Starting a blog is exciting, but also kind of overwhelming, right? From picking the right platform, writing & blogging tools to figuring out design, SEO, and legal stuff… it’s a lot!
And let’s not even talk about the hardest part: figuring out what you want to write about and how to structure it all!
I’ve tested tons of tools since launching my blog. Some were great, others just looked fancy but didn’t help much. After a few months of trial and error, I finally found what works best for me.
In this post, I’m sharing the blogging tools I actually use and recommend: the ones that help me write, plan, design, and monetise my blog efficiently. Whether you’re just starting out or looking to level up, these tools will help you work smarter.
That said, what works for me might not be a perfect fit for you, so I encourage you to try out the free versions and see what suits your workflow best.
*This post contains affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission if you purchase through them, at no extra cost to you. I only recommend what I personally use and love!
Content Planning & Productivity Tools
Before you can actually publish a blog post, there’s planning, writing, and a whole lot of organising behind the scenes. These are my go-to tools for organising my thoughts, staying on top of my to-dos, and making blogging feel a whole lot easier:
1. Google Workspace (Free & Essential)
From Google Docs for drafting blog posts to Google Sheets for tracking ideas and Google Calendar for batching content creation, I use Workspace tools every single day. They’re cloud-based, accessible from anywhere, and perfect for collaboration if you work with others.
Best for: Beginners to pros who need free, reliable tools to write, organise, and collaborate
2. Trello
I’ve tried Trello in the past, and it’s a great visual planning tool, especially for teams or bloggers who love a drag-and-drop setup. It uses a kanban-style board, where you can organise blog post ideas into columns like “Idea,” “Draft,” “Scheduled,” and “Published.”
While I personally use Notion for managing my own content (see below), Trello is a solid choice for those who want something simple and team-friendly.
Best for: Visual planners and bloggers collaborating with others
3. Notion
For more in-depth planning, I use Notion to manage everything from my blogging database and task lists to long-term content strategy, blog post templates, affiliate programs, and even SEO checklists. It’s highly customisable, and once you get the hang of it, it’s a total game-changer.
Best for: Bloggers who want an all-in-one workspace for everything.
Writing & Editing Tools
Once your ideas are planned out, it’s time to write. These are the tools I use to draft, edit, and polish every blog post, from the first word to the final check.
1. Google Docs
This is where most of my blog posts start. It’s free, cloud-based, and accessible from anywhere, which makes it perfect for writing on the go or switching between devices. You can even use it offline (as long as you’ve enabled offline mode beforehand), and I love how easy it is to share and collaborate with others, especially handy when working in a team, with a VA or editor.
Tip: Create your own blog post template in Google Docs to speed up your writing workflow
Best for: Drafting blog content and collaborating easily
2. Microsoft Office 365 Suite
While Google Docs is my go-to, I also use Word, Excel and PowerPoint from the Office 365 suite for more formatting flexibility and spreadsheet-style planning. It’s especially useful for managing budgeting spreadsheets, affiliate data, or product review notes.
Unlike Google Docs, though, Office 365 isn’t free; it requires a paid subscription (~£60/year). But if you’re already using it or prefer the traditional desktop setup, it’s still a solid choice.
Best for: Bloggers who prefer a familiar desktop writing experience
3. Grammarly
Before I upload my blog posts, I always check them with Grammarly. It catches typos, improves sentence structure, and helps keep my tone clear and consistent. You can use the free version or upgrade to Premium for more advanced writing suggestions. Either way, it’s a must-have.
Best for: Proofreading and polishing blog posts for clarity and correctness
Did you know? Grammarly also integrates with Chrome and Google Docs, so you can edit as you write!
Blogging Platform, Hosting & Theme
When it comes to building your blog, your platform and hosting setup really matter. A fast, flexible foundation makes everything else easier: from design and SEO to monetisation.
1. WordPress.org
I use WordPress.org, and I truly believe it’s the best blogging platform out there if you’re serious about growing your blog. It gives you full control over your site’s design, functionality, and monetisation – unlike free blogging platforms, which often limit customisation and don’t allow full access to plugins or affiliate tools.
It’s open-source, SEO-friendly, and completely customisable. Yes, it takes a little time to set up, but it’s absolutely worth it if you want to scale your blog long-term.
Best for: Bloggers who want full creative control and plan to monetise their content
Did you know? WordPress.org powers over 40% of the web, including many of the best blogging websites worldwide
Tip
Don’t confuse WordPress.org with WordPress.com, they’re very different!
WordPress.org is the self-hosted version that gives you full control and lets you monetise your blog freely. WordPress.com, on the other hand, is more limited unless you upgrade to one of their higher-priced plans. If you’re planning to grow your blog seriously, go with WordPress.org.
