% of the web now powered by WordPress, there’s a reason it’s so popular. You’ll have complete control of your website and can choose one of their many free or premium paid themes. Whether you’re starting a blog or small business, or a large corporation, WordPress is a suitable option.

Signing up to WordPress.org is FREE. All you’ll need is your own domain name and web hosting. Most web hosts will actually install WordPress on your server for you, saving time and effort. You can browse thousands of themes and plugins via WordPress itself. Alternatively, there’s a whole bunch of resources available on the internet for you to peruse.

How much does building a website cost?

As I mentioned earlier, it depends on your needs. Using the methods mentioned above, it can cost anywhere from £50 up to a couple of hundred £. The bulk of the cost will come from your theme/template or the website builder you choose. That being said, compared to hiring a web developer that could cost you £5000+, it’s pretty affordable!

If you’re planning on building a small website, you’ll need to budget for the following:

• Domain name (.com domain usually around £9.99 per year)
• Web hosting (from as little as 80p per month with Hostinger)
• SSL certificate (around £120 per year)

I’d personally recommend signing up to a web host who offers all the above for a fraction of the cost. Signing up to SiteGround will cost you £2.95 per month. You’ll get a free domain name and SSL certificate for the year! If you’ve already got hosting elsewhere, they’ll migrate your websites for free with an average uptime of 100% (in my own tests).

Once you’re signed up, you can install WordPress for free. Some web hosts will pre-install plugins for you, but I’d highly recommend the following to get you started:

• Yoast SEO: Improve SEO on WordPress for free
• W3 Total Cache: Improve speed and performance on your WordPress site
• Akismet: Prevent unwanted spam comments on your WordPress site and blog
• MonsterInsights: Connect your WordPress site to Google Analytics

How much does building an online store cost?

Creating a small basic website and an online store are very different things. What works for one likely won’t work for the other. That’s why I’m here to explain the difference for you!

Building an online store is a venture that’s going to be worthwhile. eCommerce is growing rapidly and is accounting for a large proportion of retail sales. If you’re looking to create an online store, now is definitely a good time to do so.

Similar to creating a standard website, your eCommerce site will need a domain name and web hosting. If you choose to use an eCommerce platform, they’ll cover the web hosting side so you don’t have to worry about that.

I would personally recommend signing up to Wix. They are the best eCommerce platform in my experience. I’d never created an online store before but found it super easy to do so using Wix. They’ve got over 100 million users so they must be doing something right!

Wiz’s eCommerce prices start from just £14 per month. You’ll get unlimited bandwidth, 20GB storage, a FREE domain, an online store, and 2 premium business apps for FREE. This plan is insanely affordable when you consider what you’re getting for your money. It doesn’t get much better than this!

Managing your products is really easy to do. Like I said before, I hadn’t build an online store until I came across Wix. You can change the images on your products, categorise them, create discount codes and offers, etc. It felt almost too easy when I was doing it, it was hard to believe I was building my own online store myself!

How can you avoid paying over the odds?

It’s quite common for people with any size budget to overspend. I myself am a sucker for getting carried away with website themes and plugins. A few £ here and a few £ there can quickly add up to hundreds or even thousands.

The best thing to do is to start small. I know that might sound obvious but let me explain. Let’s take web hosting as an example to start with. When you sign up to a web host like SiteGround, you’re presented with multiple pricing plans. The difference between their StartUp plan and GrowBig plans is £2 per month. That might not seem a lot but that’s a difference of £24 per year, excluding VAT.

You’ll need to consider what your website needs immediately. Do you need 20GB storage right now or will 10GB be sufficient? Remember, most web hosts will let you upgrade your plan at any point. You don’t need to dive in with the biggest and best straight away when you won’t be using it to its full potential.

Making use of people like me can be one of your greatest resources! Let someone else do the hard work of researching and testing out the best web hosts, domain names, website builders and eCommerce platforms. Once you’ve read through my comparisons you should be equipped with the best knowledge to budget effectively.

What’s the best option?

After exploring some of the possibilities surrounding the cost of building a website, let me help you decide the best route to take. I’ve experimented with a wide range of options from drag and drop builders, templates, CMS platforms and even custom built sites.

The best way to simplify this whole process is to break it down into a few simple questions. Hopefully by the time you’ve finished reading this, you’ll have it all figured out!

Question #1: What’s your actual budget?

As well as the initial setup, websites need maintenance. Fees renew monthly or yearly, and technologies change (we spoke about this before). Really it comes down to two things:

• Initial setup and design
• On-going costs (monthly/annually)

If you have over £100 to spend and your budget allows for this, something like WordPress would be a good option. You can afford a decent premium theme, some plugins, and WordPress web hosting. If your budget can stretch a little, you may even consider manages WordPress hosting.

