Tools
One recommendation per category. No affiliate links. No sponsored placements. Just what I actually use and what I would recommend to any service business building a serious web presence.
Free for most small business sites. Globally distributed CDN, automatic HTTPS, deploys in seconds. Best for Next.js and modern framework sites.
Free tier, exceptional performance, includes Cloudflare's security and CDN by default. Strong alternative to Vercel for static sites.
Managed WordPress hosting. Faster and more reliable than shared hosting. Worth the price for WordPress sites generating real traffic.
Free. The standard for tracking traffic, conversions, and acquisition sources. Required setup on every site I build. See the tracking guide for setup instructions.
Free. Session recordings and heatmaps — see exactly where visitors click, scroll, and drop off. Exceptional product at no cost.
Free for basic use. Handles form submissions from any static site with email notifications, spam filtering, and a clean dashboard. My default for simple contact forms.
Best for multi-step intake forms and qualification flows. Conversational format increases completion rates for longer forms. Starts at $25/month.
CRM, email marketing, SMS, pipeline, scheduling, and basic automation in one platform. Replaces multiple tools once set up. Best for businesses with 20+ leads per month. ~$97/month.
Basic CRM with deal tracking, email templates, and pipeline management. Good starting point before you need full automation.
Free up to 500 contacts. The simplest starting point for service businesses sending newsletters or basic follow-up sequences. Good deliverability.
Better for coaches and content creators who need automation, tagging, and segmentation. More powerful than Mailchimp for nurture sequences. From $9/month.
The standard for booking calls. Clean embed, connects with Google Calendar and Outlook, free tier covers most use cases. Reduces scheduling back-and-forth significantly.
Open-source alternative with more customization. Generous free tier. Worth it if you want full control over the booking experience.
Industry standard for UI design. Free for individuals. Every site I design starts in Figma. If you're working with a designer, ask for the Figma file — you can view and comment without a paid account.
Dynamic number insertion — visitors from different sources see different phone numbers, so every call is attributed to its traffic source. Essential for businesses where calls are the primary conversion. From $45/month.
Free. Shows which search queries are bringing people to your site, which pages are indexed, and what technical issues Google has found. Set up alongside GA4 on every site.
Free. Google's tool for measuring site speed and Core Web Vitals. Check your mobile score — anything below 70 is costing you conversions.
The best tool is the one you will actually use. A $200/month platform you barely understand is worse than a free tool you use correctly every day. Start simple, add complexity only when you have a specific problem that requires it.
For a deeper look at how to put these together into a stack, read the tech stack checklist article.
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Every site I build includes hosting setup, GA4, form tracking, and basic integrations. Book a call and we'll figure out what you actually need.
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