As the saying goes, “If you want to do your work well, you must first sharpen your tools.” Being good at using foreign trade tools can greatly improve your foreign trade marketing results and achieve twice the result with half the effort. In the process of foreign trade website construction and marketing promotion, there are many very practical marketing tools available. These tools are not only helpful for foreign trade website operation and promotion, but also essential tools in daily work. Here is a list of the most comprehensive foreign trade marketing tools in the industry, which is highly recommended to everyone!
Article Content
- Hosting
- Domain
- Website System
- WordPress Theme
- Website Editor
- E-commerce & Online Retail
- Landing Page
- Graphic Design
- Favicon
- Website Acceleration Plugin
- Web Analytics
- Keyword Research
- Professional WordPress SEO Plugins
- Website Optimization
- Page Speed Test
- Email Marketing
- OutSourcing
- Business Email
- Final Thoughts
Hosting
Website Hosting
SiteGround is a popular web hosting service provider for WordPress developers and one of the officially recommended hosting providers by WordPress.
SiteGround’s new user interface is designed to be user-friendly and powerful. It can automatically set up domain name resolution records, automatically install WordPress with one click, and also provide free SSL certificates to help you enable secure https and automatically renew them for you.
If you are new to building a website, I strongly recommend using SiteGround web hosting. I suggest you read the article ” How to build a WordPress website using SiteGround ” first, which will help you get started quickly.
How to Build a WordPress Website with SiteGround
This article will show you how to quickly build a WordPress website using SiteGround. Compared with using a VPS to build WordPress, using SiteGround is significantly easier because it can be done without writing code. This tutorial covers purchasing a domain name, purchasing a SiteGround server, configuring domain name DNS resolution, and generating an SSL certificate, helping you quickly build a complete and usable WordPress website.
In addition to SiteGround, you can also choose Cloudways . For the difference between the two, you can read this article ” Which is better, Cloudways or SiteGround? ” It is most important to choose the one that suits you.
For beginners of foreign trade website building, virtual hosting is a very suitable choice. It has pre-configured system environment and integrated control panel, making many operations very simple. You can easily complete tasks through the panel.
One downside of SiteGround is that when you renew, the price will return to the normal price, which is much more expensive than the initial purchase discount period. However, the initial purchase discount period of about one year is usually enough to build a website. If you think the regular price renewal is too expensive:
- Consider migrating your website to other reputable web hosting providers, such as ChemiCloud or FastComet. ChemiCloud is known for its excellent customer support and reliability, providing stable and fast hosting services for websites, especially for users who value security and ease of use.
FastComet has more advantages in terms of global data center layout and speed optimization, and is particularly suitable for users who need to ensure that their websites load quickly around the world. In addition, it should be noted that using FastComet requires a stable foreign trade Internet access tool .
- Or upgrade to a more advanced managed cloud VPS server, such as Cloudways , which is easy to use even without a technical background.
Cloud Hosting (VPS)
Virtual Private Server (VPS) is a virtualization technology that divides a physical server into multiple virtual servers. Each virtual server runs like an independent server and is suitable for users who need higher performance and resource isolation.
Common cloud servers abroad include Hostwinds , Vultr , Bandwagon , Linode , DigitalOcean , etc. The well-known domestic one is Alibaba Cloud ECS, which is actually a cloud server.
If you want to have more control and freedom over your website, you can consider using a virtual server to build a foreign trade website. It should be noted that to use a virtual server, you need some knowledge of Linux servers to install and configure PHP and the database environment. VPS is mainly operated by using Linux commands, which requires some learning costs and is prone to errors if not operated carefully. Therefore, VPS is not suitable for those who are just starting to build a website or have no technical background.
For VPS purchase, please refer to: The most popular VPS server recommendation. For
VPS to build WordPress, please refer to: The latest VPS to build WordPress tutorial
Managed cloud hosting
With managed cloud servers, users can enjoy all the advantages of cloud servers without having to worry about server security and maintenance issues. The hosting service provider will be responsible for all technical management and maintenance work, such as Cloudways .
Cloudways is a very popular managed cloud server provider in recent years. It allows users to choose between mainstream cloud server platforms such as Google Cloud, AWS, DigitalOcean , Linode and Vultr . In addition to providing basic server hosting services, Cloudways is also responsible for all server configuration, software installation and daily maintenance.
- If you want to quickly learn how to use the managed cloud server Cloudways, you can refer to this tutorial: Cloudways host registration and usage tutorial (including the latest Cloudways discount code) .
If you have an important website that brings in a steady income, you may not want to spend too much time and energy on routine maintenance. Especially if you have enough budget and are willing to spend money on services, managed WordPress hosting is a good choice. Kinsta and WP Engine are experts in this area, especially Kinsta, which provides very comprehensive services.
For example, Kinsta provides services such as automatic backup, automatic website migration, regular scanning for malicious attacks, repair after the website is hacked, monitoring suspicious access, optimizing WordPress performance, upgrading core components, and repair after unexpected website crashes. These services allow you to safely hand over the technical problems of the website to professionals, saving time to focus on other work.