If you have £100 or less to spend, a website builder would be my recommendation. Your monthly or annual costs will include a theme, web hosting, and often a domain name. You’ll have to manage the site yourself, but you’ll have an all-in-one solution to hand.

Question #2: Do you want to manage your site yourself?

I touched on this briefly in question one. There’s various ways your site can be managed. You can hire a web developer or designer to do the work for you. If you choose this option you will have to consider how much work for other people they also have. Do your timeframes allow for delays and potential setbacks? This also links into budget as hiring a web developer is very expensive.

Many web hosts offer a managed solution. This means they manage the installation, backups and updates to yourself. You still have to create the site and apply content to it, but the fiddly back end stuff gets done for you. Managed hosting can be slightly more expensive than shares hosting, but its worth it if you don’t have time or don’t want to manage certain aspects of your site.

Question #3: What features do you want on your site TODAY?

There are plenty of features, plugins and apps you can download and install to your website. Whether you’re using WordPress, another site builder, or having your site built for you, there’s lots of add-ons around.

What you need to consider is whether these tempting features are necessary NOW or whether you can do without them until later down the line.

Although features are nice to have, it’s easy to get carried away. If you’re using WordPress and install too many plugins, it may slow your site down. If you install plugins that conflict with each other, they won’t work. You also need to remember to keep them updated or you’ll face security risks or they’ll stop working.

If you want to get your website off the ground TODAY, go for it. You probably don’t need all the bells and whistles right now and may even learn over time what you do and don’t need.

Affiliate marketing is hugely popular, especially for those looking to kickstart their online business revenue. The world of affiliate marketing has grown massively within the blogging industry, making it a key source of income for many.

Bloggers often struggle to make money during the first few months and sometimes years of their ventures. Passive income streams are available in many shapes and sizes which is why I wanted to investigate.

Whilst some people do make big money through their online business and blogging, I don’t suggest quitting your job until you become more established. Learning how to monetise your blog is essential in taking your first steps towards working for yourself.

What is affiliate marketing?

Affiliate marketing doesn’t have to be too complicated. You essentially partner your website with an affiliate marketing program or platform. They then connect you to someone that can sell your product or service. For example, you write an article or review about a new mobile app. The affiliate marketer would connect you to someone that owns or sells said app, and if purchased, a small cut off the profits comes to you. Other examples include clicking on marketing links or signing up to useful services like BlueHost’s web hosting.

Where to get started

Depending on your blog or market, certain affiliate marketing programs or platforms may be more suited to you. I’m going to cover a wide variety of the best affiliate marketing platforms of 2019 to make your life easier! Regardless of what type of blogger you are, there should be something for you in this list.

1. Amazon Associates

Amazon is one of the most well known brands in the world. For this reason, people place a lot of trust in them and will happily purchase from their online store again and again. From sweet hampers to drones, homeware to digital goods, Amazon has it all. Regardless of your niche, you’re likely to find it on Amazon which is what makes it the perfect affiliate marketing platform.

Sign up to Amazon Associates here.

Pros:

• Up to 10% commission on a qualifying product purchase
• All purchases will count towards your commission (even if it wasn’t the product that was clicked on from)
• Huge selection of products likely to appeal to most people and niches

Cons:

• Affiliate cookie expires after 24 hours
• Payout options are limited to cheque, bank transfer or Amazon gift cards

2. eBay Partners

You may be wondering why such a large marketplace like eBay wants you to help them sell products. Well, companies like this are big and well known for a reason. They make money; a lot of it, and will continue to do so with your help. Using eBay’s Partner Network tools, you can help promote listings and get paid for doing so.

Sign up to eBay Partners here.

Pros:

• eBay sells an insanely large range of products. Because products are listed by everyone and anyone, there’s not many products that aren’t for sale (legally)
• There aren’t any complex rules around their affiliate platform. Simply share your listing link and if someone purchases from it, you’ve made some money
• You’ll earn double commission for the first 3 months of signing up

Cons:

• Sales get split 3 ways between you, the seller and eBay
• You don’t get any commission if the auction takes longer than 10 days to end

3. Shopify Affiliate Program

Shopify is amongst the leading eCommerce platforms worldwide. The hugely popular software is used by bloggers and online retailers to sell products through an online store. Plenty of companies use Shopify so finding one that sells products or services related to your niche shouldn’t be too difficult.

Sign up to Shopify Affiliate Program here.

