How SiteGround Saved Me From My WordPress Hosting Nightmare

Featured by admin, posted in Web Hosting

DISCLAIMER: This post is full of SiteGround affiliate links. Like tons of them. There are at least 3 in this disclaimer alone. But here’s the thing: I am a SiteGround fan and a SiteGround customer. Everything in this post is true and I am 100% sure that you will have a better hosting experience if you switch to Siteground. If you click on my links, we both win.

SiteGround is the best for WordPress hosting

I know this because I have experienced the worst. SiteGround is like the sun, and my old host is like a pile of garbage.

I hate my old host so much that I can’t possibly give them any free publicity but I do want you to be able to figure out who they are so I have decided to disguise their company name whenever I mention them in this post. Hopefully you can see through my disguise and avoid this company for hosting.

Here’s how it went down with my old web host “JoYaddy”:

I had their most expensive shared hosting plan. The most upgraded resources without getting my own VPS, which I didn’t need, because honestly I didn’t have that much traffic!

But it was never enough.

I somehow constantly maxed out on resources.

“RoNaddy” was years behind with their PHP version. Everyone else was at 7.0 (at least) and they were stuck in the dark ages at 5.X.

Plugins didn’t work.

The server would timeout all the time.

I should have left after a year.

But I was scared.

I’m not a tech guy. I know a little bit about HTML, CSS and PHP, but just enough to change a few things.

I didn’t know how to move a WordPress site.

What if something went wrong?

It was just safer to stay with “YoLaddy”, right?

But one day I just decided I couldn’t take it anymore. I wanted to run all the plugins. I wanted my site to run at a normal speed and get regular traffic with no down time!

I wanted a website that just worked.

So I bit the bullet and decided to switch.

I read about how to transfer a WordPress site properly, and got ready with backups and tutorials.

I heard great things about Siteground for WordPress hosting.

So I contacted them and guess what happened?

They migrated everything for me.

I had a lot of WordPress databases and files.

They just said:

“No worries, you seem nervous. Just give us a login and we’ll do it.”

And it was so easy. Everything was exactly the same when the DNS switched over.

But it was faster. And plugins worked.

Then I found out they have FREE SSL for all sites. I was like what? I’m paying $99 or something from “VoSaddy” for something that is FREE?!?!

And now that I’ve been with SiteGround for a while I can tell you there truly is no down time.

Great service when I need it, which is hardly ever – really only when I’m trying to figure out how to do something new. Not because something went wrong or things don’t work.

Newest PHP version, backups, security and more features that I don’t even understand.

But forget all of that.

It just works.

That’s all I ever wanted.

Why was it so hard to get this from “ToBaddy”?

And SiteGround is so cheap to start. Like $3.95 USD/month if you are just starting and have one website. That’s nothing.

Seriously, I wasted so much time with “WoKaddy” and I wish I would have known that I could just go somewhere new and it would work.

Building a website is tough enough without having to worry about whether your WordPress host can handle what you’re creating.

So if you’re having any hosting issues just stop right now and go to Siteground and check out the options.

In conclusion, say “Duck Off!” to “ZoRaddy” or whoever your crap bag host is and switch to Siteground – NOW!

Get Stencil to Create Awesome Images Quickly and Easily

July 24, 2017June 8, 2018 by admin, posted in Entrepreneurs, Small Business, Stock Photos, Web Design

Stencil is the simple image creation tool I was looking for.

I use Stencil almost every day. The image above was created with Stencil.

Photoshop and Illustrator were always way too complicated for me. And expensive.

But I needed to make a high quality logo with text that didn’t get all pixelated when I zoomed in, so I thought Illustrator was my only option.

Then I remembered I had a lifetime subscription to this thing called Stencil that I bought a while back through AppSumo.

Stencil was exactly what I needed now that I have a website and social media channels.

It’s Like I Could See The Future

Back in 2014 when Stencil was called Share As Image I bought the lifetime deal. I thought it might be good to have an easy way to add text to images, and maybe post those on Facebook for my friends.

Now I actually need Stencil for blog featured images, podcast cover photos, logos and any kind of photo you can think of. Sometimes I just use it to resize images or save JPGs as PNGs.