In short, Kinsta is an ideal managed WordPress hosting choice if you want peace of mind and don’t care about the cost .
Domain
Domain name recommendation Namesilo , it is a highly cost-effective foreign domain name dealer! It supports multiple payment methods such as Alipay , Paypal, Visa, etc., and can also use domain name privacy protection for free. New users can enjoy discount codes (Namesilo discount code NamesiloVoucher), which is very cost-effective .
For Namesilo registration and setting of domain name resolution NS, please refer to: Namesilo quickly registers domain names without filing .
Website System
The choice of a website building platform, or website builder, depends on your needs and skill level. Here are some popular website builders that are suitable for different situations:
- WordPress : is the most popular content management system (CMS) in the world and is suitable for all types of websites, from blogs to e-commerce websites. It is easy to use and has a large selection of themes and plugins, suitable for both beginners and experienced users.
- Wix : is a cloud-based website building platform for those who don’t want to deal with technical details. It provides a visual drag-and-drop editor that allows you to easily create a website. Suitable for small businesses and personal websites.
- Shopify : is a platform designed specifically for creating e-commerce websites. It has excellent e-commerce features and is suitable for merchants who sell products and services online.
- Magento : is another powerful e-commerce platform suitable for medium to large e-commerce businesses. It offers rich functionality and flexibility but requires advanced skills to configure and manage.
I recommend WordPress here because it is so powerful and popular that it can handle everything from personal blogs to foreign trade websites .
WordPress Theme
More and more people tend to use page editors to create websites instead of multi-purpose themes, because many functional themes are becoming more and more complicated, and setting options are becoming cumbersome and confusing. So, if you plan to build a website yourself, I suggest you consider using WordPress and Elementor Pro (a paid web editor plug-in) to create your website. This method is more intuitive and simple, suitable for various website needs.
Regarding themes, I recommend Astra , which is a very lightweight theme with streamlined and optimized code, making the website load very quickly. This is essential for providing an excellent user experience and SEO ranking. For more WordPress themes that are good for SEO, please check out this article ” Recommendations for fast and SEO-friendly WordPress themes “.
Website Editor
Elementor Pro provides a powerful visual page builder that allows users to easily drag and drop elements, preview and edit page content in real time. Custom pages can be created without writing code, which is very friendly for users who do not know programming. It is not only suitable for beginners, but also meets the needs of experienced developers, so it is very popular.
Spectra is another powerful page editor. Its advantage over Elementor lies in its lightweight and performance optimization. Spectra focuses on providing a simple and efficient user experience, ensuring that the website loads faster and reduces the use of server resources. Compared with Elementor, Spectra’s design is more flexible, allowing developers and users to customize and optimize the website more freely. In addition, Spectra has a user-friendly interface and is easy to use, suitable for users of different levels. It also performs well in compatibility and security, providing a stable and reliable website building solution.
E-commerce & Online Retail
- Shopify : is a popular e-commerce platform suitable for foreign trade B2C online retail business. It provides a complete solution covering store establishment, product management, payment processing, logistics, marketing and reporting, enabling users to easily create and operate their online stores.
- WooCommerce : is a WordPress plugin that can be easily integrated into an existing WordPress website. If you want to start your retail business on WordPress, then WooCommerce will be your best choice .
Landing Page
SwipePages : It can help you quickly create beautiful landing pages, and it is definitely worth a try. But it should be noted that this is a paid tool. If your website building budget is limited, you can also consider using Elementor Pro to design and create landing pages, which can save some money.
Graphic Design
Canva : It is an online graphic design tool that is loved by users. The free version it provides is already quite powerful and absolutely sufficient.
Remove.bg : A powerful online intelligent cutout tool with one-click function. It is very easy to use and it also provides a free version.
Favicon
Favicon is a small website icon that is usually displayed on the browser tab or in the browser address bar to identify a specific website. It is usually a small image or icon, which can be a reduced version of the website logo or other recognizable graphics, used to help users quickly identify and distinguish different websites. Favicon can also be displayed in bookmarks so that users can easily access their favorite websites.
FontAwesome : It is a popular website icon design tool that is loved by users for its rich icon library, easy-to-use approach and scalability. It is simple and easy to use, and the free version provided is sufficient for use, highly recommended.
Website Acceleration Plugin
If you are using SiteGround virtual host to build your website, you can install the WP-Optimize plugin . It is a data optimization and cleaning plugin for WordPress websites. It has functions such as optimizing databases, optimizing images, and page caching, which can improve website performance, reduce loading time, and help provide a good user experience.
If you are using VPS to build a WordPress website, it is recommended to use the paid plugin WP Rocket . It is powerful and is widely used to improve website speed and performance. It provides a variety of functions to improve user experience and search engine rankings.
Regarding WordPress website speed optimization, you can refer to this article: Optimize WordPress access speed in 10 minutes .
Web Analytics
Google Analytics : is a free web analytics service provided by Google that tracks and reports traffic, user behavior, and performance data for websites and applications. This data can be used to develop better online strategies, optimize website experience, improve marketing campaigns, and better meet user needs.