Pros:

• There’s lots of money to be made. You’ll get the first two months of your referrals subscription fee
• Shopify presents lots of opportunity and is the best eCommerce platform, making it trusted and worth referring to

Cons:

• Your audience is limited to people who want to use Shopify to sell things online

4. Rakuten Marketing Affiliates

You may well of heard of Rakuten before. They are a leading online store who sell a wide range of goods including electronics, pet supplies, clothes and Lego. If you can think of something to buy, Rakuten probably stocks and sells it. Rakuten will happily pay you for referring people to purchase anything from them.

Sign up to Rakuten Marketing Affiliates here.

Pros:

• Rakuten is very well known, therefore promotes trust in its consumers. Getting people to purchase from them shouldn’t be difficult at all
• They offer a wide range of products from pet food to drones

Cons:

• If you want to promote a variety of brands on Rakuten, you’ll have to sign up to them all individually

5. Leadpages Partner Program

Leadpages is a marketing tool that offers unique and powerful features. The tool allows pretty much anyone to create professional landing pages for any website. Regardless of expertise, skill or knowledge, it’s really easy to use Leadpages to your full advantage. If you have a digital audience that could do with creating or enhancing their landing pages, this is a great opportunity.

Sign up to Leadpages Partner Program here.

Pros:

• Because of its popularity and unique tool it offers, Leadpages kind of sells itself so you don’t have to. Anyone with a website can make use of their tool
• Their tool is genuinely really powerful so it makes promoting it really easy
• 30% commission on each sale regardless of referral spend

Cons:

• Because it’s only useful for those with websites, it means it’s only available to a niche market

6. StudioPress Affiliate Website

If your audience base has a large digital prescence, you may want to consider StudioPress’s Affiliate Website. Like Leadpages, it is a niche, but one that’s worth pursuing if you can. StudioPress creates professional, responsive, and darn right beautiful and customisable WordPress themes. Anyone looking for a WordPress theme or template will be astounded at what StudioPress can offer.

Sign up to StudioPress Affiliate Website here.

Pros:

• StudioPress sells itself, making the task a lot easier for you. Encouraging WordPress users to look at StudioPress won’t be difficult as most fall in love with it instantly
• The payouts on StudioPress’s affiliate program are quite nice. You’ll get a tasty 35% from each theme sale plus $75 on any site sale which can amount to quite a lot

Cons:

• StudioPress is a niche product, so unless your audience are WordPress users, you may not be able to take advantage of the rewards

7. BlueHost Affiliate Program

BlueHost’s reputation is unrivaled; it’s number 2 in my best web hosting reviews. BlueHost’s web hosting (especially for WordPress) is incredibly affordable and flexible. They offer stable web hosting with unlimited bandwidth and storage for the price of a sandwich. Their WordPress installation is quick and easy, but if you do run into any trouble, their support is second to none.

Sign up to BlueHost Affiliate Program here.

Pros:

• BlueHost’s affiliate program has a really simple process. All you need to do is sign up and share your referral link. There’s no complications to it and you can create your own campaigns with different banners should you wish
• BlueHost is actually recommended by WordPress, so you can’t compete on quality and trust

Cons:

• Again, another niche product. Unless your website visitors want web hosting, it’s not going to be much use
• You’ll need to make a minimum of $100 in the first 12 months for a payout. However, they’re offering $65 for each referral so this shouldn’t be too difficult to achieve

8. ConvertKit Affiliate Program

If you’re looking for one of the market leaders in the email marketing industry, ConvertKit is definitely one of them. I guess you could say it’s a niche in some ways, but if your audience has a website or blog of their own, they’re sure to make use of ConverKit’s tools. They focus on being entirely customisable, offering a unique product to every user.

Sign up to ConvertKit Affiliate Program here.

Pros:

• If your visitors require email marketing, ConverKit is an amazing tool that they can use. It won’t be hard selling ConvertKit to anyone that needs it because they do rock the socks off their competition
• ConvertKit’s affiliate program doesn’t have a cut off point, so you can earn revenue from them forever

Cons:

• It’s a niche product, but maybe not as niche as some of the other ones I’ve mentioned
• They offer customers a 30-day money-back refund policy so all referrals need to pass the 30-day period before being validated

9. HubSpot

HubSpot helps companies grow on a daily basis. Their award winning platform provides a wealth of tools to businesses looking to kick start or enhance their sales and marketing techniques and lots more. They are an extremely well known platform and offer a generous affiliate marketing program. You can earn up to $1000 for each product that is purchased ($250 starter, $500 professional/CMS, and $1000 enterprise)

Sign up to HubSpot Affiliate Marketing here.

