Favourite online tools

To run or grow your business online

This is an extensive selection of the online tools (SaaS or CMS) I use to support small to medium-business owners like you.

Heads up - some may have affiliate links, i.e. I’ll get a small payback back if you subscribe at NO extra cost to you.

 
 

Online course platforms

 
 
Online course website builders
Teach:able

I use Teachable to host a social enterprise online learning platform I run - YouMums. While the web design possibilities are limited, their Facebook community is amongst the most responsive and helpful, especially when starting in the online learning industry.

Their latest feature “Coaching” which enable Calendly integration straight in is a clear bonus for the service providers particularly interested in online coaching. It is also fair to point out their Teachable U (aka Wiki) is well explanatory in comparison to some of their competitors but you may find their online support (when you raise a ticket) moderately responsive.

Greatest assets: coaching feature + Teachable U (= DIY guide on how to build your site).

Best match: Coaches, service providers thinking of extending their online learning offers with online coaching.

Thinkific

Thinkific is quite similar to Teachable in terms of backend UX. Great CMS to use when starting an online course business as really intuitive. Thinkific makes particular sense if you’re selling also online products and need an easy integration with Shopify.

Greatest assets: integration with Shopify + user-friendly backend.

Best match: eCommerce business owners

Kartra

Kartra stands amongst the most powerful all-in-one marketing software and online course website builder. It will be more costly than Teachable or Thinkific but you won’t require external tools for your email marketing campaigns, landing pages and other digital marketing assets.

If you're looking to streamline your online operations with one tool that does it all, Kartra will be a good fit with built-in sales funnels, analytics tagging, etc. However it is fair to say, their DIY user guide isn’t the most explanatory and you might find their backend a tad less user-friendly due to the terminologies used.

Greatest assets: integrated digital marketing assets + automation possibilities.

Best match: service providers relying on a solid sales funnels.

LearnWorlds

LearnWorlds approach is for those looking to build an online school and community around it with some of the best learning experience. LearnWorlds CMS is fairly user-friendly but has a solid Academy that will support you all the way in your DIY course creation.

Their customer service is also amongst the best I’ve experienced - friendly, organised and super responsive. Their pricing is direct competition with CMSs like Teachable and Thinkific as unlike Kartra or Kajabi, it holds less integrated marketing software or automation possibilities.

Greatest assets: the variety of templates for the front end design + really good interactive learning experience + integrated online community feature(no need to rely on a Facebook group to interact with your community) + possibility to build an app.

Best match: community builders, teachers or businesses having for a core purpose to educate.

Kajabi

Kajabi has everything you need to build and grow your online business. Like Kartra it has pre-built pipelines (sales funnels) and automation possibilities. The customisation possibilities of the front-end design or email marketing software are worth mentioning for the design-lovers out there (like me :P). Kajabi also has the possibility to build an online community that’s entirely independent of the whims and wishes of social media platforms. Your online learning experience can be taken a step further by offering an app to your audience. And finally, you’ll appreciate their 24/7 customer care support - simply invaluable!

Their pricing is in competition with Kartra since it’s also an all-in-one marketing software and online course website builder.

Greatest assets: customisation + design possibilities + app development + online community builder.

Best match: design lovers :) online educators with established revenue.

 

There are many other website builders specialising in online course creation out there. I’m only listing here the platforms I either use(d), work(ed) on or had a play with.

How can you find the solution that’s right for your business? 

Chat this through!

Portrait Claire Thi website

Website builders (CMS)

Website builders (CMS)
Squarespace

I’m using Squarespace for the website on which you stand :) This Content Management System (CMS or website builder) is simply ideal for design-lovers or service providers looking to enhance the online experience they offer to their audience.

It is one of my fav tools when it comes to building slick websites easily - fair to admit, however, if you’re a newbie in web development or switching from tools like WIX or Weebly, you might find Squarespace a tad more complex. That said, once you get your head around how it works, you’ll quickly fall in love too. Plus there are tons of resources online to help you DYI your own site. Squarespace offers also many possibilities for eCommerce business owners - make sure to check it out!

Greatest assets: awesome designs throughout their templates + integrated features like a calendar booking system, eCommerce, newsletter, menu display.

Best match: from startups/solopreneurs to established businesses or service providers and eCommerce business owners.

Weebly

Weebly is a great tool for those starting their journey online and looking at building first, brand awareness or open up a fresh new online store. It is very affordable (if not FREE) and their back-end is super easy to use. However, you’ll quickly notice their pricing goes up as soon as you need extra features such as eCommerce, a custom domain or simply more storage. That said, it’s still a great solution that will minimise your expenses if you’re just starting.

