Tools & Resources
People often ask which courses I’ve taken and which tools & software I use and I love sharing that info! So these are the products and services I use to run my business as a solopreneur.
Some of these resources are affiliate links which means I receive a small commission when you make a purchase through one of my links, at no extra cost to you. I only promote platforms and products that I use myself and 100% believe in and find helpful.
Business Tools
Squarespace
It shouldn’t be a surprise that Squarespace is my number one tool since I specialize in the platform and my website is on Squarespace!
It’s an all-in-one website builder that offers digital products, commerce, blogging, scheduling, gated content and so much more.
Notion
This is essentially my work brain. I use Notion for all of my planning and organizing for every part of my business including my to-do lists, client projects, marketing and code backups.
There are so many features and workflows that you can easily adapt it to how you work. And the best part is there is a free version.
Flodesk
An easy-to-use email marketing tool to send beautiful emails to your subscribers.
Simple flat rate pricing no matter how many emails you send per month or how many subscribers are on your list.
Get 50% off your first year with my link.
Zight
If you’ve worked with me then you know I love a video recording! I find the best way to communicate with clients is to do a recording of my screen, that way I can talk through the project and there is a visual to go along to avoid any confusion.
I use Zight to communicate with clients, client walkthrough tutorials and for my YouTube videos.
Wise
One thing I love about my job is getting to work with people from around the world, but getting paid can be tricky so I use Wise for international payments.
It’s like PayPal but better and with way lower fees.
Get your first transfer of up to 800 CAD fee-free with my link.
Thrivecart
For payments that require a credit card, I use Thrivecart. It’s unique from other payment platforms because you pay a one-time payment to use it.
It’s great for digital product sellers, course creators, and service providers who want robust checkout functionality without ongoing monthly fees.
Toggl Track
I time-track just about everything I do in my business so I know how long it takes me to do certain tasks and where I’m spending too much time. This data helps me be more efficient in my business as well as helps me price my services.
It's easy to use, you can add details like project names and can generate detailed reports showing how you spend your time.
Dropbox Sign
When I first started my business doing contracts was a task I dreaded. I didn’t have a good system for adding the client details to the contract and getting it signed - it was all manual.
So I switched to Dropbox Sign and it’s so much faster. You can create contract templates which saves a lot of time getting the contract ready and it’s very easy for the client to sign.
Calendly
I use Calendly to schedule video calls to avoid the “when are you available” back-and-forth emails.
You can sync it with your calendar, create different meeting types, set specific meeting durations, and block out days or times when you don't want meetings.
Squarespace Plugins
Sqsp Themes
Plugins that I have used many times! I have the Business Bundle and it is well worth it.
Some of my favourites are the Lightbox Anything Plugin, Accotabs Plugin and Product Colour Swatch Variant Plugin.
Squarewebsites Plugins
Easy-to-use plugins and they have great support on Slack to help troubleshoot issues.
Some of my favourites are the Lazy Load Summary Block Plugin and Universal Filter Plugin.
Chris Schwartz-Edmisten
Not only does Chris have great plugins, but he also has informative tutorials and courses.
Some of my favourites are the Modern Mobile Menu Dropdown Plugin and Scrolling Image Changer Plugin.
Will Myers
Will’s offers great plugins and has a membership which gives you access to over 100 code snippets for Squarespace.
Some of my favourites are Mega Menu Plugin and Affiliate Link Genie Plugin.
Ghost Plugins
A huge selection of free and premium plugins for Squarespace.
Some of my favourites are the Doodle Pen Plugin, Percent Loading Screen Plugin and Custom Scrollbar Colours Plugin.
Square Refresh
If I ever want a plugin that has more of an elevated design feel I turn to Square Refresh.
Some of my favourites are the Scroll To Discover Plugin and Pop Out Cart Plugin.
Courses
Standout Squarespace
This course by Squarestylist is a course I’m very passionate about. This is where I found my love for Squarespace web development. I get asked about this course quite a bit so I made a blog post all about my experience and what you get from the course.
This course is great for beginners or advanced website designers who want to learn more about building beautiful and responsive Squarespace websites.
Squarespace Design Course
This course by ilovecreatives was the first online website focused course I ever took. It’s what made me redirect my business from organizing into websites. After the course I became a TA.
This course is great for beginners who want to learn more about the platform, design, freelancing and being apart of the ilovecreatives community.
Make Money With Your Blog
This course by Christy Price is a great course on how to blog in Squarespace. While I already had the basics down, this course took my skills to the next level—teaching me advanced techniques and monetization strategies.
It was easy to go through the course (I did it in a weekend) and I was able to make some changes right away from what I learned.
Squareone: CSS Basics
This is a Free Workshop by Squarestylist that gives an introduction to CSS and how to apply it to Squarespace.
If you’ve been thinking about wanting to learn more about CSS basics or you are unsure if you want to sign up for Standout Squarespace, start here.
Development Tools
Squarespace Chrome Extension Pro
This is a favourite of mine because this plugin allows you to Import/Export content across Squarespace websites. This has been a lifesaver for moving a lot of content between sites. I have the Pro plan which includes UI tweaks and a few of their plugins.
Squarespace ID Finder
Hands down one of the best tools I use when coding for Squarespace, it saves me so much time!
When I need to use a Section ID or Block ID I click this chrome extension and they appear so there is no need for me to dig through the Developer Tool to find them.
Compress PNG
It’s important to compress all images and GIFs since the file size can impact the load time of the website.
I use this website to compress all PNGs, JPEGs, and GIFs before uploading them to the website I’m working on. You can upload and download in bulk.
MDN Web Docs
When I’m learning about something new or feeling stuck with a code I go here where I can find detailed explanations. The documentation reflects current web standards which is important to have the most recent information.
It also includes tutorials and interactive examples you can edit and test which is helpful.
Autoprefixer
Autoprefixer is a web tool that automatically adds vendor prefixes to CSS code.
I use it for browser compatibility, it’s a time saver so I don’t have to manually write the multiple versions and error prevention. When I have an issue on a specific browser the first thing I do is run the code through Autoprefixer.
Unminify
This tool makes minified code readable again by formatting it properly. It’s helpful to use this when you want to read and understand what the code does, find bugs more easily and understand the logic flow.
It supports JavaScript (JS), CSS, HTML, XML, and JSON code.