Pros:

• Affiliate payout is very generous and can earn you up to $1000 per product purchased
• Attracts a wide range of customers who are looking to start up a business or who already have a business. Not as niche as some other affiliate marketing programs

Cons:

• There is a cookie life on all referral links of 90 days (though in all honesty, 3 months is a long time)
• Pricing is expensive for those wanting to purchase, so although the payout is generous, you have to find people willing to spend a fair amount each month on their products

10. Google AdSense

Although not strictly an affiliate marketing program or platform, Google AdSense does provide the means to earn money. You can monetise your blog quite easily and quickly with Google AdSense. This tool allows you to insert adverts into your blog and earn money for every click your users make on each ad. This isn’t a get-rich-quick scheme but it does provide the means for you to advertise on your blog.

Sign up to Google AdSense here.

Pros:

• You won’t need a specific market or niche to make money with Google AdSense. They do the hard work for you and find the ads to display on your blog
• Google is known by almost everyone worldwide (and anyone using the internet) so they’re a safe bet
• You have the ability to disable adverts on your blog that aren’t suitable or appropriate for your audience

Cons:

• Unless you have a lot of users visiting your blog, you won’t make that much money to start with

11. MaxBounty Affiliate Network

You may not have heard of MaxBounty, but their affiliate network is certainly up and coming. They work with some pretty well known brands including Norton, T-Mobile and McAfee (which is always reassuring). Their aim is to connect affiliate marketers with advertisers who pay well. So far they seem to know what they’re doing and people are flocking to their site to see what the fuss is about.

Sign up to MaxBounty Affiliate Network here.

Pros:

• If you can earn a minimum of $1000 per month through MaxBounty for the first 3 months, they’ll give you a bonus of $1000
• MaxBounty pay their affiliates weekly so there’s no waiting around like some other affiliate programs
• You can choose multiple payout options with MaxBounty including digital payment methods

Cons:

• They aren’t as well established as other affiliate marketing programs which may put some people off

12. ShareASale Affiliates

ShareASale is a well established company with over 17 years in the business. They offer a marketplace which has a ton of merchants selling pretty much anything and everything. You won’t have trouble trying to promote any of their products or finding relevance to your audience as there’s something for everyone.

Sign up to ShareASale Affiliates here.

Pros:

• ShareASale has both digital and traditional payout options. It’s quite rare to find affiliate marketing platforms that offer digital payouts so when you find one, it’s worth holding onto
• There’s plenty of choice in terms of merchants and products so you’ll be able to find something to fit your niche

Cons:

• It can be quite complicated to set up the referral process with ShareASale. A small amount of technical know-how would be useful

Starting a blog sounds like a great idea (and it is)! But knowing where to start is often the difficulty according to what people tell me. I often find inspiration from other great and already successful blogs can spur on some creativity!

There are absolutely millions of blogs that exist on the internet. Many have been created and have dwindled off the radar due to bloggers becoming disinterested. However, there are plenty of very successful blogs that are still growing and making money for their owners.

Blogging is about creating content that makes people want to keep coming back. If you can create a blog that offers relevant content, shareable content, and provides useful resources for others, you’re going to be successful. Bloggers that make the effort to keep their blog updated whilst providing a good user experience (like keeping your WordPress up to speed) are the ones that are still alive.

I’m going to show you 21 examples of successful blogs that all provide something different to their users. Some blogs can make literally thousands of pounds/dollars a month and provide their owners with a steady income. I hope this list can provide you with some inspiration to start your own blog, or continuing to work hard on your existing blog.

1 | Tuts+

Tuts+ was founded in 2006 and provides useful tutorials and content for web designers. If you’re looking into how to learn coding, this is a very valuable resource and helps designers worldwide. Their marketplace currently servers over 2,000,000 customers buying web templates and tutorials.

This blog is successful because they provide relevant content to their target market. Their income mainly comes through their memberships and the commission the receive from sales. Of course, when they first started, Tuts+ wouldn’t have just had cash handed to them on a plate. They’ve continued to work hard and provide insanely digital goods across their platforms.

2 | Smashing Magazine

Smashing Magazine was also founded in 2006 (like Tuts+). Founders Sven Lennartz and Vitaly Friedman created the blog to help those interested in web design and web development. They provide content that’s relevant and useful to those looking to learn more in these fields with articles, books, events, and even jobs.

In 2012 Smashing Magazine started hosting web development conferences. These take place worldwide and offer material from big sponsors in the tech industry. Smashing Magazine’s primary income comes from their memberships. Users can sign up to their subscription and have access to a wealth of tutorials from just $3 per month.