Greatest assets: very user-friendly back-end + option for a free subscription

Best match: startups, solopreneurs, small business owners and online stores, service providers starting their online journey or online brand awareness campaign.

Leadpages

When I started with Leadpages, it was just a landing page builder but it has now evolved into a powerful, all-in-one solution for small business owners or service providers looking for an online solution that’s got it all integrated. You can now easily build websites, landing pages, pop-ups, alert bars, and beyond through Leadpages and I’ll admit it’s a very attractive tool!

Beyond a solid solution that will help you convert your visitors easily, their customer service is excellent and their knowledge-base is extremely resourceful. Leadpages has been a leading company when it comes to converting users into customers so you can trust they’ll have some of the best templates or email marketing automation in place to level up your online business.

You’ll find their excellence is justified in their pricing so perhaps not ideal for those just starting up. However, it never hurts to dream “someday, you’ll earn the right to drive that Ferrari too” :)

Greatest assets: all-in-one marketing software + user-friendly back-end

Best match: medium to large businesses or established service providers who wish to boost their online conversion.

Rocketspark

Our very own Kiwi website builder :) Sometimes, building an online business from the other side of the world holds challenges - especially when it comes to communicating with customer support services. Well, that’s the end of it with Rocketspark!

Rockspark offers to New Zealand business owners and service providers a user-friendly CMS capable to scale easily. With clear and minimalist templates, design-lovers are in for a treat! This solution comes highly recommended by a lot of online stores owners who had to DYI their site rapidly.

Greatest assets: user-friendly back-end + NZ-own and operated + offers “Designed for you” websites packages through a network of expert designers.

Best match: startups, solopreneurs, small business owners and online stores, service providers starting their online journey.

 
 
 

Productivity & Operations

Productivity-Operations online tools
Ex-GSuite
Ex-GSuite

THE indispensable tool for any business owners starting a venture, period. Whether you need or not an online presence, GSuite simply allows you to be and feel professional on so many levels. Their cloud storage is amongst the most user-friendly and ideal to work in teams; their email software is highly secure thanks to their 2-step verification system; the suite comes with survey tools, online docs, spreadsheets, presentation possibilities that will make you question the needs for Microsoft (likely their purpose ;-)

Greatest assets: all the operational tools you need to run a business.

Best match: any businesses or contractors keen to use one secured service to “do-it-all”.

Project Management
Project Management

Asana is a great Saas (software as a service) to keep you focused on your goals, deliverables meanwhile keeping track of where your team/contractors are at.

Asana offers a very user-friendly dashboard to get your business activities organised and on time plus, a straight forward way to communicate with those working with/for you.

Team communication
Team communication
Password management software
Password management software

THE safest place where to store all your passwords, credit cards info and so much more!

I simply cannot function without 1Passowrd.

Whether for my business or personal life, I use 1Password every single day to log into the online services I work with or trade with or bank with.

You may have come across similar services like LastPass and the question I always hear is “how do I choose the right one?”. There is none I’m afraid - use it, feel it and pick the one you feel most comfortable with using on daily basis. Personally, if I picked 1Password is because I find their interface a lot user-friendly but some may say otherwise.

Telehealth software
Telehealth software

and Practice management system.

Digital writing assistant
Digital writing assistant

Writers’ best friend! Especially if English is your second language like me, Grammarly is a must.

Far more intuitive than any autocorrect or spellcheck on the market. Grammarly also looks into your style - how you write a sentence and pass on feedback to improve it.

From email, to Google doc, to social media post, to this description itself - I use Grammarly constantly whenever I have to write up something online.

The special bonus you’ll get for non-English speakers is your English level on overall will grow. I’ve learnt tons through Grammarly since I started using it, something like 8 years ago.

Worth every cent but you can try it for FREE!

Integration partner
Integration partner

Integrating different Saas with each other has never been easier thanks to Zapier! No more expert developer help required (or almost)

It would be fair to admit, it might take you while to get familiar with the terminologies but once the learning curve overcome, you’ll love Zapier just as much as I do.

Online scheduling/booking software
Online scheduling/booking software
Online Team scheduling
Online Team scheduling
 

Sales & Marketing

Sales & marketing online tools
Canva
Canva

#1 favourite tool! If you don’t have a clue about design, Canva will become your best friend, if not, the most used tool for your online marketing actions. It will allow your brand to take a professional stance without the expense of a qualified graphic designer. However, that is not to say you should not hire one for certain tasks like your logo - while Canva can get you started if you need a design that truly stands out and creative, a graphic designer is the person you should talk to. Canva will sort you out pon daily basis for any marketing media required and you can reach out to me to set it all up and running for you or making sure your brand guidelines are consistent.

Greatest assets: the photo/elements library available on paying subscription - infinite options!

