My WordPress Website Setup

Below is a list of the services, themes, and plugins I currently use on my WordPress websites. This is not a comprehensive list of everything I use, just the minimum I need to pull everything together.

Note that some of these products include affiliate links that help to support this website.

Services

Domain Name Registrar – NameSilo

I switched from GoDaddy to NameSilo a few years ago. I find their pricing to be reasonable and their DNS interface is acceptable. They currently offer free privacy protection.


I also like that I don’t get spammed with other offers from NameSilo.

Web Hosting Provider – SiteGround

I just recently switched to SiteGround after a bad support experience with my old provider. They had a great introductory offer for the first year, and renewal rates were in the same ballpark as what I had before. What I did NOT do is transfer my domain name to SiteGround, due to the high cost of renewals relative to NameSilo

Plugins

WordPress Theme – Kadence

For the sake of simplicity and speed, I switched from Elementor to Kadence. Elementor is good, but Kadence is simpler, and the support is great!

Security – iThemes Security Pro

Email – WP Mail SMTP Pro

This plugin, in combination with my MailGun account, handles all my WordPress emails. I recently upgraded from the FREE version to the PRO version because I wanted to be able to log the emails sent from my websites. The FREE version works just fine.

Online Learning Platform – LearnDash

Since this site is focused on learning about WordPress, I decided that instead of using a learning platform like Thinkific or Teachable, it made sense to use a WordPress plugin. LearnDash is one of the best. So far I am really enjoying using it.

eCommerce

Shopping & Product Management Platform – WooCommerce

This plugin, in combination with my MailGun account, handles all my WordPress emails. I recently upgraded from the FREE version to the PRO version because I wanted to be able to log the emails sent from my websites. The FREE version works just fine.

Website Membership Management – Paid Memberships Pro

Membership sites like https://genealogywebsitebuilders.com can be hard to manage without a little bit of help. I am using PaidMembershipPro to manage this community.