3 | Gizmodo

Gizmodo launched in 2002, mainly focusing on design and technology. Gizmodo became popular very quickly, and it’s for this reason that they decided to make their blog multi-lingual. It offers translated versions of its content in a variety of languages including French, Spanish and Portuguese.

Gizmodo’s fortune mainly comes from advertising. Their homepage isn’t packed full of adverts but you will find they tend to repeat themselves in smaller formats. Advertising is often based on your search or purchase history, aiming adverts at customers that are relevant and don’t appear ‘spammy’.

4 | Perez Hilton

Perez Hilton is well known for his controversial gossip, and the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree on this blog. The blog is run by Mario Armando Lavanderia Jr who had dreams of becoming an actor. Unfortunately that didn’t work out for him, but blogging definitely did!

Lavanderia earns most of his income through advertising on his blog. Popularity continues to grow as he makes regular appearances on TV as a celebrity gossip commentator. It’s estimated that he earns over half a million dollars per month through his blog alone!

5 | Mashable

Mashable was started in 2005 by Pete Cashmore. Cashmore was dedicated to producing consistently great content on a regular basis. The blog offers entertainment, technology, science and cultural news. There’s also sections on lifestyle, parenting, science, deals, and a shop page.

Mashable continues to grow by reaching out to its readers. They have a large presence not only on the Internet but also through social media. Mashable’s fortune comes from its advertisements on its blog, making over $2,000,000 per month.

6 | Moz

For those of you that have never heard of Moz, it’s probably the most popular and valuable blog about SEO. Rand Fishkin started his venture out as a family-run business focusing on design. It soon turned into an SEO shop, but the blog was what gained it’s massive audience that still stands strong today.

Moz’s income comes primarily from website memberships. As a member of Moz, you’ll have access to professional tools to help you with your own website’s SEO journey. There’s a wealth of material and resources accessible to ensure that you know everything there is to know about search engine optimisation, how to increase your reach, and much more.

7 | Huffington Post

Launched back in 2005, Huffington Post (known as HuffPost or HuffPo) provides a unique view on news and politics. Arriana Huffington sold the blog in 2011 for a whopping $315 million to AOL. HuffPost is an American news blog, edited from a Liberal perspective and covers topics including politics, entertainment, technology, lifestyle, comedy, and local news.

HuffPost makes it’s millions from sponsored advertising; you’ll notice on their website they have banners and digital ads. Huffington Post is probably the most successful blog of it’s kind and time. It’s value to date is over $1 billion which is incredibly impressive compared to other news blogs that exist.

8 | Engadget

Started by the same guy that setup Gizmodo, Engadget has proven to be wildly successful. Engadget provides it’s users with technology advice and reviews on tech and electronics. The blog was sold to AOL in 2005 and has been run by them ever since. Engadget covers the likes of technology gear, games, entertainment, videos and reviews.

As do many other blogs of it’s kind, Engadget makes a large profit from it’s advertising. Because of this, it can employ content writers and editors that are able to write about about everything technology related. They can research the latest gadgets and provide daily news and reviews to keep their users interested.

9 | CSS Tricks

Chris Coyier created his design blog called CSS Tricks. He’s one of the most well-known designers on the internet to date. CSS Tricks was started in 2007; at the time it was solely focused on CSS (hence it’s name). Today, CSS Tricks is a library of resources for web design and web development. It’s really easy to visit the blog and copy lines of code to use in your own website.

There’s plenty of resources to make use of, including CSS, Sass, HTML, JavaScript, JQuery, and PHP. CSS Tricks uses it’s existing user base and audience to launch new products, blogs, and companies. One of their websites, CodePen, has over 1 million users. In fact, CodePen has double the amount of traffic compared to CSS Tricks.

10 | CoinDesk

CoinDesk is one of the leading Cryptocurrency blogs around, in fact it’s probably the most successful one. CoinDesk receives a whopping 10 million visitors per month which is what makes them a leader in the industry. The blog was started by Shakil Kha in 2003; it was bought by Digital Currency Group in 2016 for around half a million dollars.

CoinDesk makes it’s millions by being the main source of Cryptocurrency news and updates. Their income mainly comes from advertising on their website and paid reports. They also sell tickets to the conferences that they hold, which of course makes quite a nice sum.

11 | Smart Passive Income

Pat Flynn, owner of Smart Passive Income, has been blogging for almost 10 years. The aim of the blog is to provide people with easy techniques to running a business online in order to earn passive income. If you’re looking to run a blog as passive income, this is the place to learn and make use of proven techniques.

