The importance of using new technology

Using new technology in your everyday tech stack helps you avoid technical debt and improves productivity. But it also signals to clients and employers that you’re up to speed and can make good recommendations on the job.

That said, here’s the list of tools and products I use all the time.

Book keeping

Expensify • track expenses

Freshbooks • invoicing software

Mint • manage spending

Brand management

Airtable • database system that can be used for brand asset management

Brandfolder • brand asset management

Canva • Drag and drop design assets in your brand colors

Frontify • brand standards hosting

Business tools

Moo • business cards

Communication

Calendly • allow people to select a time slot on your calendar

Slack • free modern messaging

Zoom • video conferencing

Data collection and surveys

Survey Monkey • Simple yet robust data collection, forms, and surveys

Momentive AI • Enterprise solutions beyond surveys; insights about a market, brand, employees, customers, or product

Design

Canva • drag and drop design tool (replaces Photoshop)

Lightroom • simple photo editing

WhatFont • Chrome plugin to see what font is being used

Email and newsletters

Flodesk • beautifully designed email and newsletter service

Substack • newsletter service with subscription options for followers

Job hunting

Enhance CV • drag and drop infographic-style resume builder

Visual CV • drag and drop infographic-style resume builder

Websites

Figma • UI/UX design

Google Analytics • website traffic and behavior

GoDaddy • website domains and hosting

Inclusive documentation • Google Developers’ guide on how to write for everyone

Sketch • UI/UX design

Squarespace • no-code website builder and host

Wordpress • another website builder option