Best match: any solopreneurs, startups, contractors, small to medium businesses in need of daily designs to get their brand awareness up.

Online proposal software
Online proposal software

Proposify is my “secret weapon” when it comes to building astonishing proposal templates for clients. If your sales funnel relies on proposals for conversions, Proposify is a closer and the tool that will WOW your customers every single time. It takes a bit of practice to get familiar with how to set your customised template up and some minor bugs building tables may raise frustration. However, if you can’t be bothered, you’ll find their template library good enough.

Greatest assets: a range of features that will help you understand your customers’ behaviour when they read their proposal; e.g. the time they spent on each page and therefore the pages that are most important to them.

Best match: any businesses or contractors sending off proposals.

Sales CRM
Sales CRM
Design library
Design library
CRM + FREE email signature
CRM + FREE email signature

Inbound Marketing, Sales, and Service Software.

FREE stock photos
FREE stock photos

That don’t look like stock photos.

Customised design mockups
Customised design mockups
Instagram management
Instagram management
Pinterest management
Pinterest management
Free social media image resizer (an so much more!)
Free social media image resizer (an so much more!)

If you’ve been on social media for a while, you might have noticed found yourself resizing your creatives for different channels.

Canva does a pretty good offering in their editor resizing functions, however, you may find it from time to time outdated. Personally, there’s nothing more frustrating than a banner image not sized properly but in the meantime, hard to keep track when platforms like FB change it regularly.

SproutSocial offers here a free resizing tool to facilitate your work. But the truth is SproutSocial is SOOOO much more than that! While I cannot justify its expense (yet) I’ve been using their resources and blogs A LOT!

Their social media management tool is by far one of the most impressive and useful but not quite for startups or small businesses; that said, you’ll find an unfathomable amount of tips following their blogs or guidelines.

There are also many CRMs options, Social media management platforms, etc. “How to choose the right one?” is the question I get asked on a daily basis. It’s entirely normal to feel overwhelmed. Each and every tool has its speciality. While some achieve exactly the same thing, they’re all built on different likings and purposes.

Remember - some people will always choose Apple over Microsoft or vice versa. There is no right or wrong answer; simply different perceptions and pathways for our brain to work.

Still struggling to figure out what’s best for you?

 

Webinar platforms

Webinars or video conferencing softwares have gained momentum throughout lockdowns across the world - I’m sure we’ve all caught up or experienced some decent “ #ZoomFail ” this year!

While platforms like Zoom or GoToWebinar (from GoToMeeting) are almost unmissable these days (thanks COVID!!), I’ll encourage you to look a bit further - especially if your aim is to educate your audience; you may find other webinar platforms a lot more intuitive or engaging. I’m listing here the ones I particularly recommend; rest assured, you’ll find tons of more options to satisfy your needs.

Webinar platforms
Clickmeeting
Clickmeeting

I’m using ClickMeeting a lot for the online learning platform I run. It’s an important part of the user experience and since the purpose of the platform is to educate, choosing a service that was highly engaging was preferable.

I also chose them for their extremely responsive customer service and affordable price. Another important feature that sold Clickmeeting to us was that it could handle payment directly (integrated payment gateway). Quality of audio and video is consistent too, offers storage of recordings and can sync with FB live or YouTube directly.

Greatest assets: excellent customer service + affordable price for the range of features you can reach on the smallest plan + plenty of features to engage your audience.

Try It Today! ClickMeeting MyWebinars - World's Easiest Webinar platform. 30-Day Free Trial.

Crowdcast
Crowdcast

Crowdcast needed to be mentioned here as one of the best customer services I experienced and for the fact, they offer a 14-days free trial for their platform.

On top of delivering an excellent service, their interface is very intuitive and user-friendly. Finally, it’s worth noticing Crowdcast is amongst the most affordable solutions.

Greatest assets: excellent customer service + affordable price

Livestorm
Livestorm

Livestorm is amongst the webinar software solutions I’m encouraging you to check out. It will be impossible not to fall in love with their sales pages design and the degree of customisation!

Their interface is also super user-friendly - YES, a lot more user-friendly than Zoom! For your attendance, for the speaker or for the moderator, on overall the experience will be amongst the most seamless a webinar platform can offer.

For those aiming to sell webinars instead of using them for marketing purposes, you may find Livestorm limited as it does not integrate a payment gateway = meaning you won’t be able to create paying webinars from the platform itself so their amazing sales page becomes irrelevant.

The last but not the least of my comments about Livestorm is.. their customer service speaks French! It is, after all, a French company (cocorico - a tiny bit of French pride never hurts :P )

Try it out, again if you’re aiming to use webinar technology simply for marketing purposes or to build your online course content, it is a great platform!