2. Hosting (Choose a Reliable Provider)
To run a self-hosted WordPress blog, you’ll need a good hosting provider. I recommend choosing one that’s fast, secure, and beginner-friendly. Look for options that offer one-click WordPress installs, daily backups, and strong customer support.
Some of the best blogging host sites include:
- Ionos (my personal pick)
- SiteGround
- Hostinger
- Bluehost
Best for: Anyone using WordPress.org, solid hosting is a must
Pro Tip: A good host improves your site speed, which directly impacts your SEO ranking
3. Kadence Theme & Avada
I use the Kadence theme, and I can’t recommend it enough: it’s lightweight, flexible, and built for speed. You don’t need any coding skills, and it works beautifully with drag-and-drop editors like Kadence Blocks (with Gutenberg Editor). It’s one of the best blogging themes out there, especially if you care about SEO, performance, and design freedom.
Best for: Bloggers who want a fast, clean website without hiring a developer
Kadence offers a free version, which is already powerful enough for most bloggers. But if you want more advanced features (like a header/footer builder, pro blocks, WooCommerce integration, or premium starter templates), there are several upgrade options available. Click here to compare the packages and choose the best fit for you.
If you’re building a more complex website (for example, with custom headers, footers, mega menus, or integrated portfolios) Avada is also a solid and equally popular all-in-one solution. It’s feature-rich and very customisable, though keep in mind it’s heavier and may load slower compared to Kadence, since it comes with more built-in code and options.
Avada Price: One-time payment of $69 (includes lifetime updates + 6 months support)
Best for: Bloggers or small businesses who need an all-rounder theme for more complex site builds
Visual & Design Tools
Now that your blog is set up, it’s time to make it look great, and visual content is a big part of that. These are the design tools I use daily for everything from Pinterest graphics to photo editing.
1. Canva Pro
This is hands-down one of the best tools for blogging, especially if you’re not a designer. I use Canva Pro for blog graphics, Pinterest pins, Instagram stories, freebies, media kits, and even digital products.
You get access to premium templates, brand kits, stock images, and more. And honestly, the drag-and-drop interface makes everything so easy.
If I could learn how to use it, you definitely can too; and you won’t regret it. It’s one of the most useful tools out there and a must for creators, influencers, bloggers, designers… anyone working online.
Canva offers a solid free plan for beginners, while Canva Pro unlocks premium features. Click here to check pricing and upgrade options or try Canva Pro free for 30 days to see if it’s the right fit for you.
Best for: Bloggers creating visuals for social media, blog posts, and products
2. Lightroom (Mobile & Desktop)
For photo editing, I mostly use Lightroom Classic, the desktop version. It’s perfect for enhancing travel photos and creating a consistent look across your blog, Instagram, and other platforms.
One of my favourite features is the Erase tool, which lets you remove anything or anyone distracting from your shot: ideal for creating a clean, professional-looking photo. You can also use presets to keep your visual style cohesive, which is super helpful for building a strong brand identity.
Best for: Bloggers who work with original photography and want pro-looking edits
Planning a blog-worthy trip?
3. Photoshop
For more detailed or professional graphic work, I turn to Photoshop. It’s not necessary for everyone, but if you’re used to working with layers, exporting in specific formats, or designing more complex visuals, it’s a powerful tool.
I mainly use Photoshop to design custom assets, such as blog graphics and logos. Also, to resize and scale my images properly before uploading them to WordPress. This not only ensures everything looks sharp, but also helps improve site speed and performance.
Best for: Advanced bloggers and content creators with design experience
Pro Tip: Resizing and compressing your images before uploading to WordPress improves site speed and SEO.
Lightroom and Photoshop come bundled in the Adobe Photography Plan. Click here to check out all available plans, including options with more cloud storage
Legal & Compliance Tools
Legal pages and privacy compliance may not be the most exciting part of blogging, but they’re absolutely essential. Whether you’re growing traffic, collecting emails, or using affiliate links, you need to make sure your blog follows key legal requirements.
1. Cookie Yes
If your audience is based in or visits from the EU or UK, your blog must be GDPR-compliant, and that includes showing a proper cookie consent banner. I use CookieYes, which makes this super easy. It automatically scans your site for cookies and displays a customisable banner so you stay compliant with privacy laws like GDPR and CCPA.
Best for: Bloggers who want a hands-off solution for GDPR, cookie banners, and privacy compliance
2. Other Legal Must-Haves
Even if you’re not selling products, you’ll need a few basic pages on your site:
- Privacy Policy (required by law, especially if you’re using Google Analytics or collecting emails)
- Disclaimer Page (especially if you use affiliate links or talk about health, travel, or finance)
- Terms & Conditions (optional but good practice)
You can create these yourself or use a free legal page generator like:
Tip: Make sure always to disclose when a post includes affiliate links. Not just for transparency, but also to comply with legal requirements and affiliate program rules.
