30 Online Tools Every Blogger Should Use

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Here are 30 online tools that can help make blogging easier, more efficient and enjoyable. Some you may already have heard of, others might new to you, so make sure to check them out.

1. BannerSnack – BannerSnack is perhaps the easiest way to make professional animated banners. Just select your size, and add images, texts, buttons and transitions from each slide. They offer some examples here.

2. BirdHerd – BirdHerd is great way for teams or groups to manage a single Twitter account. As Twitter becomes more and more popular more blogs use Twitter to communicate with followers.  BirdHerd gives you the freedom of sharing only one account.

3. BreezyFAQ – BreezyFAQ is a neat way to add searchable frequently asked questions to your blog. Check out the demo to get a better view.

4. Browsera – Automatically test to see if your blog is compatible with other browsers. It is important to remember that the browser you use may not be the same as the one your readers use. Make sure what they see is what you want them to see.

5. Clicky Web Analytics – Though similar to Google Analytics, Clicky Web Analytics offers real-time and easy to understand analytics of your blog. Click here to see a mock dashboard. There is even a WordPress plugin to easily integrate Clicky with your blog.

6. ecwid – ecwid is a shopping cart that can easily be implemented into any blog or website. With lots of features and a beautiful user-interface this is a great way to sell things from your blog.

7. fivesecondtest – This is a very useful tool that allows you to easily identify objects or parts of your blog that stand out the most. The website works as a two-way street in that people get a 5 second view of a specified page and then have to explain what they saw in those 5 seconds. In return you review the design of other pages.

8. Genbook – Genbook is an online booking system that allows your viewers or subscribers to view your services’ availability. You can also enable users to book an appointment directly from an ad.

9. Iconizer – Iconizer offers a variety of icons for you to customize that could really bring in a new visual effect to your blog. Customize the color size and select which file type you prefer.

10. IMG4Me – Img4Me is a great way to turn text into an image. For example, this is great for a blogger who has there email displayed on their blog, but doesn’t want to be spammed by bots. Customize the font, color, size and file format of your text.

Example:

11. iPad Peek – Before you purchase your iPad, check out how your website looks on the device. With a simple and clean user-interface you get a clear view of what parts of your website are seen on an iPad.

12. Monyta – Yet another way to gather information about what your viewers think about your website. With lots of customization and instant feedback, Monyta is a great way to hear from your viewers. It is also easy to integrate with your blog or site.

13. myGengo – myGengo is a simple way to get your website or document translated by humans, and not by robots. This is great for multilingual websites or blogs. Reach more people in different languages by having your content translated accurately.

14. Notable – Notable is neat way for teams to collaborate and provide feedback on websites. After capturing an image of the website you can then comment on the code and visual parts.

15. Pictaculous – Pictaculous is an awesome way to generate a palette. Upload an image (in PNG, GIF or JPG) to determine the various colors that make up that image. The colors are also labeled using  the Hex notation so you can easily use the color again. Pictaculous also offers suggestions that may go well with the colors derived from your image.

16. Privacy Policy Generator – Now, I don’t know how realistic or legal this is, but it’s awesome! This site lets you make a privacy policy for your own blog or website. Simply input some business information and instantly get your privacy policy. Of course, read it over to ensure you agree and understand it.

17. Screenpresso – Though I typically do not feature downloads in these types of posts this one is great for bloggers. With Screenpresso you can take professional looking screenshots and edit them with the built-in editor. There is also an option to add effects like shadows and round corners.

18. ShrinkTheWeb – ShrinkTheWeb pretty much does as it says. This site shrinks websites to manageable thumbnails that are perfect for blog posts. Simply type in the URL of the site and click the green arrow. From there you can choose from the various sizes.

19. SpiceyNodes – SpiceyNodes is an intuitive way to visualize information on a website or blog. The best way to explain it is for you to play around with it yourself.

20. Stribe – Instantly create a user-friendly social network on any website. There are lots of custom options to choose from which will really connect your website community together. You can also analyze data collected about users in your network.

21. Teambox – Teambox is a Twitter-style real-time project collaboration tool. Share tasks, files and messages all in a Twitter-like user-interface. Manage different projects and track performance of different members. Check out their video tour here.

22. TestSize – TestSize is the easiest way to test any web page in any window size. Not everyone has the same screen size, so it is important that your website doesn’t get distorted on a smaller screen.

23. Tynt -Tynt is a superb way to track what’s being copied from your website or blog and make sure that it is cited. Not only that it automatically generates back-links from those sites to improve your search engine optimization. To really understand the power of this, copy an excerpt from any post from Ben-Lang.com and paste it in Notepad or Word, you’ll see what happens.

24. UpName – Upname is a search engine and for available domains. You can also compare prices from thousands of sellers.

25. Urtak – Urtak is a simple way to add a free poll to your website to get feedback. You can also analyze the results in real-time. The polls have a very clean and simple look.

26. VideoLobby – With VideoLobby you can create your own live webcast. With lots of features and custom functions you can really go all out. This is perfect for creating your own online TV show.

27. Vidinotes – Vidinotes allows you to upload a video (FLV format, 25mb limit) and take up to 30 snapshots while adding titles and descriptions. Then easily share these notes in a PDF. This is great for outlining an instructional video.

28. VigLink – VigLink is a great way to make money while linking to an online store. Lets say you link to a product on your blog, VigLink follows that viewer and if they make a purchase you earn a commission. You can also check out the analytics for further information about when your users leave your site.

29. WhoReadMe – Don’t you hate it when you send an email and never get a reply and are unsure if the recipient actually received the email? With WhoReadMe you can keep track of the emails you send and get notified when your email is read.

30. WooThemes – WooThemes offers an extensive gallery of beautiful and customizable, premium themes for blogs. Think of the price tag as an investment, it pays quickly.With lots to choose from, you will surely find the perfect theme.

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