Things we recommend.
Kismet Resources
Every resource on this page is something we use ourselves, recommend to the people we work with, or both. We don't list things we don't believe in. We don't recommend things we haven't tried. And when we have a referral code or affiliate relationship that saves you money, we'll tell you that too.
This page grows as Kismet grows. Check back.
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Where your website lives.
Hosting
Showit is the platform we build on for most projects and the one we recommend most confidently. Design flexibility, outstanding customer support, transparent pricing, and a mobile experience that actually works. We wrote a whole post about why we love it.
Use our our link to get one month of Showit free.
Showit offers three subscription tiers based on your blog needs: no blog, basic blog, and advanced blog. Plans are available monthly or annually.
read the post here
Templates
A great starting point. Made yours.
A NOTE ON TEMPLATES BEFORE YOU BROWSE:
Not all templates are created equal, and not every template that looks beautiful will work well for your specific business or your platform. We help every template package client find the right fit before anything is purchased. When in doubt, ask us first.
Showit Design Market
store.showit.com
The most natural place to start for Showit clients. Every template in the Showit Design Market is built specifically for the platform, which means no compatibility guesswork and no reformatting surprises. The quality varies, as it does on any marketplace, and we'll tell you honestly if something is overpriced for what it delivers. Paid templates typically range from free up to around $600. We don't recommend anything above that range unless there is a very specific reason.
Etsy
ETSY.COM
Etsy is an underrated place to find templates, and often a far better value than the premium template shops charging premium prices for work that isn't always worth it. There are genuinely talented independent designers selling beautiful, well-built templates here for a fraction of what you'd pay elsewhere.
The catch is the one that comes with everything on Etsy: quality varies wildly. For every thoughtfully designed, platform-ready template there are ten that look great in the listing photos and fall apart the moment you try to use them — wrong platform, poor structure, no support, no updates. This is exactly the kind of purchase we don't want you making alone.
If you find something on Etsy you love, send it to us before you buy. We'll tell you honestly whether it's well made, whether it'll work for your business and your platform, and whether the price makes sense. A little vetting up front saves a lot of regret later.
The Kismet Template Library
Coming soon
We are building our own curated collection of templates designed specifically for the kinds of businesses we work with. Check back.
Typography
The right font for the right place.
A NOTE ON WEB FONTS BEFORE YOU BROWSE:
Not every font that looks beautiful in print or on a poster works well on a website. File format, load performance, rendering across browsers and devices, licensing for web use; all of it matters. We vet every font we recommend for web use specifically. When in doubt, ask us before you purchase.
Google Fonts
fonts.google.com
Free, vast, and built for the web. Google Fonts has improved dramatically in recent years and now includes typefaces that are genuinely elegant and well-crafted. This is where we start for most projects. The library is large enough that there is almost always a strong option here before we consider anything premium.
Jen Wagner Type
jenwagner.co
When a project calls for something beyond what the free tier can offer, this is where we go first. Jen Wagner is an independent type designer whose work brings a level of craft, specificity, and distinctiveness that simply isn't available in free libraries. Her fonts are beautifully made, designed with real intention, and worth the investment for brands that want to feel like no one else.
Font Pairing Guide
Coming soon
Choosing a great font is only half the decision. Choosing fonts that work together is the other half, and it's where a lot of otherwise beautiful designs fall apart. Two excellent typefaces can feel like completely different universes when placed side by side.
We are building a font pairing guide that walks through how we think about combining typefaces for web. Check back soon.
Set Sail Studios
setsailstudios.com
The perfect place to find fonts that are truly one-of-a-kind without giving up legibility. Set Sail Studios specializes in hand-lettered scripts, brush styles, and signature-style display faces with real personality — the kind of distinctive character that makes a brand feel unmistakably its own. What sets them apart is the balance: everything here is genuinely unique while still reading cleanly, which is a harder line to walk than it looks. When a project calls for something with real flair, this is a foundry worth browsing.