Here are some of my favourite things about Stencil:

Fonts: You can upload your own fonts or connect directly to the Google font database so it’s always easy to find the font you need for your image.
Stock photos: though I mostly use DepositPhotos for my stock images, Stencil has over 1 Million background photos for you to use if you’re making an image from scratch.
Graphics and icons: There are over 200,000 searchable graphics and icons for when you just need a curvy arrow or a tiny computer icon.
Upload your own photos: you can upload and store your own backgrounds and photos to be dropped into your image and resized every which way
Built-in image sizes: Making a Facebook ad? Just choose “Facebook Ad” as your image size. Want to post that on Pinterest? Pick the Pinterest size and move your contents around to fit the tall rectangle that Pinterest loves so much. Custom size not in the Stencil defaults? Add as many as you want and give them names to re-use later.

Quick and Easy Images

These are just some of the things that I like about Stencil, but there are many more options that help you make images really fast and move things around like you would do in any sophisticated image creation or editing software.

It’s all online so you can work on your images from everywhere and save the progress as you go.

Stencil makes my life easier on a daily basis.

Click here to try the free version of Stencil or get the pro version for just $9/month.

NOTE: THIS POST CONTAINS AFFILIATE LINKS, BUT I’VE WRITTEN IT BECAUSE I THINK STENCIL IS AWESOME, NOT JUST TO GET YOU TO CLICK ON THINGS. IF IT BOTHERS YOU TO CLICK ON AFFILIATE LINKS, THEN PLEASE DON’T CLICK ON THEM. I’M NOT HERE TO BOTHER YOU. THAT WOULD BOTHER ME AND NO ONE LIKES TO BE BOTHERED. THE MOST IMPORTANT THING TO ME IS THAT YOU KNOW THAT STENCIL IS AWESOME. NOW, IF YOU APPRECIATE THAT I’VE LET YOU KNOW ABOUT THE AWESOMENESS OF STENCIL, THEN PLEASE SHOW YOUR APPRECIATION BY CLICKING ON THE LINKS. I DID SPEND TIME WRITING THIS AND POSTING IT FOR YOU SO I MIGHT AS WELL GET PAID BY STENCIL FOR LETTING YOU KNOW ABOUT THEM, RIGHT? THANKS!

The Ultimate AppSumo Giveaway (Over $25,000 in prizes!)

May 31, 2017January 22, 2018 by admin, posted in Free Stuff, Giveaway

NOTE: THE GIVEAWAY ENDED IN JUNE 2017 BUT YOU SHOULD STILL HEAD OVER TO APPSUMO TO SEE WHAT KIND OF CRAZY DEALS THEY HAVE GOING ON NOW!

AppSumo never ceases to amaze me

Every week, AppSumo offers crazy amazing deals on products that normally would cost hundreds if not thousands of dollars.

Lifetime Subscriptions
Huge discounts on marketing tools that would normally be too expensive for me
Deals I didn’t even know I wanted until they told me about them

But now they’ve gone too far.

AppSumo is giving away $25,000 of stuff for FREE.

They’ll be awarding prizes to FIVE WINNERS (each package worth $5,652!)

What You’ll Win:

Camtasia: Personal Licenses for Mac or PC (Value: $199)

Recording a product video? Webinar? Video walkthroughs? Tutorials? Use Camtasia to record and edit all your video projects!

Teachable: One Year Access To Professional Plan (Value: $999)

The #1 place to create, sell, and host your online courses.

Mini Wipebook Pro: Leather-bound Whiteboard Book (Value: $39)

The cure for the common notebook. An easy way to keep a whiteboard with you at the ready.

Edgar: One Year Access (Value: $948)

The best way to manage all of your social media accounts with more consistency and in less time.

SELF Journal (Value: $35)

The SELF Journal helps organize and align the tactical day-to-day tasks with larger life goals.

AdEspresso: One Year Access To Basic Plan (Value: $588)

Looking to run your Facebook and Instagram ad campaigns without having to go through the learning curve of Facebooks Power Editor? AdEspresso is your ticket to ad freedom!

SE Ranking: Lifetime Access to Plus Plan (Value: $2,556)

Get the competitive advantage with SE Rankings amazing SEO tool.

Code & Quill: 4 Notebook Bundle (Value: $72)

Notebooks built for the way you actually work. (Created by a former Sumo!)

Growth Hacker Book Bundle: (Value: $116)

Tools of Titans. Growth Hacker Marketing. Traction. Hacking Growth. The Ultimate Sales Machine.

