As someone who’s been in the industry for over 10 years… i’ve had the opportunity to test out lots of products and services. It’s only through trial and error that i’ve found some real gems that i’m thrilled to be affiliated with. Take a look below at my recommendations:
Penfold – Personal Pensions
If you’re anything like me as a Freelancer, you tend to live in the moment and see where life takes you. Whilst that is a nice way to live sometimes, we mustn’t forget to plan ahead for retirement. When I thought about setting up a pension, one of the biggest put offs for me was having to commit to a specific payment amount or schedule when I didn’t have a guaranteed income.
I found Penfold and they were the perfect fit for me. Not only can I stop and start my pension to suit, I can change the amount I pay in each month to align with my income. Being able to make one off payments whenever I wanted was a plus, sometimes it’s nice to put extra away if you have a particularly good month or get a bonus. If you want flexibility and convenience, Penfold is the perfect way to save up for your future.
Sign up using my referral link today and get a £25 bonus for your pension pot.
Clickup – Project Management
If you get a lot of requests from clients, it can be hard to keep track of everything. Rather than let those little requests slip through the net, keep them all in one place.
ClickUp is an online project management tool which allows you to track projects from start to finish and has a range of pricing plans for free, individuals and enterprises. It supports time tracking, task management and the ability to work with other team members.
What I love most about the ClickUp app is the UX – it just works and looks beautiful too. I must admit, this is something I am very picky with. I love websites and programs that look pretty but do a damn good job too. I have seen lots of content management tools that look like nothing more than a boring spreadsheet – this is why I love ClickUp so much.
Something else that makes ClickUp stand out is their pricing. Unlike many other companies, you don’t have to buy a minimum amount of seats. There’s nothing more frustrating that having to pay for 5 seats just to use a tool, when there is just you. It’s expensive and frankly unnecessary. The functionality you get for a basic plan also outshines other providers.
If you’re a freelancer working either alone, or as part of a team – ClickUp will be a great tool for managing your work more effectively.
Cloudabove – Website Hosting
I’ve been using Cloudabove to host my clients websites for over 5 years. I recommend Cloudabove for three reasons: 1) Affordable pricing 2) Great hosting speeds 3) Amazing customer support.
Whilst there are many hosting options out there, with Cloudabove you can be assured that you will be getting excellent service from start to finish. They offer free migrations from previous hosts and are always on hand to provide hosting support. Although their plans are affordable, this doesn’t mean a slow website. Their hosting speeds are excellent and superior to many other providers I have tried and tested.
Use my referral code CK2024 to get £5 off your order with Cloudabove.
Cookieyes – Cookie Consent Plugin
GDPR Compliance and Cookie Consent has been a bit of a headache for website owners over the past few years. This was because expectations were unclear and very few people knew what they had to do to make their websites compliant.
Cookieyes changed this and with their easy to use WordPress plugin. The plugin automatically scans your website for cookies and generates a free policy for you to display on your website. You can use their visual editor to style the consent banner to suit your website design – making this a visually appealing, fool proof consent management tool.
Freshbooks – Accounting Software
There is a huge range of invoicing programmes out there that you can choose from… so what made Freshbooks stand out to me? Functionality and looks.
As a website developer, I host a lot of websites for my clients and being able to setup recurring invoices was very important to me. Who wants to generate the same invoices over and over each month. With Freshbooks, I can do this easily without having to pay any other costs on top of my subscription. Their prices are affordable and whilst there is room to grow in their plans, the basic account still has lots of options and functionality.
The nice thing about Freshbooks is that is actually looks nice too. The invoices look slick and not as basic and boring as some other competitors. It’s always nicer to work on software that is kind to your eyes and works well.
