Digital Tool Kit
Table of Contents
The micro-business entrepreneur should always be looking for solutions for their everyday problems which will be cost-effective and help them grow their business and develop trusting and long-term relationships with their customers.
I have spent hundreds of pounds on many different digital solutions for my businesses, some have been lifesaving, whist others have offered little in helping me develop my businesses. Within this section, I will add digital tools my many colleagues, and I have found useful. Some of the devices have a free version which you can personally evaluate before purchase. I welcome your feedback on any tools you have used.
Domain Registration and Hosting.
Domains:- Are you confused about what domains and hosting is all about, do not worry it is not so complicated as you first believe?
You can compare the domain address to a physical property address such as123, Any Address, London WC2 5TY. The domain is simply an address to direct people to your website, e.g. www.Anywebsite.co.uk.
Selecting and registering your domain is a relatively simple process. I tend to use Namecheap.com for the purchase of the domain. On their website, you can enter your preferred domain name, if your chosen website address is not available the search engine will offer a range of suitable suggestions. The cost of a domain price range from £6.75 for a com name to many thousands for a highly desirable name, e.g. www.cycle.shop would cost around £2500.
Hosting: –
If you are going to connect your domain name to an e-commerce site such shopify.com or wix.com, your domain will be hosted on their sites, the cost is included in the monthly subscription charge
If not, you will need to purchase a hosting package. If you are using a WordPress site, there are various options available. If you expect your site to have a large number of visitors you need to select the more appropriate hosting for a single website, otherwise, your site may become unavailable due to a high level of traffic. Remember you can start with a cheaper hosting package, and as your traffic increases, you can move to a premium hosting package.
If you are not technically minded do not worry, there are many highly accomplished developers who for realistic fees will get your e-commerce, or website up and running.
Fiverr has a large number of highly skilled freelance developers. Read their reviews, review examples of their work and discuss with the Freelancer your requirements to ensure they meet your needs, most will offer a modification to the original design
WordPress:- Drag and Drop Builders
A WordPress
drag and drop builder is an online tool that allows users to create their website without technical knowledge. There are many drag and drop buildersavailable I have listed some of the best, which are drag and drop builders.
Elementor $49 per year (for one site)
Divi Builder starting from $89 per year for unlimited websites (often discount offers available)
Beaver Builder – $99 per year for one website (discount of 40% in the second year)
Seedpod is $79 per year for one website.
The WordPress drag and drop builders have a catalogue of elegant templates to create your professional website.
If you want a professional website developer to create your website, there are many excellent professionals on Fiverr who will build your portfolio or e-commerce website
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
One of the first steps towards getting started with artificial intelligence is determining what stage artificial intelligence will best serve your needs. This includes choosing the goals of artificial intelligence in your small business.
Do you want it to assist in sales?
Do you need assistance to manage your finances?
Or do you want artificial intelligence to grow your customer base
Accounting.
Writing news articles.
Writing web copy.
Linguix
Linguix
The Linguix writing assistant, with its powerful AI engine and advanced features designed to improve the user’s written work, is a must-have for any individual looking to take their skills up a notch.
The Linguix Writing Assistant offers more than just checking grammar errors; it contains an intelligent system that helps users elevate their standard of written work in all aspects of life–from improving language skills to supplying alternative words or phrases as well as spelling corrections.
There is a free version that gives feedback on spelling, grammar and punctuation, and this will provide you with a feel for the Linguix AI writing aid before subscribing to the Linguix app.
Oviond App
Oviond App
Suppose you run a digital agency or, perhaps, run several websites as part of your business. In that case, it is often difficult to keep track of your web business Oviond AI is the premier software for monitoring your digital business. With Oviond, you can create dashboards to monitor and analyse your progress or those of your clients with a simple click! I first purchased this product over 12 months ago when it was in its infancy. Since this purchase, there have been significant developments, including new features such as PDF exports capabilities on dashboard pages, so we never miss an important update again.
There is a Free 15-day trial offered so you can evaluate the AI software for your business.
The Oviond App offers a 15-day free trial to see if the AI app will be useful for your business as it is for mine. For a Small Agency or Business, you can manage 20 websites at a cost of $99 per month. Obviously, if you have a small number of websites it would not make economic sense.
Brand Overflow App
Brand Overflow App
Brand Overflow is a rank tracking, SEO analysis and keyword research tool. The pricing is below Ahrefs and has started offering more features for DAILY UPDATES on monitoring. I’ve found to be an essential feature of their service: Keyword Tool, Keyword Explorer, Question Generator Long Tail keywords only available through the Brand Overflow. The user interface provides a Dashboard that stops you from being overwhelmed with data from all your searches or creating any question about what people search. In that case, this will help simplify it by giving you the information in an easy-to-read format that offers quick answers to take advantage of when considering using them!
Brand Overflow offers a FREE Version that never expires, with limited access which for a new business would fulfil your needs. The paid-for version costs $65.83 per month which is less than Ahref at $99 per month for the Lite version, the standard version is $179 per month.