AppSumo Gift Cards (Value: $100)

Your ticket to software heaven. Use this gift card to snag some of the coolest software tools available.

Total value for each winner: $5,652

Giveaway closes Friday June 9, 2017 at 11pm so click below to enter now! It’s FREE!!

CallPage Makes it Less Painful to Call Potential Customers

May 18, 2017January 22, 2018 by admin, posted in Customer Service, Entrepreneurs, Small Business

CALLPAGE GETS PHONE NUMBERS FOR YOU

I don’t like talking on the phone.

When my phone rings I look at it and yell: “Just email me already!”

(Ok, I yell it in my head – but the feelings are the same.)

However…

I understand that some people like talking on the phone.

Especially in my industry where they are calling to talk about something personal, like their finances.

But the worst thing for me is to just get a random call when I’m not expecting it.

Which is why CallPage is awesome.

CallPage puts a little button on my website that says: “Would you like to receive a free callback?”

The potential customer enters their phone number and then I get a call to connect me to their number.

The best part: I get to set my callback hours.

So let’s say I’m only able to really be available to call people back(in 28 seconds, as they say) for 2 hours a day, then I set up those 2 hours and for the rest of the day it still takes numbers but I can call them back another time when I’m free.

And the potential customer doesn’t have to get a callback immediately either. They can request a call now or later.

NOTE: THIS POST CONTAINS AFFILIATE LINKS, BUT I’VE WRITTEN IT BECAUSE I THINK CALLPAGE IS AWESOME, NOT JUST TO GET YOU TO CLICK ON THINGS. IF IT BOTHERS YOU TO CLICK ON AFFILIATE LINKS, THEN PLEASE DON’T CLICK ON THEM. I’M NOT HERE TO BOTHER YOU. THAT WOULD BOTHER ME AND NO ONE LIKES TO BE BOTHERED. THE MOST IMPORTANT THING TO ME IS THAT YOU KNOW THAT CALLPAGE IS AWESOME. NOW, IF YOU APPRECIATE THAT I’VE LET YOU KNOW ABOUT THE AWESOMENESS OF CALLPAGE, THEN PLEASE SHOW YOUR APPRECIATION BY CLICKING ON THE LINKS. I DID SPEND TIME WRITING THIS AND POSTING IT FOR YOU SO I MIGHT AS WELL GET PAID BY CALLPAGE FOR LETTING YOU KNOW ABOUT THEM, RIGHT? THANKS!

Lifetime Access to WiseStamp Pro for only $29!

May 17, 2017December 15, 2019 by admin, posted in Email, Entrepreneurs, Lifetime Deals, Small Business

“Your Email Signature Probably Sucks.”

I’ve been using WiseStamp for over a year now and I don’t qualify for this awesome deal from AppSumo because I already have a pro account.

I’m a little upset, but I’m still going to share this deal with you because I like WiseStamp and don’t want you to have to pay monthly like me.

(If you don’t know about AppSumo please read my AppSumo review here.)

WHAT IS WISESTAMP?

Good question!

WiseStamp lets you make fancy email signatures for all your different email addresses. It connects to your Gmail and other services.

I have my standard profile and email and website stuff, but also social media links and like buttons and even a YouTube video link!

I don’t have recent posts or tweets showing but you can do that if you want!

WHY DO I WANT THIS?

That’s an easy answer: Your email signature probably sucks.

Or you don’t have one at all.

Do you know how many times I’ve had to look up someone’s information because they didn’t reply with a signature?

All emails should have signatures and WiseStamp signatures are really really really ridiculously good looking.

HOW MUCH IS IT AND WHERE DO I GET IT?

The WiseStamp Pro plan will cost you only US$29 for a lifetime subscription. (Note: AppSumo deals sell out fast so this deal may not be available anymore.)

Remember how I said I’m upset because I don’t qualify? I pay $6 per month. Ugh. That’s $72/year, every year, forever – for me. And that’s in US dollars. I’m Canadian so it’s worse than you think.

But you’re not me.

You pay $29 once. That’s it. Just once.

I seriously feel like a fool for paying full price. But that’s what I get for not waiting for the deal to come around on AppSumo. And that’s why I always buy the lifetime subscriptions on AppSumo because they are always fantastic and they never last.

