The tools I actually recommend for running a digital business, sorted so you can find what you need. Design, print, ecommerce, email and marketing, AI and content, courses, websites and hosting, accounting, and the admin apps that keep it all running...
Sections
14
Design & Branding
Stock Photos, Video & Assets
Print & Promo
Print on Demand & Merch
Sell Online & Payments
Email & Marketing
Design & Branding
Canadian and American Dropshipping Products
DropCommerce
Amazing tool for researching and sourcing ecommerce products.
Accio Work - Your AI Business Team That Turns Ideas Into Profits
Duh? I build everything with this.
Claude
Business cards, physical promotional materials and everything in between. We use this a lot for our business.
VistaPrint Promo Codes & Discounts for 2026
The best customer service/email manager for your business. I love the templates and the sorting it keeps everything easy.
Gorgias
Great for quickly editing content and marketing tools. Use this all the time. Simple and straightforward.
CapCut AI Video Editor: Smart Online Video Editing with Advanced ...
I use this all the time for contract signatures and sending deals.
Docusign
Logos, mockups and social templates you make right in the browser. No design skills needed, and great for a product photo before you even own the product.
Placeit by Envato
Quick photo edits, background removal and social graphics from your phone. The Swiss army knife for content days.
Picsart
A free Photoshop style editor in your browser. Perfect for fast edits when you do not want to open heavy software.
Pixlr
Generate a logo in minutes and only pay when you love one. A solid starting point before hiring a designer.
Fiverr Logo Maker
Stock Photos, Video & Assets
Fonts, templates, graphics and themes from independent designers. Where I go when I want something that does not look like everyone else.
Creative Market
Vectors, stock photos and video with a big free tier. Handy for icons and illustrations on a budget.
Vecteezy
The reliable giant for stock photos, video and music. Worth it when a project needs a sure thing.
Shutterstock
Affordable stock photos and vectors, often on a lifetime deal. A good value pick for regular content.
Depositphotos
Getty owned stock at friendlier prices. Great mix of authentic photos and illustrations.
iStock
Stock video, music and sound effects for video projects. The place to grab b roll and background tracks.
Pond5
Royalty free music and footage with simple licensing. The soundtrack subscription creators actually keep.
Artlist
Budget stock photos from the Shutterstock family. Good for volume when you post a lot.
Bigstock
Website themes and templates for WordPress and more. Buy once and launch a site fast.
ThemeForest
Plugins, scripts and add ons for your site. Where you find that one feature you need without a developer.
CodeCanyon
Print & Promo
Business cards, signage and marketing materials shipped to your door. My default for anything printed and professional.
Vistaprint
Premium business cards and stationery with a designer feel. When you want the card people actually keep.
Moo
Print on demand with local production in many countries. Lower shipping and a greener footprint for product sellers.
Gelato
Low cost bulk printing for flyers, cards and postcards. The pick when you need a lot for a little.
GotPrint
Fast turnaround printing for when you needed it yesterday. Good for last minute events.
Overnight Prints
Reliable online printing for marketing pieces and packaging. Solid quality across a wide catalogue.
PsPrint
Photo books, cards and gifts. Great for client thank yous and branded keepsakes.
Shutterfly
Beautiful custom photo books and cards. A step up when the printed piece is the gift.
Mixbook
Print on Demand & Merch
Sell custom products with zero inventory. Nice for one off merch and gifts without a full store.
Zazzle
Print on demand apparel and accessories. Set up a shop and let them handle printing and shipping.
Spreadshirt
Upload art and sell it on hundreds of products. The easiest way to test whether your designs sell.
Redbubble
Art forward print on demand for home and wall decor. Great for illustrators and photographers.
Society6
Apparel focused print on demand with a big buyer base. Good for niche and fandom designs.
TeePublic
Sell Online & Payments
Sell products or digital goods on a store that looks designed, not built. My pick for a beautiful shop without the tech headache.
Squarespace Online Store
Take payments online and in person from one place. The backbone for markets, pop ups and invoicing.
Square
Sell digital products, subscriptions and merch in minutes. Simple, creator friendly checkout.
Sellfy
Email & Marketing
Email and SMS built for ecommerce. If you sell products, this is where the repeat revenue comes from.
Klaviyo
The friendly starting point for email marketing. Easy templates and a free tier to get going.
Mailchimp
Email built for creators, with simple automations and landing pages. The go to for newsletters and digital products.
Kit (ConvertKit)
Email, automation and funnels in one tool. Good value if you want more than just a newsletter.
GetResponse
Email and SMS made specifically for online stores. Strong automations without the enterprise price.
Omnisend
Straightforward email marketing with great support. A dependable pick for local and service businesses.
Constant Contact
Email, SMS and a free CRM in one. A lot of tool for a small budget.
Brevo
CRM, email and marketing that grow with you, with a genuinely useful free plan. Where to graduate when spreadsheets stop working.
HubSpot
Landing pages that convert, no developer required. Built for running real campaigns and A B tests.
Unbounce
Polished landing pages for ads and launches. For when conversion rate is the whole game.
Instapage
Social & SEO
Schedule and recycle social posts across platforms. Keeps your feed alive without living in it.
SocialBee
Serious social management, scheduling and analytics. For when social is a real channel, not a chore.
Sprout Social
Keyword research and SEO tracking that is beginner friendly. A gentle on ramp to ranking on Google.
Moz Pro
AI & Content
Catches typos and tightens your writing everywhere you type. The quiet editor every business owner should have.
