Here is a handpicked list of products and services to take your WordPress website to the next level. We only recommend products and services we’ve used, so we can vouch for the integrity, support, and ‘best of class’ quality of these WordPress resources.
Managed WordPress Hosting Companies
You’ve got better things to do than keeping your WordPress site up to date, backed up, and secure! The hosting companies we recommend below specialize in hosting WordPress sites, and offer services you simply can’t get from regular web hosts.
We only recommend Managed WordPress hosts who provide all of these features:
- Automatic nightly backups for peace of mind!
- Automatic WordPress updates, ensuring your site is always up to date!
- 24/7 security monitoring for malware or attempts to hack your site.
- Free repairs if your site is ever hacked!
- Staging servers so you can make changes to your site offline.
- Servers that are specifically built for hosting WordPress sites… fast!
- Stellar support from people who know WordPress inside and out, not just reading from a book of scripts.
You might also read: “Which WordPress host is best for me?”
- Liquid Web — Do you make money with your website? Liquid Web is for people whose website is their business. They provide enterprise-level features at mid-market prices. If you use your website to make money, Liquid Web is your best choice. It’s specifically designed for business owners, agencies, and freelancers who run mission-critical sites. And they offer some innovative features you can’t get from any other WordPress host. Click to read: why we trust Liquid Web to host this site!
- WP Engine — Are you thinking about how to deliver personalized content to your audience? If not, you soon will be! Luckily, our friends at WP Engine are already building a platform to create individualized digital experiences using WordPress. They’re evolving beyond generic WordPress hosting to provide data-driven personalization that will help you better connect with your audience. Their award-winning support is second to none, and they offer powerful tools for beginners and developers alike, which is why WP Engine is one of the most popular WordPress hosts for ‘mission critical’ sites.
WP101 Exclusive Offer: Get 4 months free on any annual hosting plan at WP Engine when you use coupon code: WPE20OFF
- Pressable — Reliable managed WordPress hosting for businesses and developers who expect more — more performance, more security, and more support from experts who are passionate about WordPress. Their mission is to simplify the publishing process on the Internet.
- StudioPress Sites — NEW! The only solution that includes everything you need to create a WordPress site: 20 StudioPress themes, dozens of commercial plugins, plus managed WordPress hosting. It’s perfect for bloggers, podcasters, and affiliate marketers, as well as those selling physical products, digital downloads, and membership programs. Check out our review of StudioPress Sites for more details.
- GoDaddy — Are you a beginner on a budget? GoDaddy offers easy, hassle-free WordPress hosting with 24/7 phone support, plus the lowest cost at $3.99/mo!
- SiteGround — Are you a developer who wants affordable tools? SiteGround offers a full suite of developer tools for just $14.95/month.
- Kinsta — The first managed WordPress host to be exclusively powered by Google Cloud Platform, featuring 15+ data center locations around the globe and a blazing fast premium-tier network. Perfect for sites of any size, small or large.
Managed WooCommerce Hosting
Do you run an e-commerce website powered by WooCommerce? If so, you owe it to yourself to check out Liquid Web. They’re the first hosting company to provide purpose-built managed WooCommerce hosting!
- Managed WooCommerce Hosting from Liquid Web — Purpose-built, fully-managed WooCommerce hosting. High performance under heavy load. Dynamic resizing without downtime for those periods of higher traffic. Built-in performance tests. Actionable analytics to help you improve sales. Abandoned cart recovery. Plus, white glove migration to ensure minimal downtime as well as performance testing and improvements right from the beginning!
Premium WordPress Themes
Don’t get stuck with a poorly-coded theme and no support! WP101 recommends these talented, highly-reputable WordPress theme companies…
- StudioPress Sites — NEW! More than just themes. All-in-one hosted websites, including 20 mobile-optimized themes, premium plugins, PLUS hosting, security, and maintenance. Everything’s included!
- Elegant Themes — 88 beautiful, premium WordPress themes for only $89!
- ThemeForest — The largest selection of premium WordPress themes.
- Array — 17 of the most gorgeous, best-designed WordPress themes for just $89!
- Proteus Themes — 9 WordPress themes for small business with support for local SEO, for only $19.95! Plus, enter promo code: WP101 at checkout to save 10%.
- ThemeIsle — 30 Free & Premium WordPress Themes
WordPress Customizations, Maintenance, and Support
Need help fixing your WordPress site, or keeping it up to date? These folks can help!
- Codeable — Need a minor customization? Get help from 200+ WordPress experts in 10 minutes or less!
- WebTegrity — Friendly hosting and maintenance services for your WordPress site.
