These are recommended resources for students of the Udemy Course, “The Complete WordPress Website Business Course.” All of these services have been tested and are used during the course. Please use the links that follow to set up your business, hosting, practice and staging areas, and learning and development environments.
Many of the links offer an exclusive discount! However, you do not have to purchase anything to complete the course.
Please Note: Most of the links below will pass on my referral code, which means if you click on the tool and sign up, I will likely receive a commission at absolutely no additional charge to you. These are all used in the course material, and I recommend them highly!
Image and Import download files:
There are a couple large images for you to work with here. Compress and resize them!
https://wpdevcourse.com/bigimage.jpg
https://wpdevcourse.com/hugeimage.jpg
The latest demo content file that I provide for students is here: https://wpdevcourse.com/2020-02-16-demo-content-files.zip
And this is a link to the sample content import file from wordpress.org: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/WPTT/theme-unit-test/master/themeunittestdata.wordpress.xml
Specials:
The new WP101 course videos are excellent, especially for learning the new Block Editor! (password: in the dropdown at the top left under WP101 in your student sandbox dashboard)
Hosting:
Student Free Trial Hosting for your coursework:
Free Year of Hosting at CREATE: Create.com is a new host that’s offering us one full year free! I recommend clicking the WordPress plans on the left, and getting the WordPress Business plan, which will give you the ability to create 10 WordPress sites. No payment method is necessary.
Other Hosting Options:
GridPane – the BEST WordPress hosting; self-managed with great support for server and WordPress needs
SiteGround Hosting Programs: SiteGround WordPress Hosting
If you choose to use Flywheel for your own business: Flywheel Promotional Code for WPDevCourse Students is flywpdevcourse
Use the promotional code above to receive 3 months free on any annual plan.
Flywheel Hosting Programs – Managed WordPress Hosting
SpinupWP – $50 credit for signing up! A user-interface by Delicious Brains, very fast, WordPress-optimized, and inexpensive
Pantheon – Managed WordPress Hosting with a developer-centric interface, staging areas and team utilities
WP Engine Excellent Managed WordPress Hosting (Also Includes all StudioPress Themes and Genesis!)
Kinsta – Everything-you-need Managed WordPress Host – simple interface, super-fast and secure, WP expert support
Cloudways – Speedy, hands-off hosting with fast WordPress installation, starting at $5.00 USD/month, free trial for 14 days
Digital Ocean – Set up a speedy cloud server manually, through Digital Ocean’s friendly interface.
Themes:
Divi Theme and Builder by Elegant Themes – Discount on the Divi License! This is the theme and builder I use for most sites currently.
Hundreds of Divi Layouts to start from! – check out the layouts that come with Divi
Envato Elements – (now includes WordPress themes and plugins) Plus stock images, graphics, templates, mockups, etc.
ONE Template Monster – membership with hundreds of themes
Plugins:
Beaver Builder – The famous Beaver Builder page builder plugin – works well with Genesis
Elementor Page Builder -Excellent page builder plugin
WPMU Dev Premium Plugins – Excellent WordPress Plugins and website management hub, with a free trial after which you can keep the plugins you downloaded!
Envato Marketplace – Premium WordPress Plugins
WooCommerce – eCommerce plugin and documentation (free)
Graphics and Miscellaneous:
Envato Elements – (now includes WordPress themes and plugins) Plus stock images, graphics, templates, mockups, etc.
Pixlr Editor – Excellent Image Editing, browser-based utility from Autodesk
Gimp – Image Editor, free Photoshop competitor
Atom – Code Editor
Notepad++ – Code Editor
Filezilla – FTP Program
Envato Marketplace – Video, Graphics and Images, Audio Sounds, and more
Mailchimp – The Most Awesomest Marketing Email List Provider, 2000 contacts free
Upwork – Freelancer’s Client Finder and a great way to start out in your WordPress business
Working with Clients:
Troy Dean’s WP Elevation Education
As you’ve heard me teach about, I used Troy’s free information to really ramp up my client work and increase my fees, as well as adding recurring revenue to my business with Website Care Plans. There’s lots of great free information in their blog, and WP Elevation opens enrollment every four months or so.
Learn about WP Elevation’s Blueprint Program
Sample Client Proposal Template (Word doc) – This file is an edited version of a real proposal I used to win a $5500 contract with a client. I used WP Elevation’s examples and resources to write this proposal. I saved it as a PDF to submit to the client for signing and approval. Feel free to edit and use it for your own business.
Code Documents
OLD: https htaccess code (NOTE: Now that SiteGround has https:// management built into their SG Optimizer plugin, you no longer need to edit your .htaccess file manually.)