40+ Must-Use Tools For Marketers, Website Developers, Graphic Designers & Writers

Originally Published June 2020

Writers’ Block. Creative Slowdown. Work Paralysis. Lack Of Inspiration. Stuck At A Crossroads.

Any of these apply to you? Whether you’re trying to find keywords for you next Google Ads campaign, figure out what colors to make your website, or come up with a name for your business, we have gathered some AMAZING tools to make your creative and analytical life easier. 40+.

40+ TOOOOOOOLS

That’s right. 40+ Must-Use Tools For Marketers, Website Developers, Graphic Designers & Writers, right here, right now, just for you.

Look through the list, find what you need to get your juices flowing, and get back to the task-at-hand. Or browse our list some more. Your choice.

40+ tools for marketers, website developers, graphic designers, and writers

Meeting Tools

Zoom

The year is 2020. 51% of the human population is using Zoom video conferencing for work . . . and to chat with their grandma in the nursing home under quarantine. It’s easy to set up and has a number of features available for free.

Tool Link: https://zoom.us/

Calendly

Tired of going back and forth in emails trying to set up a meeting time? Meet Calendly. Efficiently set up your desired meeting windows, and let people choose one online.

Tool Link: https://calendly.com/

Google Meet

Prefer the Google Suite of tools? Don’t want to bother setting up Zoom? Google has you covered for video conferencing with Google Meet. Some basic features are free, so you can start meeting right away.

Tool Link: https://meet.google.com/

Writing Tools

Grammarly

Whether you’re the reincarnation of William Shakespeare himself – or Gomer Pyle – Grammarly is a great spell checker and grammar check to keep you on track. And the basic package is free.

Tool Link: https://app.grammarly.com/

Thesaurus.com

Is your writing feeling bland, or boring, or dull, or banal, or insipid, or tedious, or wishy-washy, or blah, or flat, or flavorless, or ho hum, or monotonous, or uninspiring, or weak, or vapid, or humdrum? You need Thesaurus.com.

Tool Link: https://www.thesaurus.com/

Typosaur.us

Just need a quick and easy spell checker for pages on your website? Use Typosaurus. Just copy and paste in the page link.

Tool Link: https://typosaur.us/

WordHTML Converter

Never learned HTML? Not sure what HTML is? But, you need it to style the text on your website? Copy and paste that Microsoft Word or Google Doc text into WordHTML and it’ll spit out the proper HTML for you. Just make sure to preview your page before posting. It is a free service after all.

Tool Link: https://wordhtml.com/

LibreOffice

Feeling a little anti-establishment? Prefer to keep your privacy? Hate Microsoft and Google? For your word processing needs, and more, check out LibreOffice, the open source word processor and office suite.

Tool Link: https://www.libreoffice.org/

Design Tools

FreePik | IconFinder | Undraw

Find free icons for your website like arrows, little people, social media icons, symbols, and more at the following links.

Tool Link: https://www.freepik.com/

Tool Link: https://www.iconfinder.com/search/?q=&price=free&license=1

Tool Link: https://undraw.co/illustrations

MapStyle

Tired of green and brown and yellow Google Maps on your Contact or Home or About page? Add your own branding, or switch it up completely with MapStyle! You can make your Google Map any color you want, and set different levels of detail as well.

Tool Link: https://mapstyle.withgoogle.com/

YouTube Free Music Library

Find free audio, music, and sound effects for your next video here.

Tool Link: https://studio.youtube.com/channel/UCeXRYJguTKo1KGBkfs3u-XA/music

Photopea

This is easily the number one replacement for Photoshop if you don’t have access to that Adobe product. It’s free, and works in-browser.

Tool Link: https://www.photopea.com/

Color Wheel | Color Picker | Gradient Creator

What the f*** is a complimentary color? Don’t worry. With Canva Color Wheel, Adobe Color Picker, or the UI Gradient Generator, you don’t have to know anything about art to find colors that look good together for your next branding project.

Tool Link: https://www.canva.com/colors/color-wheel/

Tool Link: https://color.adobe.com/create

Tool Link: https://uigradients.com/#Wiretap

Website Analysis Tools

Google Search Console

Control how your website appears in Google search results by submitting a sitemap and removing outdated content through Google Search Console.