Most of Pat’s earnings come from being a BlueHost affiliate, as well as using other email marketing tools. His advertising income comes from his Podcast, as well as Google ads on the website and blog.

12 | Making Sense of Cents

The blog Making Sense of Cents is aimed at teaching you how to save money effectively. Michelle Gardner focuses on how to be frugal in order to lead a better life, showing people that managing your finances can actually change your life. Initially, the blog was set up because Michelle herself wanted to improve her own financial situation.

It’s reported that she paid off her student loan of almost $40k by less than a year of online business. Her articles cover how to earn extra income and how to be in control of money, including emotional spending (which I’m sure we all do). The blog earns it’s income from advertising and affiliate accounts.

13 | Pinch of Yum

Pinch of Yum is primarily a food blog, showing images of delicious food alongside recipes. Food blogs tend to be fairly popular as they have a large reach and most people can relate to them. Lindsay Ostrom (owner of Pinch of Yum) has already made six figures from her blog through her love of food photography.

Lots of Lindsay’s traffic comes from social media sources like Pinterest and Instagram, both of which are image heavy. She has over half a million Instagram followers which is incredibly impressive. Pinch of Yum uses both advertising on it’s blog as well as affiliate marketing with the likes of BlueHost and Amazon.

14 | Just A Girl And Her Blog

Abby, who owns Just A Girl And Her Blog, writes about all things DIY, home decor, and home organisation. In recent years, this topic has become quite popular, as I’m sure you’re aware if you caught Netflix’s Tidying Up With Marie Kondo. Abby pushes a focus on the things that we easily miss in our everyday lives at home, showing visitors how they can improve their homes whilst enjoying making it so.

Abby posts regularly on her blog, keeping her readers entertained. She makes an enormous $35k per month, just a few years after the blog started. What makes her blog so popular is that she puts things in simple terms, allowing the likes of anyone to be able to understand her point of view.

15 | Single Mom’s Income

Back in 2012, Alexa started a blog called Single Mom’s Income. The purpose of the blog was to give others a view into the life of a single mother living from paycheck-to-paycheck, and how to break the cycle. After Alexa got divorced, it spurred her on to get out of her daily rut and inspire others. She now receives over 150k monthly visitors.

Alexa talks about her life experiences and how people like her can make money without the usual 9 to 5 full-time job. There’s plenty of opportunity out there, including part-time jobs, side jobs, and freelancing. The blog’s main income comes from advertising and freelancing products/services.

16 | True Valhalla

True Valhalla creates and sells HTML5 video games. Matthew designs all of his games from scratch; in order to make money, he sells the right to the games to other gaming portals. True Valhalla truly shows you that anyone can make money online if you set your mind to it. Finding your own niche is a good starting point!

The income from the blog can be quite up and down; some months Matthew can earn up to $30k per month. Matthew earns a small amount of income from advertising on his website, but the majority of his revenue comes from selling his products and services.

The thought of designing your own website may be a little daunting. There’s plenty of decent website builders out there, but for some, designing their own website is an exciting venture. Even if you’ve never designed a website before, don’t feel put off. There’s a whole bunch of software ready for you to sink your teeth into.

If you’ve never built a website before, it may be worth considering a free tool or free trial first. I’m going to cover a selection of the best web design software in 2019, as well as loads of free resources.

This guide is designed to show you that anyone can create a website. You can create web pages, content, images, videos, etc. It doesn’t matter if you know (or don’t know) how to use FTP, this collection of the best web design software will assist you.

Even if you’re a web designer but don’t know how to code, web design software can create pages using the likes of What You See Is What You Get (WYSIWYG).

1 | Adobe Dreamweaver CC (Best Overall Software Package)

Adobe Dreamweaver has been around for a long time, so holds a high reputation. You can code your website directly into Dreamweaver (you don’t even need to know much programming). Dreamweaver allows you to edit your website visually as well as using HTML/CSS editing (a lot of which you can obtain from free resources).

Although Adobe Dreamweaver doesn’t offer any website templates, it does allow you to preview your creation at any time. Dreamweaver ensures you can develop responsive web design, meaning you can optimise your website for multiple devices. This is essential to a good user experience and can affect your SEO if you don’t incorporate it.

If you’re lucky enough to be more of an advanced user, Dreamweaver supports the following technologies:

• Multi-monitor support (Windows only)
• Git
• Chromium Embedded Framework (CEF)
• HTML5
• CSS

Adobe Dreamweaver CC does come with a free trial. All the elements within the free trial are functional and allows you to enjoy the full experience. If you want to purchase a full copy of Adobe Dreamweaver CC, an annual plan (paid monthly) will cost £19.97 per month. If you’re not ready to commit to a full year, you’ll be looking at a hefty £30.34 per month.