So click on any of the links or pictures in this post, or the WiseStamp logo below and get it now! Did I mention AppSumo deals expire quickly? Go now!

NOTE: THIS POST CONTAINS AFFILIATE LINKS, BUT I’VE WRITTEN IT BECAUSE I THINK WISESTAMP IS AWESOME, NOT JUST TO GET YOU TO CLICK ON THINGS. IF IT BOTHERS YOU TO CLICK ON AFFILIATE LINKS, THEN PLEASE DON’T CLICK ON THEM. I’M NOT HERE TO BOTHER YOU. THAT WOULD BOTHER ME AND NO ONE LIKES TO BE BOTHERED. THE MOST IMPORTANT THING TO ME IS THAT YOU KNOW THAT WISESTAMP IS AWESOME. NOW, IF YOU APPRECIATE THAT I’VE LET YOU KNOW ABOUT THE AWESOMENESS OF WISESTAMP, THEN PLEASE SHOW YOUR APPRECIATION BY CLICKING ON THE LINKS. I DID SPEND TIME WRITING THIS AND POSTING IT FOR YOU SO I MIGHT AS WELL GET PAID BY APPSUMO FOR LETTING YOU KNOW ABOUT THIS WISESTAMP DEAL, RIGHT? THANKS!

Depositphotos has the best stock photos on the internet

May 15, 2017January 22, 2018 by admin, posted in Entrepreneurs, Small Business, Stock Photos, Web Design, Writing

“You Get What You Pay For When It Comes to Stock Photos”

Depositphotos was made for people who write quality content and need quality stock photos.

Writing online is not easy. It’s hard work.

When I write a post and publish it online, I spend a lot of time on it. I’m always proud of my final product.

The last thing I want to do after I spend all this time and energy on a post is just throw in some generic stock photo like this one:

I want the best photo.

I want a photo that is unique and matches my writing. This one, for example, really fit with a post I was writing about false advertising:

The only place you’re going to find that is Depositphotos.

$29 for 30 Stock Photos is Worth It

I first came across Depositphotos when they ran an AppSumo promotion:

As I wrote in my AppSumo post, US$39 was a great deal for 100 photos.

But once I started using Depositphotos, I realized that they were top quality and that the US$29/month regular plan for 30 photos is still worth it.

You get to carry over any unused monthly credits so it’s not like you are forced to download all 30 photos in one month.

That works out to around $1 per photo. This might seem expensive, but it depends on how often you publish posts and how many photos you typically use in a post.

It really comes down to how much you think your posts are worth. If you value your writing, you should value the visuals that go along with it.

I’ve tried other stock photo sites and they are mostly underwhelming.

On the other sites you are promised unlimited access to hundreds of thousands of photos but when you look closer you find that there is very little variety and the more specific you get, the more out of luck you become.

You Get What You Pay For When It Comes to Stock Photos

I learned quickly that paying less than $1 doesn’t mean you’re getting a slightly worse photo. It means that you’re getting a bad photo that you don’t even want to use because it’s just filling space.

So if you’re frustrated with your existing options for stock photos, before you give up and use that crappy photo again to fill space, please head over and check out Depositphotos first.

Also sign up with AppSumo and keep your eyes peeled for another deal on 100 photos for $39. You don’t want to miss your chance if it comes around again!

NOTE: THIS POST CONTAINS AFFILIATE LINKS, BUT I’VE WRITTEN IT BECAUSE I THINK THE STOCK PHOTOS AT DEPOSITPHOTOS ARE AWESOME, NOT JUST TO GET YOU TO CLICK ON THINGS. IF IT BOTHERS YOU TO CLICK ON AFFILIATE LINKS, THEN PLEASE DON’T CLICK ON THEM. I’M NOT HERE TO BOTHER YOU. THAT WOULD BOTHER ME AND NO ONE LIKES TO BE BOTHERED. THE MOST IMPORTANT THING TO ME IS THAT YOU KNOW THAT DEPOSITPHOTOS IS AWESOME. NOW, IF YOU APPRECIATE THAT I’VE LET YOU KNOW ABOUT THE AWESOMENESS OF DEPOSITPHOTOS, THEN PLEASE SHOW YOUR APPRECIATION BY CLICKING ON THE LINKS. I DID SPEND TIME WRITING THIS AND POSTING IT FOR YOU SO I MIGHT AS WELL GET PAID BY DEPOSITPHOTOS FOR SENDING YOU THEIR WAY, RIGHT? THANKS!