- WP Site Care — Friendly WordPress support services from $79 per month.
- Maintainn — Security, backups, updates, and customizations starting at just $49/month.
- ManageWP — Manage all of your WordPress sites from one dashboard.
- Sucuri — Hacked? These guys can help! Web monitoring and malware clean up service.
Learn HTML, CSS, and PHP Basics
You don’t need to know HTML and CSS to use WordPress. But eventually, you may run into situations where it comes in handy. You may want to change fonts or colors used in your site. Or you may want to add a custom link to a text widget. That’s where HTML and CSS come in handy. And these are the best courses for learning those basics.
- Intro to HTML and CSS — Treehouse is the easiest, most beginner-friendly place to learn the basics of HTML and CSS.
- PHP: A Primer — Do you already know HTML and CSS and want to start developing for WordPress? This ebook will give you a solid introduction to PHP so you can start creating WordPress themes and plugins!
SEO: Get your site listed in Google!
Baffled by SEO? Tired of publishing your content to the sound of crickets? If you want your content to appear at the top of the first page in Google search results, you need to learn to think like Google. These SEO courses will help you do just that!
- “To the Top” SEO Course — over 8 hours of education and 85 lessons in SEO.
Add Custom Forms to Your Site with These Plugins
One of the missing features in WordPress (in our opinion) is an easy way to create custom forms. Every website should at least have a contact form! Thankfully, these companies have stepped up to the plate and filled this much-needed void:
- WPForms — Hands-down, the easiest, most beginner-friendly WordPress contact form plugin on the market!
- Gravity Forms — A full-featured plugin for creating custom forms in WordPress.
- Ninja Forms — Not as easy as WPForms, but more flexible, and completely FREE!
The Two Easiest Ways to Backup Your WordPress Site
- BackupBuddy — The most popular choice for backing up (or moving) a WordPress site!
- VaultPress — Backup and security monitoring for your WordPress site from the makers of WordPress.com
Convert Your Website Visitors into Customers
Lead generation software converts abandoning visitors into subscribers!
- OptinMonster – The best lead generation software for site owners with dynamic marketing tools and Exit Intent® technology.
Build a Membership Site Just Like This One
Over the years, I’ve had the opportunity to experiment with just about every membership plugin out there! Here are the ones I recommend…
- LifterLMS — Here’s why we recently migrated this site to LifterLMS. We feel it’s the best LMS plugin for building an online learning site just like this one.
- LearnDash — Arguably, the most popular and trusted WordPress LMS plugin. LearnDash powers online courses for Fortune 500 companies, major universities, training organizations, and entrepreneurs worldwide.
- Rainmaker — Hands down, the best all-in-one membership platform with hosting included.
- MemberPress — One of the easiest membership plugins to set up, with robust options.
- PrivateContent – The simplest way to protect content for logged-in users.
- Restrict Content Pro — Simply protects your content for paying members.
Simple e-Commerce for WordPress. Sell anything!
- WooCommerce — The largest, most flexible e-commerce plugin for WordPress.
- Checkout for WooCommerce — Finally, an awesome checkout experience for WooCommerce! Replaces the clunky, default WooCommerce checkout page with a beautiful, responsive, and conversion-focused design. Works with every theme!
- WP eCommerce — The original WordPress e-commerce plugin!
- Exchange by iThemes — Sell your digital and physical products online in 5 minutes.
- Easy Digital Downloads — The easiest way to sell digital downloads through WordPress – for FREE!
Easy Video Hosting
- Vimeo PRO — We trust Vimeo PRO to power this site! Video hosting for professionals with powerful privacy options to protect your videos. Here are 10 reasons you’ll love Vimeo.
Events Calendar Plugins
- Sugar Event Calendar — A sweet, simple WordPress event calendar plugin. Most event calendar plugins are overly complex and bloated. Sugar Event Calendar is designed to be simple, light weight, and provide just the major features you need for event management.
- Events Calendar Pro — A solid, feature-rich calendar and events management suite with tons of add-ons to scale your calendar from soup to nuts.
“Coming Soon” or Maintenance Mode Plugin
- Coming Soon Pro — Work on your site behind the scenes while you collect valuable email addresses.
Translate Your Site into Other Languages
- WeGlot — Make your website multilingual with this translation plugin and service.
Other Resources
- Post Status — The top site for insider news and information for WordPress professionals.
- WP Tavern — Hands-down, the longest-running WordPress news site.
Note: We participate in affiliate programs with many of the companies listed above because we believe in them. We may receive a small commission when products are purchased through the links on this website. You can rest assured that we only recommend products we’ve used ourselves and where we have a personal relationship with the developer(s).