Clicky : is a powerful web analytics tool that allows users to monitor website visits, user behavior and interaction data in real time. It provides you with another option besides Google Analytics.
Keyword Research
The first recommendation is of course the three SEO musketeers: SEMrush , Ahrefs and SimilarWeb .
Google Ads Keyword Planner : Once called the Google Keyword Tool, it is now the Google Ads Keyword Planner, which requires a Google Ads account to use. This tool is very useful for viewing keyword search volume and bidding costs in various countries/regions. It is very practical for keyword research and also convenient for collecting niche keywords in different markets and multilingual environments.
If you can’t access Google for some well-known reasons, you can use this magic tool .
If you’re not familiar with how to use the Google Ads Keyword Planner, check out my other two articles that go into detail.
- How to use Google Keyword Planner for free
- How to use Google Keyword Planner to accurately search without advertising
KWfinder : This is a very useful keyword tool, and it is relatively cheap among paid tools. It is part of the SEO tool suite launched by Mangools . The Mangools suite includes KWfinder (for keyword research), SERPChecker (for analyzing search results pages), SERPWatcher (for tracking rankings), LinkMiner (for analyzing external links), and SiteProfiler (for website analysis).
Keywordtool.io : This is also a good tool, especially for mining long-tail keywords. But for free trial users, the information displayed may be limited.
Long Tail Pro : Long Tail Pro is an excellent long-tail keyword research and analysis tool. Compared with Market Samurai, it responds very quickly. Market Samurai takes dozens of seconds to perform a scan, while Long Tail Pro only takes a few seconds. Its Pro version is paid monthly. You can try it. This tool will provide a lot of inspiration for finding niche markets in the field of long-tail keywords.
AnswerThePublic : At present, one of the common SEO strategies is to solve users’ problems and start from the problem. Because every day there are a large number of search users looking for answers to various questions. Customizing article titles and content based on questions is a common content marketing method. But it may be difficult and time-consuming to consider what common questions users may search for in a certain field. Answer The Public is an excellent question generation tool that can help you solve this problem easily.
Let’s do a simple comparative analysis of the tools mentioned above:
- SEMrush and Ahrefs are good for understanding your competitors for a particular keyword in Google rankings, analyzing their website status, traffic, keywords and backlinks, and the difficulty of ranking for a keyword.
- SimilarWeb is primarily used to view website traffic data and understand which pages are attracting traffic.
- Google AdWords Keyword Planner is used to view the monthly search volume, advertising costs and potential advertising opportunities for a certain keyword.
- KWfinder is a comprehensive tool that not only checks the search volume of keywords, but also checks the competition of search results pages.
Keywordtool.io, Long Tail Pro and AnswerThePublic are more suitable for mining long-tail keywords.
In terms of SEO budget, I recommend prioritizing the combination of SEMrush + KWfinder / Long Tail Pro .
Professional WordPress SEO Plugins
SEOPress : is a powerful WordPress SEO plugin that provides a powerful and intuitive toolset to help optimize your website to improve search engine rankings. It is worth mentioning that the version above is enough in most cases.
Rank Math : Another powerful WordPress SEO plugin. The two plugins are equally good, and it all depends on your personal preference.
Website Optimization
Google Optimize : is a free A/B testing and website optimization tool provided by Google. It can help you conduct experiments, test and optimize your website, improve user experience and increase conversion rate.
Optimizely : allows users to create A/B tests and multivariate tests to compare the effects of different versions of web pages, applications or features. It should be noted that Optimizely is paid, and its features and pricing will vary depending on your specific needs.
Page Speed Test
Google Page Insights : This is a tool provided by Google that tests and rates the speed and performance of your website. Be aware that a slow loading website may affect your ranking in Google search results. So, if you want to optimize your website, make sure it loads and responds quickly. Google Page Insights will tell you what is causing your website to be slow and provide suggestions for improvements.
Pingdom Tools : This is a world-renowned website speed testing tool that can help you understand your website’s loading time and performance.
GTmetrix : This tool can analyze why your website is slow and provide solutions.
WebPageTest.org : It can analyze your website in detail, including the response time and speed of each request.
Dotcom-Tools : This is a free online website performance testing tool that is used to measure the speed of a website. It feels great to use, and you can also see how long it takes to access your website from all over the world.
Email Marketing
Mailchimp : A popular email marketing platform for sending email newsletters and automated marketing. Good for subscription-based email marketing.
Brevo : An email and SMS marketing platform, good for sending large volumes of messages.
OutSourcing
Fiverr : is an online freelance platform that allows individuals and businesses to easily find and hire freelancers to complete various tasks and projects. The name “Fiverr” of this platform comes from the initial pricing model, where tasks started at $5, but later Fiverr also allowed freelancers to set different price ranges. Fiverr is suitable for small tasks and quick delivery of specific services .
Note: You need a stable foreign trade Internet access tool , otherwise you will not be able to access it.
Upwork : This website is one of the most well-known service outsourcing platforms abroad. Upwork is suitable for complex projects and long-term cooperation. You can pay according to the stage of task completion. If you have enough budget, choose Upwork. Of course, its service quality is better .