If You Have a Website, You Need AppSumo

April 25, 2017January 22, 2018 by admin, posted in Entrepreneurs, Lifetime Deals, Small Business, Web Design

The Awesomeness of AppSumo

Where do I even begin to describe the awesomeness of AppSumo?

Scenario: You just started a blog and you are looking for great photos to use in your blog.

You eventually want the blog to be popular and get attention so you are careful only use stock photos or other photos that you are legally allowed to publish.

You check out some of the free stock photos on Google or other places on the web and you realize…

…they are all crap.

And why wouldn’t they be, right? There is a huge market on the web for quality stock photos and you thought you could get good ones for free?

So you go to depositphotos.com(one of the best stock photo libraries out there) and check out their plans and prices.

US$29/month for 30 images? Not bad but maybe a bit too pricey if you’re just starting out.

So you browse the web for other options and you stumble on to this site called AppSumo and it has this deal(now sold out, sorry!):

Works out to only US$0.39 per image, which is much more manageable than US$1!

This is what I’m talking about with AppSumo. Great deals and all you have to do is sign up for free to get them.

And this kind of discounted deal isn’t even the best kind…

LIFETIME SUBSCRIPTIONS

I can’t even count how many lifetime subscriptions I’ve purchased through AppSumo.

Why?

Because they are all too good to pass up.

Example: Lifetime Access to Book Like A Boss “big boss” plan for US$39

What is Book Like a Boss? Yeah, I didn’t know either. That’s another great thing about AppSumo is that it introduces you to products you might not have even known about.

Book Like a Boss is your personal booking page. Create your own page with everything you need to sell your services, take appointments, & get paid!

I’ve been thinking about using other plugins or booking sites like Calendly, but I picked Book Like a Boss because it’s an amazing deal for a more comprehensive booking and “getting paid” platform that is really slick and put-together.

Plus, they are committed to amazing growth in the near future – check out this list of what’s coming in the next year:

That’s pretty extensive. The last thing you want to do is buy a lifetime subscription to something and then they just give up on you.

Book Like a Boss “big boss” plan usually costs US$25/month!! (That’s US$300/year!!)

AND YOU JUST GOT A LIFETIME SUBSCRIPTION FOR ONE PAYMENT OF US$39!!(THIS DEAL IS NOW EXPIRED)

Are you seeing how AppSumo is awesome now?

Maybe Book Like a Boss is not your style, but if you have a website at all, they will eventually post a deal that will make you love them forever.

So stop paying full price for web things and check AppSumo first.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, but I’ve written it because I think AppSumo is awesome, not just to get you to click on things. If it bothers you to click on affiliate links, then please don’t click on them. I’m not here to bother you. That would bother me and no one likes to be bothered. The most important thing to me is that you know that AppSumo is awesome. Now, if you appreciate that I’ve let you know about the awesomeness of AppSumo, then please show your appreciation by clicking on the links. I did spend time writing this and posting it for you so I might as well get paid by AppSumo for sending you their way, right? Thanks!

Why Tangerine is the Most Awesome Bank Account in Canada

January 8, 2017December 15, 2019 by admin, posted in Banking

The most awesome deal in Canada right now, is the deal you get when you sign up for an awesome bank account at Tangerine.

Everyone has a bank account.

But not everyone thinks that they should be getting an awesome deal on their bank account.

This is confusing to me.

WHY DO YOU CHOOSE TO PAY FEES?

You have the option to not pay fees, yet you choose to pay fees?

Maybe the people that pay fees, just don’t know that they don’t have to.

With Tangerine, you pay no monthly account fees, and have unlimited debit transactions and withdrawals.

You even get interest on your chequing account – a tiny amount but it’s better than nothing.

Check out this article I wrote for a great contrast between Tangerine and RBC.

NEW IN 2019 – NO INTERAC EMAIL MONEY TRANSFER FEES

I used to be ok with the $1 per email money transfer because everything else was free.

Then I heard Simplii Financial starting offering free email money transfers as well as everything else Tangerine offers.

Well, it took them a while but finally Tangerine decided that they would cut the $1 Interac fee as well in late 2019.

So it’s virtually a perfect bank account now, with the only remaining cost being for a bank draft, which is something I rarely need, if ever, so I’m fine with that.