Here are some great resources for setting up a website:
Found SEO Audit Tool – use this tool to test your new website and make sure you aren’t breaking any key SEO rules. I’m pretty new to SEO and this tool provided some simple feedback showing me what I missed when I set up my site (for instance, I had no sitemap.) All pretty easy to fix, once you’ve identified the problem.
Google’s PageSpeed Insights – I found this tool as a link from the Site Speed Suggestions in Google Analytics. This tool will identify anything slowing down your website. For instance, I had a couple images that I hadn’t “saved for web” in Photoshop. A quick change and my site was significantly faster.
This Facebook Tool will help you determine how your blog posts will look when you post them to Facebook.
Quicksprout is a free tool that analyzes your website for SEO, speed, traffic and social – and allows you to compare to your competitors.
Backlink Checker is a free tool to see what websites are linking to yours.
SenderScore is a free tool to check your domains reputation when it comes to sending email (and not ending up in the SPAM folder.
https://mailtester.com/Mailtester will test email addresses.
Glock Apps will check the deliverability of your email.
Here are some great resources for setting up a small business:
Zoho CRM – a free Customer Relationship Manager (for 3 or fewer users.) I’ve been a Salesforce user and love having access to information about clients at my fingertips. Salesforce is a bit of overkill for a small business, and Zoho seems to be pretty full featured for the right place (free for 3 or fewer users.) A few features aren’t available in the free system, but it’s working great so far. One feature I may end up paying for is being able to write data on an iPad. The iPad app for the free version is read-only, and I love my iPad.
Quickbooks Online – a slimmed down version of Quickbooks Pro Software. Available anywhere you have an internet connection, which is nice for the ultra-small business. Some features aren’t available on the iPad version (like reconciling a bank statement.) I found this much nicer than Wave Accounting, which I tried for 6 months until it broke and the fix was super painful. I found this link on Amazon which allowed me to buy one year of service for about 50% of the monthly fee. QuickBooks Online Simple Start [Download]
Upwork – find freelancers to do just about anything. I’ve had my logo designed; my website designed; backgrounds designed for Facebook, Twitter and YouTube; and even found an accountant to help setup Quickbooks.
Fiverr – find just about anything for one low price: $5. I had my business cards designed on Fiverr, sample logos for a client, a cartoon to explain a complex process, even birthday presents. Most products have upgrades (in increments of $5) so you can pay more if you want it fast or with more bells and whistles. This is an affiliate link – thanks for supporting my website!
Email Checker – anyone with a small business should have an email list. If people sign up online, you can hope that they typed their email address correctly. But if you collect email addresses at an event or at your brick and mortar store, this handy utility will help you decipher their handwriting. You type in what you think it says and it will tell you if it’s a valid email address. Free for up to 10 addresses per day, or pay for more.
Some great tips for new business owners http://www.jamesaltucher.com/2013/08/the-ultimate-cheat-sheet-to-starting-and-running-your-own-business/