Tool Reviews

We use these tools ourselves and recommend them to clients. We also name the ones we avoid, and explain why. Our picks are driven by your privacy and security, never by who pays us. If a tool we already trust happens to run an affiliate program, we may use it, but we will never recommend something that puts your data at risk, paid or not.

Tools we use and trust

• WordPress (self-hosted): you own the site and the data, not a platform.
• GeneratePress + GenerateBlocks: fast, lightweight, no lock-in. This site runs on it.
• Nextcloud: files, calendar, and booking on your own server, not someone else’s.
• WPForms: collect form submissions without routing them through a third party.
• Umami: privacy-first website analytics on your own server. No cookies, no Google, and the visitor data never leaves your control. It is how we keep an eye on this site’s traffic without tracking you.
• Plausible: lightweight, open-source analytics with the same privacy-first approach. Self-host it, or use their EU-hosted version if you would rather not run a server.

Tools we avoid, and why

• Elementor: heavy, slows your site, harder to leave than it was to adopt, and on the BDS boycott list.
• Calendly and similar booking SaaS: your scheduling and client data live on someone else’s server, and the fees climb.
• All-in-one Big Tech suites: convenient until your data becomes the product and leaving gets expensive.