Pros:

• Responsive design
• Easy to use
• HTML5 support

Cons:

2 | Google Web Designer

Google Web Designer offers users a simple GUI with point and click tools. It offers basic shapes, text, 3D animations and more. Although it ‘s great for creating interactive content, it’s main purpose is to build adverts.

Google’s software has a large library of images, videos, and other useful advertising features. The interface is easy to use with accessible panels allowing you to customise options like colours and fonts. The service is entirely free, so it’s worth playing around with!

That said, Google Web Designer is currently in beta testing, so not all features are operational. You can’t open HTML files that have been created outside of the software which is somewhat frustration. However, you can preview your work at any time using the preview option. It’s also really simple to publish content from a Windows, Mac, or Linux machine.

Pros:

• Easy to use interface (WYSIWYG)
• Includes support for Google Maps & YouTube
• Great for building adverts

Cons:

3 | BlueFish

BlueFish’s lightweight installer is just over 50MB in size. This probably makes it the smallest web design software available to download. Because of this, it’s really easy to setup and get running in a matter of minutes. BlueFish is by no means the prettiest web design software as it is just text.

My thoughts are that BlueFish is designed for beginners, using obvious toolbars and customisable menus to navigate with. Although it’s main focus is HTML, BlueFish also support a wide range of languages including:

• XML
• CSS
• PHP
• JavaScript
• Java
• SQL

Perhaps due to it’s size, BlueFish’s software can handle a lot of queries. You can have multiple projects open, perform searches, and open documents without any trouble. My only real grumble with BlueFish is that they don’t support direct uploading via FTP. It’s not a huge deal but it’s something I’d expect to see of web design software in 2019.

Pros:

• Lightweight web design software
• Free to use
• Advanced code can be used

Cons:

4 | Webflow

Webflow is a perfect web design software solution for those with no coding experience. It’s cloud-based service offers a drag and drop interface where you can seamlessly use elements, text, and images. Templates are available for those who want to use them, making it a great choice for beginners to the industry.

What’s unique about Webflow is that even when you use their WYSIWYG editor, the code produced is actually really good. Often these kind of editors produce messy code that can actually slow down your website. The ‘no coding experience’ option is ideal for new users, but gives the flexibility to make changes through the HTML and CSS code if you want to.

You an try Webflow for free before committing to a subscription. You can actually continue using Webflow for free, forever. But if you want to make your site live, you’ll need to pay for a plan. Site plans start from around $12 per month (if paid annually). The cost goes up if you want to include additional features or web hosting.

Pros:

• Easy to use
• Drag and drop interface
• Perfect for beginners

Cons:

5 | WordPress

You may be surprised to see WordPress on this list. Although it’s not web design software in the way you may know it, it is a content management system (CMS). For those of you who have never used WordPress before, you can setup a new website in literally a few minutes. It’s super easy to install, and most web hosting providers include WordPress for free.

You don’t need to know anything about coding to use WordPress efficiently. In fact, there are millions of websites powered by WordPress that you wouldn’t even imagine. Big brand names, musicians, you name it! Professional looking websites with creative design can be published in no time at all.

WordPress offers a wealth of plugins (add-ons) for your website, which makes customising it actually pretty fun! Plugins can be installed with the click of a button, and uninstalled in the same way.

Pros:

• Extremely popular with lots of support
• Loads of plugins
• Professional designs for free

Cons:

• Can take a while to get used to

6 | Wix

What I love about Wix is how intuitive the software is. It’s super easy to drag and drop elements onto your chosen template. You can integrate forums, a blog, and even eCommerce features (without any prior experience).

Wix’s templates are ready-made for you. There’s no need to create a separate website for your mobile users, as this gets done automatically. What’s great however is the fact you can customise your mobile site separately if you want to. Wix’s advanced technology and Wix ADI makes creating a website a pleasure, not a chore.

If you’re not sure whether you want to commit to paying a subscription for Wix, they do offer a basic free account. You can get a feel for the software and decide whether it’s right for you before investing in it.

Pros:

• Drag and drop tools
• Very easy to use
• Professional templates come mobile ready

Cons:

• Pricing can get expensive

7 | Adobe Photoshop

 

 

Adobe Photoshop is an incredibly popular web design tool that’s been around for years. I’d consider it a premium tool because it’s purpose is solely focused around design (and it is pretty expensive). Photoshop offers a wealth of tools to create web design templates, edit them, and even create images for your website.

