Disclaimer: Some of these links are affiliate links. If you make a purchase through the link, I will earn a small commission. This commission is of no additional cost to you. Please note that the products and services listed below are ones that I use and love :)
Traffic Planet Hosting (now WPX Hosting)
Awesome web host that loads my webpages super fast (which is super important because my webpages are really big/heavy due to all the image files). Been using them for a year and counting. I love TPH!! **Edit: It’s now called WPX Hosting.
It’s probably a less affordable option for those just starting out, so another recommendation I have is Bluehost. They’re super affordable. I host other websites with them (3 others) and have never had any issues. I would definitely recommend going with Bluehost to start :)
Newspaper WP Theme
I’ve tried more than 20 wordpress themes on my site and newspaper is my all-time favorite. This theme is highly customizable, making it the perfect match for how picky I am.
Social Locker
Content locker I use to boost social shares and engagement on my site.
Easy Social Share Buttons
Stylish buttons to encourage readers to share my content. These are highly customizable buttons that can be activated on desktops and/or mobile devices.
WP Smush It
A free plugin that compresses images to help my pages load even faster.
All in One SEO Pack
SEO tool for getting my site seen in the search engines.