Website Resources

Business Email and Delivery Diagnostics

A domain-based email address is part of a professional business setup. Choose how you will read email separately from how your website sends form notifications.

Email Hosting and Mail Clients

• cPanel Email and Webmail: If your hosting plan includes email, you can use its webmail interface or connect to an email client through IMAP and SMTP. Storage and delivery limits depend on the host. Learn about cPanel webmail
• Mozilla Thunderbird: Free desktop email application for managing multiple mailboxes with IMAP and SMTP. Useful when you want to stop relying on Gmail POP fetching. Get Thunderbird
• Google Workspace: Paid business email with domain addresses and Google's collaboration tools, appropriate when centralized account administration is needed. Explore Google Workspace
• Microsoft 365 Business: Paid business email and collaboration options, including Outlook and Microsoft tools. Features differ by plan. Explore Microsoft 365

Website Sending and Authentication Checks

• FluentSMTP: Free WordPress plugin for sending form notifications through a configured SMTP account or compatible delivery provider. Provider fees may apply. Get FluentSMTP
• DMARCLY Free Tools: Check SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records to investigate domain authentication and email deliverability issues. Check SPF, DKIM, and DMARC
• MXToolbox: Check MX records, DNS configurations, and common email delivery or blacklist problems. Advanced monitoring is paid. Run an email diagnostic

Note: Google plans to discontinue third-party POP fetching and Send As in Gmail on the web in January 2027. See Google's transition guidance.

WordPress and Website Editing

WordPress is the content management platform. Page builders and editors are different ways to create or edit content within WordPress; you do not need to install them all.

Website Platform

• WordPress: Open-source platform for managing pages, media, themes, plugins, and website content. Hosting and some extensions are paid. Visit WordPress.org

Popular WordPress Page Builders

• Elementor: Visual page builder available in free and paid editions. The free version is a practical option for page layouts. View Elementor
• WPBakery Page Builder: Commercial WordPress builder with front-end and back-end interfaces; sometimes included with premium themes. Explore WPBakery
• Avada Builder (Fusion Builder): Visual builder integrated into the Avada theme ecosystem for page layouts and site design. Avada is a commercial product. Explore Avada Builder

Editing and Troubleshooting

• Classic Editor: Official WordPress plugin that restores the traditional page and post editing interface for sites that prefer it. View Classic Editor
• Chrome DevTools: Built into Chrome for inspecting HTML and CSS, troubleshooting page layouts, and checking mobile display and loading behavior. Learn Chrome DevTools

Note: WordPress also includes the Block Editor and, for compatible themes, a Site Editor. They are native editing methods rather than separate platforms. Choose the editor that suits your theme and workflow.

Graphics, Photography, and Design

A small set of complementary tools for finding images, creating graphics, editing photos, selecting colors, and choosing fonts. Check each asset's license before using it commercially.

Free Stock Photos

• Unsplash: Free editorial-style and commercial photography with license restrictions; some premium photos are offered separately. Browse Unsplash
• Pexels: Free stock images and videos for websites, service pages, and social posts, subject to the Pexels license. Browse Pexels

Create and Edit Images

• Photopea: Free browser-based editing for photographs and graphics, including layers, masks, and PSD files. Open Photopea
• Canva Free: Useful for social graphics, promotional images, simple layouts, and presentations. Premium assets and features are optional. Open Canva
• Ideogram Free: Optional AI image generation with limited free usage. Free creations may be public, so check current commercial terms and privacy before use. Explore image generation

Design Basics

• Adobe Color: Build coordinated color palettes, test combinations, and extract colors for a website design. Explore color palettes
• Google Fonts: Free open-source typefaces for websites. Consider local hosting and performance requirements when choosing how to load fonts. Browse fonts
• Font Awesome Free: Popular icon collection with a free selection for website navigation and interface elements. Browse icons

For image compression and file sizes, see the Speed & Uptime tab on this page.

Performance, File Optimization, and Uptime

Use performance measurements to identify bottlenecks. Caching and image compression help, but no plugin can replace appropriate hosting or fix every loading problem.

Image and Asset Compression

• Squoosh: Free browser-based image optimization with visual comparisons and support for modern formats such as WebP and AVIF. Optimize images
• TinyPNG: Free online image compression for common image formats, with limits on free file sizes and batches. Compress images
• CSS Minifier: A small standalone utility for minifying CSS files. Make sure you retain an editable copy of your original CSS. Minify CSS

WordPress Caching (Choose One)

• WP Super Cache: Free WordPress page caching by Automattic. A straightforward choice when a host does not already provide adequate page caching. View WP Super Cache
• WP-Optimize: Free edition combines page caching with database cleanup, and some image and code optimization features. View WP-Optimize
• LiteSpeed Cache: Free plugin whose strongest page-caching benefits require a compatible LiteSpeed server or supported CDN setup. Confirm host compatibility first. View LiteSpeed Cache

Availability Monitoring

• UptimeRobot Free: Monitors website availability and sends alerts when a monitored site becomes unreachable. Free checks and retention have limits. Explore uptime monitoring

Note: Only run one primary full-page caching system at a time. Hosts may already provide server-side caching. For speed tests and Core Web Vitals, see Best Free SEO Tools.

Website Accessibility

Accessibility matters for visitors who navigate with keyboards, assistive technology, or low-vision settings. Automated testing helps identify problems but does not substitute for manual evaluation.

Accessibility Evaluation

• WAVE: Free browser-based review of common accessibility issues involving images, headings, labels, and page structure. Test a web page
• WebAIM Contrast Checker: Checks whether text and background color combinations meet selected WCAG contrast thresholds. Check color contrast
• W3C Web Accessibility Guidelines: Official Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) and supporting guidance for designing and auditing accessible websites. Read WCAG guidance

Note: Automated checkers do not establish full WCAG conformance or guarantee legal compliance. Test navigation, forms, keyboard access, and actual user workflows as well.

Privacy, Security, and Forms

These are separate website responsibilities: privacy notices explain data practices, security protects the site, and form defenses reduce automated submissions.

Privacy and Cookie Consent

• Complianz Free: WordPress consent-management plugin with free scanning and banner features. Capabilities depend on configuration and applicable requirements. Explore Complianz
• California Privacy Protection Agency: Official California guidance about privacy rights and obligations. A generated privacy policy still needs to describe the site's actual practices. Review privacy guidance

WordPress Protection and Form Spam

• Wordfence Free: WordPress firewall, security monitoring, and malware scanning; free and paid protection features differ. View Wordfence
• Cloudflare Turnstile: Free bot-verification tool for reducing automated form submissions, subject to its current plan and usage terms. Explore Turnstile

HTTPS and Certificates

• Let's Encrypt: Free automated TLS certificates, often provided through website hosting or cPanel AutoSSL. Learn about free SSL
• Qualys SSL Labs: Free server test to inspect HTTPS certificates, protocol support, and TLS configuration. Test SSL configuration

Note: Consent banners and privacy templates are implementation aids, not automatic legal compliance. Review advertising pixels, analytics, form data, third-party sharing, and applicable laws.

Domain and Website Utilities

A short collection of specialized tools that solve frequent administrative problems without duplicating the SEO or email resources.

Diagnostics and Site Assets

• WhatsMyDNS: Free worldwide DNS propagation checks for A, MX, NS, TXT, and other records when nameservers or records have changed. Check DNS propagation
• RealFaviconGenerator: Generate browser, mobile, and platform favicon files from a source image. Check any additional premium options. Generate favicons

For step-by-step procedures to protect website files and databases, see Website File Backups. For search visibility, see Best Free SEO Tools.