My Real Stack
The Tools I Actually Use To Run Two Sites
No 25-tool mega list. No software I’ve never opened. This is the short, honest stack running ScottNewkirk.com and TheBikr.com every single day — nine tools, each one earning its place. If it’s on this page, my hands have been on it this week.
Every tool is held to one standard: real experience, real results, real talk.
🏗️ Learn & Build
The foundation — training, hosting, and the framework both my sites run on.
Training · Community · My Home Base
Wealthy Affiliate
Where I learned everything on this site — and the affiliate program that’s paid me over $100K across 12+ years, including two earned trips to their Vegas conference.
- Step-by-step training + live classes
- Hosting, community & AI tools included
- Recurring commissions as an affiliate
Hosting Since 2018
SiteGround
Both of my sites live on SiteGround and have for years. Fast, stable, and their support has bailed me out more than once. Full review coming soon — from an 8-year customer, not a comparison-chart tourist.
- Blazing WordPress performance
- Support that actually supports
- Easy staging & backups
Theme & Page Framework
GeneratePress Premium
The theme both my sites run on — fast, clean, and total control. Every hub page and custom layout you see here is built on GP’s Elements with simple HTML blocks. (Their GenerateBlocks add-on exists too, but honestly? Plain HTML blocks kept things simpler for me.)
- Fast, clean, SEO-friendly
- Elements = reusable custom layouts
- Powers my entire hub system
🎨 Create
The tools behind every post, image, and page you see on my sites.
My AI Partner
Claude
The AI I rebuilt both of my sites with — hub architecture, content strategy, page code, and honest second opinions. After trying the alternatives, this is the one that stuck. (No affiliate link here — I just genuinely use it daily.)
- Site architecture & page builds
- Content planning & writing partner
- Remembers my projects between sessions
Visuals · My Image Engine
Kre8or
The image tool behind every hub card and feature graphic on this site — 90+ on-brand images and counting. Fast, consistent, and no design skills required. Full workflow review coming soon.
- Every card image on this site
- On-brand graphics in minutes
- No designer, no design subscription
Screenshots & Screen Recording
Snagit
Every income screenshot, tutorial capture, and annotated proof image I publish runs through Snagit. Simple, fast, and the annotation tools are the best I’ve used.
- Clean captures & recordings
- Arrows, blur & callouts for proof shots
- One-time purchase, no subscription trap
⚙️ Run & Grow
The plumbing — links, SEO, and the audience channel I own.
Link Management
Pretty Links
Every affiliate link on both my sites runs through Pretty Links — branded, tracked, and swappable in one place when an offer changes. If you run affiliate links raw, you’re doing it the hard way.
- Branded, clean links
- Click tracking per link
- Swap a dead offer in one edit
SEO Plumbing
Yoast SEO Premium
I don’t chase green lights anymore, but Yoast Premium handles the technical layer on both sites — metadata, redirects, schema, and social previews — so I can focus on writing for humans.
- Redirect manager (a rebuild lifesaver)
- Meta, schema & social previews
- Set it up right, then forget it
Email · The Audience I Own
Kit (ConvertKit)
The email platform I’m building my owned audience on — because rankings and reach are rented, but a list is mine. Built for creators, and the free tier is genuinely enough to start.
- Creator-first email & automations
- Free plan to start your list
- The one audience no algorithm controls
❓ Tools FAQ
Do I need all nine of these to start?
No — you need three: Wealthy Affiliate to learn, SiteGround to host, and GeneratePress to build. That trio gets a real site live and improving. Everything else on this page earned its slot later, as my business grew into needing it. Add tools when a real problem shows up, not because a list told you to.
Why is this list so short compared to other tool pages?
Because most tool pages are affiliate catalogs wearing a trench coat — 25 products the author demo’d for ten minutes each. I’d rather show you nine tools I can answer real questions about. Short list, long experience. That’s the trade I want my name on.
Are these affiliate links?
Some are — if you buy through them, I may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. But the filter for this page isn’t “does it pay me” — it’s “do I actually use it.” Claude’s on this page with no affiliate program at all, and tools that would pay me well didn’t make the cut because I don’t use them.
What happened to the AI writing tools other pages recommend?
I used them — that’s how I know. My sites went through an era of AI-drafted content built on those tools, and I spent months rebuilding what they produced. AI absolutely belongs in your workflow, but as a thinking partner on work you direct and stand behind, not a content vending machine. That lesson cost me most of a year; take it for free.
The Stack Matters Less Than The System
Nine tools don’t build a business — knowing what to do with them does. Everything I know about turning this stack into income came from one platform, and it’s free to try, no credit card required.
Read My 12-Year Wealthy Affiliate Review →