Grammarly
Paraphrase, summarize and polish text in seconds. Great for turning rough notes into clean copy.
QuillBot
A deeper writing coach for long form content. Worth it if you blog or write a lot.
ProWritingAid
Transcribes meetings and voice notes automatically. Turn a rambling idea into usable text.
Otter.ai
Edit video and add captions right in the browser. The fastest way to make reels look professional.
Veed.io
Turn scripts and ideas into videos with AI templates. Handy when you need content and have no time.
InVideo
Make videos, logos and mockups from templates. A jack of all trades for quick branded assets.
Renderforest
Record studio quality podcasts and interviews remotely. Local recording so bad wifi does not ruin the take.
Riverside
Approachable desktop video editing with AI helpers. A friendly step up from phone apps.
Filmora
Simple video and photo editing software. Good for tutorials and product demos.
Movavi
Outsource & Get Help
Hire freelancers for design, writing, video and more from a few dollars up. The fastest way to take something off your plate.
Fiverr
Find vetted freelancers and agencies for bigger projects. Where I go for ongoing help, not just one offs.
Upwork
Run a design contest and pick from dozens of concepts. Great for logos and packaging when you want options.
99designs
Learn & Teach
Short creative and business classes you can binge in an evening. A cheap way to pick up a new skill fast.
Skillshare
A huge library of courses, usually on sale. Buy the skill you need for the price of lunch.
Udemy
University level courses and certificates. When you want credentials, not just tutorials.
Coursera
Beautifully produced creative courses. My pick for design, illustration and craft.
Domestika
Learn from the best in every field. More inspiration than instruction, and genuinely motivating.
MasterClass
Tech and data skills with clear learning paths. For leveling up the technical side of your business.
Pluralsight
Hands on data and analytics courses. Useful once you want to actually understand your numbers.
DataCamp
Learn to code by doing. Enough to tweak your own site without hiring out every little thing.
Codecademy
Build and sell your own online courses. A polished platform if teaching is your product.
LearnWorlds
Host a paid community, courses and events in one branded space. Where creators build recurring revenue.
Mighty Networks
Websites & Hosting
An all in one website builder that looks designed out of the box. My default for a professional site fast.
Squarespace
Design custom sites visually with real code underneath. For when templates start to feel limiting.
Webflow
Beginner friendly WordPress hosting at a low starting price. A common first home for a new site.
Bluehost
Managed WordPress hosting that is fast and hands off. Worth it once your site earns money.
WP Engine
Flexible managed cloud hosting you can scale. A sweet spot between cheap and enterprise.
Cloudways
Domains, hosting and business email in one familiar place. Easy for getting online quickly.
GoDaddy
Affordable domains and hosting with no upsell games. Where I register most of my domains.
Namecheap
Budget hosting, domains and email for small business. A lot of tools for very little.
IONOS
Straightforward domain registration and hosting. Simple when you just need a name secured.
Domain.com
A clean, low cost domain registrar with bulk tools. A favourite for people who buy a lot of domains.
Dynadot
Managed hosting tuned for WordPress and WooCommerce. Good for stores that need speed.
Nexcess
Premium managed hosting with strong support. For sites where downtime costs real money.
Liquid Web
Budget hosting with a price lock guarantee. Reliable and refreshingly cheap.
InterServer
Portfolio sites and photo sales for photographers. Show the work and sell prints in one place.
SmugMug
Accounting & Finance
The accounting standard most bookkeepers and accountants expect. Worth it once invoices and expenses pile up.
QuickBooks
Clean, modern accounting that is a joy compared to the old options. Great for small teams.
Xero
Free accounting and invoicing for very small businesses. Perfect when you are just starting out.
Wave
Accounting and payroll that scale with a growing company. A solid QuickBooks alternative.
Sage
File business and personal taxes without the big name markup. Straightforward and affordable.
TaxAct
Payroll and benefits that are actually pleasant to run. The tool people rave about once they switch.
Gusto
Pay bills and vendors free by bank transfer. Smooths out cash flow without fees.
Melio
Hire and pay contractors and staff worldwide, compliantly. Essential once your team goes remote or global.
Deel
Business banking built for freelancers and small owners. No monthly fees and easy invoicing.
Novo
Modern business banking for startups and online companies. Clean interface and useful built in tools.
Mercury
Spot and cancel the subscriptions quietly draining your accounts. A quick audit that usually pays for itself.
Rocket Money
Productivity & Ops
Colorful project boards to run projects and teams. Flexible enough for pretty much any workflow.
Monday.com
A fast, simple task manager that syncs everywhere. My pick for a brain that will not hold it all.
Todoist
One click time tracking to see where the hours really go. Eye opening for anyone who bills by time.
Toggl
Security & Legal
Form an LLC and handle legal docs without a lawyer bill. A common first step for going official.
LegalZoom
Send proposals and contracts with e signature built in. Makes closing clients feel professional.
PandaDoc
Protect your data on public wifi and while traveling. Basic security hygiene for anyone working remotely.
NordVPN
Fast, reliable VPN with a simple app. Worth it if you work from cafes and airports.
ExpressVPN
A budget VPN that covers unlimited devices. Great value for a whole family or team.
Surfshark
A privacy first VPN from the Proton Mail team. For when security really matters to you.
Proton VPN
A password manager to stop reusing the same login everywhere. Small habit, big protection.
RoboForm
A straightforward VPN with strong speeds. A dependable pick for everyday privacy.
