In this section I will be including all of the resources, tools, software, programs, etc. that I personally recommend and use myself. I will continually update this list as I discover new resources or replace dated ones.

Understand that I will never take money to list anything here (although my referrals may net me a commission), and I will only list things that I personally feel are necessary and/or helpful for earning a living online.

HostGator isn't the cheapest hosting platform on the block, but is still affordable. They offer a very robust platform with standard tools, which is why I moved away from GoDaddy for hosting.

I would still recommend GoDaddy for those that want to save a few bucks and can put up with the occasional minor hiccups (like name server issues etc).

Both HostGator and GoDaddy have affordable packages that allow you host unlimited web sites.

NameCheap is my favourite place to buy domains from. Not only are they "cheap" like their name suggests, the purchasing process as well as the management tools, are very straightforward and simple. You also get a free year of domain privacy (hides your personal details from public view) with each registration.

With that said, even though the up-sell process is quite annoying, I do recommend GoDaddy for domains but only if you are hosting (or plan to host) your web sites there as well. It's not always obvious what name servers to change your domains to when hosting your site with GoDaddy, and hosting your domains elsewhere. You'd think that a quick call to GoDaddy tech support would rectify that but that's not always the case. But, when hosting BOTH your sites and domains with GoDaddy, name server assignment is automatic.

If hosting your sites with HostGator, name server assignment is simple. They list the name servers to use right in the Control Panel and they don't change for every site attached to your account like GoDaddy does.

In most cases, there's really no need to build a web site from scratch anymore. With WordPress you can run a blog or a full-blown web site. It takes just a few minutes to install and customize.

The best part is, WordPress is completely free and a lot of the enhancements and themes are free as well. It is also constantly being improved upon by multiple programmers.

Most hosting platforms offer a 1 or 2 click WordPress install to get things going for you very quickly. WordPress isn't just being used by people like you and I. Among the MANY users, People Magazine and The New York Times see the value in this software and use it in their web space.

Back in 2008 I tried all the CMS's I can find (free and paid). I started with WordPress and ended with WordPress and I don't suspect I will ever switch to another platform.