My goal has always been to help and inform. And I know that there is an overwhelming amount of information available on the internet. It can be very difficult to sift through what is legitimate, fact-based, and genuinely helpful.
This blog is read by a diverse audience which isn’t surprising since the posts and articles cover many different topics. My background is also very diverse, including, Anthropology, Psychology, Business, Blogging, Social Media, and Marketing.
Keeping all of the above in mind I am including on this site a resource library of what I consider to be the top online resources. This library will cover a number of different subject areas and I hope that whatever your needs are you’re able to find some useful information.
Please check the tools and resource pages shown below for the different types and categories.
Thanks,
Amanda
My Go-To Top Tools:
Here is a general list of my go-to, top, recommended, tools. I use all of the included items and highly recommend them.
Please note that this list includes some of my carefully chosen affiliate links. You can also see my links disclosure for further info.
https://surprisinglives.net/home-page/disclosure/
SiteGround Web Hosting;
I tried and researched many hosting providers but always went back to SiteGround. Now, I exclusively use SiteGround (self-hosting) for all of my own and client’s website hosting needs.
Siteground is internationally known and respected for their outstanding performance, unparalleled features, and incredible customer service. With SiteGround you are always assured of the best and most helpful service. I know these statements to be 100% true because I was a web hosting dummy when I first started!
Check out, you’ll be glad you did!
All-In-One-SEO-Pack;
When it comes to SEO on your site or blog it’s very easy to become overwhelmed after reading the copious amounts of information and recommendations out there.
When I started my first self-hosted blog I choose the very popular SEO plugin by Yoast but had a nightmare of problems. After failing to get answers or help to my problems from Yoast customer service 9even though I had the premium version) I switched to All-In-One-SEO-Pack by Semper Plugins.
And guess what? My blog immediately stopped having the previous problems AND my ranking in Google shot up to number one!
So, I always use and recommend this plugin for the best and easiest SEO optimization for all blogs and websites.
You can even read my reviews of these SEO plugins on WordPress.Org.
Check out, at this link.
LastPass Password Manager;
Security, privacy and convenience are a top priority when online. I have happily used and appreciated the excellent tool of LastPass password manager for several years.
Here are some of the features of their premium plan. (Which I have.)
● | Password management on all devices |
● | One-to-many sharing |
● | Advanced multi-factor options |
● | Emergency access |
● | Priority tech support |
● | 1GB of encrypted file storage |
Click on the LastPass link to receive one month free for my friends and followers.
LastPass
PicMonkey Photo Editing;
PicMonkey has been my go-to photo editing and image creation site for years. I even created all of my image quotes on PicMonkey for my online store! Also, I think their image creation tools are top notch.
Here are just a couple of examples of work I created with PicMonkey,

Get ready to have fun and check out PicMonkey: crazy-awesome photo editing.
Grammarly;
Both of my daughters and I are long-time fans and customers of Grammarly. There are numerous excellent features that I think are unbeatable with the Grammarly premium account which I use.
Here are a few,
-Instant Grammar Checking.
-Best Plagiarism Checker.
-The World’s Best Automated Proofreader.
Check out, The World’s Best Grammar Checker.
SmugMug;
SmugMug is the best and easiest way to Create Stunning Photo Websites For You, Your Family, Or Your Business.
I created my first Online Image Quote Store with SmugMug! Plus they have unlimited free photo storage! A win-win combination.
Go ahead and Create Stunning Photo Websites with SmugMug – Try it Free!
plus you can get your free SmugMug 14-day trial today, and save 15% on a subscription.
Namecheap;
Namecheap is an all-in-one destination for all of your cost-effective online website and domain needs. Check out some of their services.
-Looking for a cheap domain name? Then, start your domain search here.
-Get full Whois protection for only $2.88/year from Namecheap now!
-Get 46% Discount on Green Bar Single-domain EV SSL.
So try, Affordable prices and stellar support at Namecheap.
ShareASale;
ShareASale is the only affiliate program that I belong to. This program is also the same one used by some of the top websites, particularly with Marketing Bloggers.
Although I have a few independent affiliate accounts I recommend ShareASale as the most effective and fair large-scale program.