Tool Link: https://search.google.com/search-console

Google Analytics

Find out which pages people are visiting on your site and learn what they find value in with Google Analytics.

Tool Link: https://analytics.google.com/

Google Lighthouse Website Audit

Find out how fast or slow your website is, what SEO problems you can fix, accessibility issues for those with disabilities, and more with Google Lighthouse Audits.

Tool Link: https://developers.google.com/web/tools/lighthouse

BuiltWith – Website Software Checker

Forgot who’s hosting your website? Or want to check in on what a competitor’s website was built with? This is the perfect tool for you. Just paste in the URL and off you go!

Tool Link: https://builtwith.com/

Pingdom Website Speed Checker

Find out how fast or slow your website is with the Pingdom Website Speed Checker.

Tool Link: https://tools.pingdom.com/

DFEOJM – Website Up-Time Checker

Is your website not working? See if it’s a problem with your local computer/browser, or if it’s a really big problem on the server side by seeing if it’s down for everyone or just you at Down For Everyone Or Just Me!

Tool Link: https://downforeveryoneorjustme.com/

Securi – Website Security Checker

Worried there might be malware on your site? This free scanner can check most common malware, though since it’s free it can’t check everything. Use it as a first resource before digging deeper.

Tool Link: https://sitecheck.sucuri.net/

Broken Link Checker

Haven’t updated your website in a while? There might be a bunch of broken links on it which are making for a bad experience for your visitors. Check which links are broken with this checker, and then fix them manually.

Tool Link: https://www.brokenlinkcheck.com/broken-links.php

Content Planning Tools

Google Ads Keyword Planner

Find the volume of people searching for specific keywords in Google. Requires a Google Ads account.

Tool Link: https://ads.google.com/

Google Analytics

Find what pages people are visiting, and where they came from – Google Search, social media, email campaigns, etc.

Tool Link: https://analytics.google.com/

Answer The Public – Longtail Keyword Research

Find some long keywords and key phrases searchers may be using that relate to your business. Be sure to select “US”, not “UK”. Unless you’re in JOLLY OLD ENGLAND, then by golly do it.

Tool Link: https://answerthepublic.com/

Social Media Tools

Canva

An easy way to “photoshop” some images for social media. It even shows you what size to make your image based on the platform you’re using.

Tool Link: https://www.canva.com/

Crello

An easy way to “photoshop” some graphics and animations for social media.

Tool Link: https://crello.com/home/

Facebook Image Text Checker

If you’re planning to run a Facebook Ad, your image can’t have too much text in it. Check if it falls within Facebooks guidelines by using this image text checker.

Tool Link: https://www.facebook.com/business/help/980593475366490?id=1240182842783684

File Sharing Tools

WeTransfer

Need to send a large file, image, or presentation but can’t fit it in an email? Send it via WeTransfer without even making an account. We can’t vouch for the security though, so don’t send anything too sensitive.

Tool Link: https://wetransfer.com/

DropBox

DropBox allows for shared storage so you can set up an account and store things for consistent sharing over time.

Tool Link: https://www.dropbox.com/

Google Drive

Prefer the Google Suite of tools? Don’t want to bother setting up DropBox or WeTransfer? Google has you covered for file sharing and simultaneous file editing with Google Drive.

Tool Link: https://drive.google.com/

Programming Tools & Resources

CodePen

Need to know if your code will work? CodePen offers front-end code testing online in your browser.

Tool Link: https://codepen.io/

Business Research Tools

Minnesota Business Listings Search

Need to find some info on a Minnesota business? The state has a directory made just for that, if they’re registered with the state. Not in Minnesota? Tough luck sugar. JK, your state may have the same registry, check with your Secretary of State.

Tool Link: https://mblsportal.sos.state.mn.us/Business/Search

Minnesota Contractor License Search

Need to find some info on a Minnesota contractor? The state has a directory made just for that, if they’re licensed by the state. Not in Minnesota? Tough luck sugar. JK, your state may have the same registry, check with your state’s Department of Labor or equivalent.

Tool Link: https://secure.doli.state.mn.us/lookup/licensing.aspx