So I was using a tool called Evernote on my laptop to add some notes and it dawned on me that there are quite a few websites and tools that I use on a daily basis. And I thought why not share these sites with everyone? I wanted to share the best ones so I narrowed it down to ten useful sites that are totally free. I hope you find these just as useful or at least, something to waste time on. They’re not in any particular order in case you were wondering. That would just be too much work. If you find one you like just click on the name and it will take you to their website!
Pocket
Pocket is simply amazing. I love this site and use it almost every day. You absolutely need this. Why? Because you do. Basically, you can save any web page to review later using a button or extension that you can drag and drop onto your bookmarks in your browser. It has an accompanying free app for just about any kind of smart phone. It also works on almost every internet browser. When you find something you like on the internet, you just click on the button. How easy is that? When you go to the Pocket website and log in, all of your saved content appears in a clean, organized magazine type layout. You can also tag each of the web pages, articles, etc. with any keywords so you can search for them easily. It also gives you the ability to save content from within apps like Twitter, Pulse, Flipboard, etc. This is just such a handy tool.
Cozi
Do you feel pretty hopeless trying to keep track of everything? Are you so busy with work that you realize you promised your significant other a home cooked meal for dinner and you have no idea what to do? I mean you can’t even remember if you picked up toilet paper yesterday and you’re down to one roll! What if there was a site that helped you and your loved ones keep track of appointments, create and share shopping lists and chores, store recipes and add ingredients to grocery lists, and also gave you tips on organizing and home improvement? That’s what Cozi does and a lot more. And with the free Apple or Android app you’ll be able to share the misery with your loved ones or friends!
Evernote
I mentioned Evernote in the beginning of this post. You need this like you need air to breathe! Okay, maybe I’m exaggerating a bit. This website and accompanying smartphone app lets you save anything, and I mean anything!! Need to take some quick notes during that “productive” meeting for the job that you absolutely love? Check! Need to create a list of projects that you know you’ll never get to? Check! Need to save a manual for that microwave you just bought because only an engineer would be able to figure it out? Check! And it has the ability to create virtual notebooks to keep all your content organized. You can tag all your items too. Every time you add a note it will sync everything between all your devices. This is just an amazing and helpful site!
Dashlane
Okay, we’re all familiar with the anxiety of registering a new account online and they ask for a user name and password. You’re like, okay I can handle the user name but what am I going to use for a password? So you’re left with three options: Use something really simple like “password,” use the same password for every single site, or create a new one and write it down somewhere because you know you won’t remember it. None of these are really safe and, let’s be honest here, you’re never going to find that piece of paper with the password. Well, there’s a password manager that will generate a unique password for every site you log on to, keep track of all your passwords, and you never have to remember what all of those passwords are! Dashlane manages all this for you and uses the strongest encryption in the industry. You only have to keep track of one master password that Dashlane will never know about. Um, you may want to burn this password into your brain! It also has apps for your Apple, Android, or Windows phone so you can manage your passwords and log into your websites on the go!
Quozio
This site is fun to use especially if you like to post quotes to Facebook, Pinterest, or Instagram. Alright, maybe you might get too carried away with the motivational quotes to the point where people just scroll past them. But hey, you’re just trying to spread peace, love, and joy… okay, I think I’m going to be sick. On the site there’s a simple form where you enter a famous quote or inspirational message, then enter the person that said it. But don’t put yourself as the author, that’s just wrong. Then you click “Go” and it generates an image with the quote on to a background. You can change the background and font using the choices they have. The selection is a bit limited (hey, it’s free remember?) and the fonts change based on the backgrounds but it’s simple to use. There are buttons below the generated quote to share it to Facebook or Pinterest. You can right click on the image and save it to your computer as a JPEG. Quozio also lets you create an account so you can save your images but you don’t have to.
Have I Been Pwned?
What is pwned? It’s basically internet slang for getting owned or defeated like “That dude sold me an iPad but it’s just a piece of wood! I guess I got pwned!” In terms of this very simple site it basically tells you whether or not any online account that you have has been compromised in a data breach. You simply go to Have I Been Pwned? enter any email or user name and it will quickly tell you if any email address or account has been used in some illegal scam. And what if your email or user name comes up in a data breach? I don’t know, cry I guess? No, seriously, they tell you what actions you can take.
PicMonkey
Need to quickly and easily edit a photo to remove your ex from it and you don’t have any photo editing software? Just upload a file to PicMonkey and you can edit photos, create designs from scratch, or make a photo collage of your selfies with presidential candidates! It’s simple to use and you get lots of options to create something controversial!
Time And Date
Sometimes you just need to figure out how many days until the next season of Game of Thrones is on (which is only 5 days away!) or maybe you need to know what time it is in Helsinki, Finland. Why? Because why not? That’s where this site comes in handy. It has almost every tool you can think of that deals with Time and Date. There are date calculators, current world times, countdown timers, time zone converters, and many more tools you didn’t know you needed! You can also create a custom 2016 calendar with all your personal events like your Aunt Matilda’s boyfriend’s sister’s son’s Bar Mitzvah!
Buzzfeed Life
I’m sure most of you have heard of the amazing and addictive Buzzfeed website and the accompanying app that covers news, entertainment, lifestyle, culture, science, and politics. If you haven’t then you must be living under a rock. Okay, maybe that was a bit harsh. But you really need to check out Buzzfeed Life. It’s an incredible resource for life hacks, DIY guides, tips, and recipes. They have stuff like Here’s How To Eat Just A Little Bit Healthier or 18 Everyday Products You’ve Been Using Wrong. Just go on over to Buzzfeed Life and then click on any of the sections such as DIY, Food, Health, etc. And if you haven’t seen the rest of Buzzfeed just be sure you do it on a weekend and you don’t have anything planned… you will be lost in there and it will be some time before you get back to real life.
Zamzar
So what in the world is Zamzar and why would you use it? It sounds like some obnoxious, purple, fuzzy, alien creature that squeaks, doesn’t it? Well, it isn’t. It’s a site where you can convert any type of image, document, audio, or video file to another format. Sounds too good to be true, right? Oh, but it is! For example you can convert a JPEG image to a PDF document, a Word document to an eBook file, a WMA audio file to MP3, and so on. Obviously, there are certain limits so don’t go trying to convert a PowerPoint into an audio file, because that’s just plain wrong.
As we get ready for BBQs, heading to the beach, summer vacation, and music festivals it’s the perfect time to think about a new website for you or your business! Do you have a website but need a fresh, new look? Have you tried to build a site yourself but it ended up being too complicated or taking too much of your time? I can help and I’m much cheaper than most web design firms.
START SOMEWARE 