Photoshop’s tools go into greater detail than other web design software I’ve seen. For example, there’s no limit on colour options, you can import downloaded fonts, and edit your design pixel by pixel if you really wanted.

Adobe Photoshop offers a blank canvas to start your web design journey. You can create whatever you want, or use the mass amount of resources available to you (check out the resources at the bottom of this post). Whatever you can think of doing, Adobe Photoshop probably allows you to do it.

You can create your website layer by layer, undo or redo steps you’ve taken, move elements around (or even hide them). Not only does Photoshop allow you to design your website, it gives you the tools to design elements and objects for your website. There’s plenty of tutorials and guides available to help you through your journey, though it does take a fair amount of time to get the hang of.

Pros:

• Advanced web design tool
• Insane amount of features and tools
• Create your website from a blank canvas

Cons:

• Requires a lot of time to learn

8 | Sketch

Sketch is specifically for Mac devices. This web design software offers professional tools in order to create web designs and web templates. Sketch uses vector images which produce high resolution imagery. The Sketch interface is very simple, but this provides an intuitive user experience to start your web design products.

Once you’ve created your design (or even during the process), you can use Sketch’s mirroring feature. The mirroring feature allows you to test your template across multiple devices. Ensuring that your website looks great on mobile devices and tablets is really important; not only for user experience but also for SEO.

You can try Sketch for free via their website, this way you can see whether you like the software before committing to purchasing it. If you do decide to buy Sketch, a licence will cost you $99 for the year. Although that might seem like a lot, it’s actually very reasonable considering other software like Photoshop which is a lot more costly.

Sketch has plenty of plugins and extensions to keep you going. These are developed by third party companies but are available to download on Sketch’s website. They have a large community to engage with should you need advice, as well as tutorials and support.

Pros:

• Affordable pricing compared to other software
• Intuitive toolbar and design elements
• Test your site on multiple devices

Cons:

• Can be a bit difficult to get the hang of

9 | Figma

Figma is a great choice for businesses or those that require multiple users to work on one project. It’s offers a multi-user design experience allowing you to collaborate with your team. This comes in handy when you’re working with your own design team as well as showing mock-ups with customers etc.

This software has a pool of fonts and colours available when editing. The toolbar allows you to create icons, logos, and ultimately an entire website template.

You can try Figma for free, which will enable up to two editors on a project. Their ‘professional’ plan offers unlimited editors and comes in at $12 per month (per editor), and finally their ‘organisation’ plan which is $45 per month (per editor). Their pricing is quite costly, especially when you consider this is per editor, so if you have a large organisation, you’re going to have to dig deep in your pockets.

Figma gives developers the tools to inspect, copy, and export assets. You can also copy CSS from the design file itself. You can always see who’s editing what in Figma, allowing you to easily keep track of who’s working on what. Content writers can edit directly in Figma too, so no one will feel left out.

Pros:

• Fairly easy to use
• Collaborative software

Cons:

• Price is per editor and can be expensive

10 | Canva

Canva is a free design tool which can be used to create a professionally designed web template. What’s great about Canva is that it’s not limited to web design alone. You can create other designs to compliment your web templates like logos, advertising, and pretty much any imagery you can imagine.

Canva offers lots of templates to make life easier. If you don’t have any web design experience, you can use Canva’s templates to start your journey. This is always useful if you’re just starting out and want to experiment before investing too much time or money into paid design software.

Canva’s features tend to represent what software like Photoshop offers, but in a simpler way. For example, you can create speech bubbles on images, crop images, edit transparency and enhance your photos.

I find Canva useful if you’re lacking inspiration. Sometimes it’s hard to come up with a design unless you get ideas from other places. Canva has a large library of icons that you can use in any of your designs (free and paid).

Pros:

• Easy to use
• Great for creating images

Cons:

• Not as professional as other design software

Free Web Design Resources

Fribble: Lots of free PSD files and mock-ups (icons, UI kits, mobile resources)

DaFont: Thousands of free fonts that you can install to Windows and Mac

Textures: Loads of textures and website backgrounds

UI Cloud: Nearly 50,000 UI kits to choose from

Creative Market: 5 free downloads per week (fonts, templates, and patterns)

CoffeeCup Software: Free apps, HTML editor, web form builder and shopping carts

InVision app: Prototyping and collaboration tools

Pixlr: Edit images straight from your browser

Canva: Graphic design software with drag and drop functionality

Easel.ly: Infographic templates for free 

Pixiden: Loads of free icons

Font Awesome: Allows you to use popular FA icons