Affiliate Blogging Tools
Affiliate marketing is one of the best ways to monetise your blog, especially in the travel, lifestyle, and digital products space. But to make it work, you need the right tools that help you insert, manage, and track your affiliate links easily and legally.
These are the affiliate tools I use to generate passive income from my blog:
1. Stay 22
One of the smartest affiliate tools I use is Stay22, and what really sets it apart is its AI-powered tool called Let Me Allez (LMA). Once you install it on your blog, it automatically detects and converts your existing hotel, tour, or activity links — like Booking.com or GetYourGuide — into affiliate links, even if you haven’t manually joined those programs.
That means you can start earning commissions from the links you’ve already added to your posts, with no extra work.
I also love Stay22’s interactive map widget, which allows readers to browse accommodations and activities visually, then book directly from the map. It’s clean, user-friendly, and increases engagement on your pages.
Best for: Travel bloggers and creators who want an easy, hands-off way to monetise accommodation and activity links
Tip: You don’t need to apply to Booking.com, Agoda, or Viator separately. Stay22 aggregates top platforms and handles the conversions for you.
2. Travelpayouts
Travelpayouts is another excellent all-in-one affiliate network specialising in travel. It connects you with brands like GetYourGuide, Viator, Booking.com, Trip.com, and more. You can promote flights, hotels, tours, and even travel insurance — all in one place.
I mainly use it to generate affiliate links for Airalo, Trip.com and Asia12go. Once you’re approved, you can create deep links or use their widgets and banners across your site.
Best for: Bloggers who want to promote multiple travel brands through one dashboard
SEO & Analytics Tools
If you want your blog posts to rank on Google and attract the right readers, SEO is non-negotiable. And once your content is live, you’ll want to track how it’s performing. These are the SEO tools for blogging that I use daily/ weekly, to grow smarter, not just harder.
1. Keysearch
This is hands-down my favourite keyword research tool: it’s beginner-friendly, affordable, and super powerful. I use KeySearch to find blog post ideas, analyse competition, and discover long-tail keywords I can actually rank for.
You can track your rankings, spy on competitors, and build your content strategy based on real data, not just gut feeling.
Best for: Bloggers who want to grow organic traffic with smart, data-backed keyword research
2. Google Search Console (GSC)
Once your posts are live, Google Search Console helps you monitor how your site performs in search. You can:
- See what keywords your blog is showing up for
- Track your click-through rates and average positions
- Submit sitemaps and fix indexing issues
- Identify underperforming posts to update
Best for: Bloggers who want to understand how Google sees their content
3. Google Analytics (GA4)
GA4 is your go-to platform for tracking blog traffic, user behaviour, and conversions. You can see:
- Which posts get the most views
- Where your traffic is coming from (Pinterest, Google, Instagram, etc.)
- What your readers do on your site — how long they stay, and where they drop off
It might feel intimidating at first, but once you get used to it, GA4 gives amazing insight into what’s working, and what’s not.
Best for: It’s an essential tool for all bloggers to track growth, user behaviour, and content performance
Bonus Tips: Speed, Images & Smarter Blogging
Before you hit publish, here are a few final tips that can make a huge difference in how your blog performs, especially for SEO and user experience.
Resize & Compress Your Images
Large, uncompressed images are one of the most common reasons blogs load slowly. To avoid this, I always resize my images in Photoshop before uploading them to WordPress. Once uploaded, I use the WP Optimize plugin to automatically compress them into WebP format using Glossy compression — which keeps image quality high while significantly reducing file size.
Best practices I follow:
- Use Glossy compression (high quality, low file size)
- Convert to WebP format for faster loading
- Aim for under 200–300 KB per image, when possible
Use WP Optimise for Site Speed
I use the WP Optimise plugin as my all-in-one tool to keep my WordPress site running smoothly. It helps with three key things:
- Database optimisation – cleans up post revisions, spam comments, and leftover drafts
- Image compression – reduces file sizes without compromising quality (I use glossy compression)
- Caching – stores static versions of your pages to improve load times
This combo makes a noticeable difference in how fast my blog loads, especially on mobile.
Best for: Bloggers who want to improve performance, speed, and SEO without touching any code
Why Speed Matters
Google uses site speed as a ranking factor, and readers definitely notice it too. A slow blog can lead to higher bounce rates, lower engagement, and poor user experience, especially on mobile.
Tip: Run your site through PageSpeed Insights or GTmetrix to check performance and see what to improve.
Final Thoughts
Blogging doesn’t have to be overwhelming; the right tools can make everything smoother, faster, and even more fun. These are the blogging tools I genuinely use and trust to run my site efficiently, whether I’m planning content, designing graphics, or monetising posts.
Not every tool will be the perfect fit for everyone, so start small, test what works for you, and build your own toolkit over time.
If you found this post helpful, feel free to share it or drop a comment below, or check out my other resources for new bloggers!
