Many web managers need help with building an online presence. It can incur high website maintenance costs and take a significant amount of effort and time. Without the right web management tools, one can really start to despair.
This article covers several essential tools to improve any website’s performance regardless of your area of activity.
CMS and website builder
WordPress powers 43% of websites, making it the undefeated champion of content management systems worldwide. This open-source platform is highly customizable, free of charge, and suitable for sites of all sizes, from small blogs to enterprise websites. In addition, WordPress boasts a solid and active community with a multitude of tutorials and forums.
Using the block editor, even the most inexperienced web manager can customize website content and preview the changes at once. There are tens of thousands of free plugins and themes in the directory. By installing plugins, you can enable security features, e-commerce features, and SEO.
You can also change your page layouts using the system’s page builders. Again, beginners will relish their ease of use and intuitiveness. Themify and WP Page Builder are two prime examples of free builders with no shortage of preset templates.
eCommerce tools
No manager of a small business website can run one without a specific suite of tools. The WordPress plugin WooCommerce is a great tool for creating online stores. The user-friendly interface runs on WordPress, making monitoring the store’s performance a piece of cake.
The installation is fast, and you can get started on your homepage and menu in minutes. WooCommerce enables secure integration of a payment method. It supports PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay, etc.
Finally, a multitude of e-commerce extensions are available, which will let you scale up your online store as needed. If you want more functionality, you can add shipping and marketing solutions, for example.
Web hosting panel
A user-friendly hosting control panel is paramount because it will help you manage your files and site without obstacles, freeing up your time to focus on the actual content.
The most popular control panel is cPanel, but what is cPanel, exactly? It is a web hosting panel that businesses, agencies, and developers find indispensable. You get quick access to your website, files, email, database, domain configuration, shared calendars, and other features. The only downside is the appearance. All of these features have been compressed into a single page, which looks slightly crowded.
If you use WHM to manage your cPanel, you can unlock customization, system security measures, and other advanced features.
Track website performance
Google’s PageSpeed Insights analyzes and improves website performance. It uses real user data to report performance metrics on desktop and mobile. The different metrics identify positive and negative performance in various areas and suggest improvement measures based on web management best practices.
The tool’s Audit feature provides more detailed diagnostics. PageSpeed Insights summarizes website performance scores as well.
File management
Google Drive integrates with Google Docs, Forms, Slides, Sheets, and other important products. Web managers and their teams can collaborate on creating and editing content anywhere. You can determine user permission settings for Google Drive too.
The free version for small and medium-sized businesses includes Meet video conferences, which can accommodate 100 participants.
SEO tools
Google Search Console allows managers of small business websites to analyze their search traffic and performance and improve it. This tool is also free, like the rest reviewed here. The Search Analytics feature lets web managers see clicks, impressions, and other crucial metrics. They also get data on the search terms driving users to their sites.
Google Search Console also lets users submit individual URLs and sitemaps to ensure Google is current on website updates.