HEADS UP: we have an affiliate relationship with Set Sail Studios, which means we may earn a commission if you purchase through our link — at no extra cost to you. As always, it's here because we love the work, not the other way around.
A NOTE ON LICENSING:
Font licenses are purchased directly by you, in your name, for your brand. We walk you through exactly what you need and where to get it. The license belongs to your business, not to us.
Stock Photography
Real images for real brands.
A NOTE BEFORE YOU BROWSE:
You don't have to find your own images. Sourcing the right photography is part of what we do for you. But if you want to explore, or you need a fresh image for a blog post or social update between projects, these are the resources we know and love.
Pexels
pexels.com
Our most used free stock photography resource. Large library, genuinely high quality, free for commercial use with no attribution required. Start here.
Unsplash
unsplash.com
Another excellent free resource with a beautifully curated, modern library. Strong for lifestyle, editorial, and atmospheric imagery, and free for commercial use. A great second stop when you want a different feel than Pexels.
Free stock has come a long way and is genuinely useful. That said, nothing replaces real photography of your actual people, your actual space, and your actual work. So before you browse, read our guide to taking great photos with your phone. [link to phone photography blog post] You may already have what you need.
Pixabay
pixabay.com
A broad free library that includes photography, illustrations, and vector graphics. Quality is more mixed than the options above, but it's a reliable backup when Pexels and Unsplash don't have what you're looking for.
Magnific
magnific.com
Our go-to for textures and genuinely one-of-a-kind imagery — the kind of thing you won't find in a standard stock library. It's an AI creation tool, and it shines when you need something specific that simply doesn't exist as a photograph.
There's a free plan, though daily downloads are capped.
QUICK TIP:
When you find something you love, save the link instead of downloading it right away. That way you're not burning your daily limit on maybes and stuck waiting when you land on the one you actually want.
And if you find an image that's almost perfect but the colors are off or something's not quite right, don't go down an AI rabbit hole trying to fix it. We work with a wide range of AI models, including most of Magnific's and some they don't use, so send it our way and we'll get it right.
Élevae
elevaevisuals.com
Editorial, high-end stock photography with a genuinely elevated aesthetic — imagery that looks styled and intentional instead of generic. This is where we look when a project needs stock that doesn't feel like stock.
One thing to know up front: Élevae is subscription-based. So it's not the right fit if you just need a handful of images for a one-time project and you're done, a free resource above will serve you better there. But for social media or blog clients, anyone publishing regularly who needs a steady stream of beautiful imagery, it can be a genuinely worthwhile investment.
The Noun Project
thenounproject.com
Everything here is made by actual humans, real photos and designs, no AI fill. The stock photography is fine but average, so it's not where we'd send you for images. The icons, though, are top tier. This is always our first stop for iconography: a massive, well-organized library of clean, consistent, genuinely useful icons for just about any concept you can name.
If your project needs iconography — and most do, somewhere — start here.
A NOTE ON LICENSING: Noun Project icons come two ways. You can use most of them for free as long as you credit the creator, or a subscription (NounPro) gives you royalty-free use with no attribution required, cleaner for a professional site. Not sure which you need? Ask us. We'll walk you through what makes sense for your project so you're properly licensed and never guessing.
Marketing & S.E.O.
Know what's working. Do more of it.
A NOTE BEFORE YOU DIG IN:
These are the tools we use to understand how your site is performing and where your next opportunities are. You don't need to master any of them, that's our job. But if you're curious about what's happening behind the scenes, this is where we look.
Google Analytics
analytics.google.com
The industry standard, and free. Google Analytics shows you who's visiting your site, how they found you, what they do once they arrive, and what's actually driving inquiries. It's the foundation everything else builds on. You can't improve what you can't measure. We set this up as part of building your site so you're collecting meaningful data from day one.
Semrush
semrush.com
This is the heavy-duty toolkit: keyword research, competitor analysis, rank tracking, site audits, and a clear picture of what people are actually searching for in your industry. It's how we find the opportunities: the terms worth ranking for, the gaps your competitors are missing, and the technical fixes that help your site get found.
Semrush is a professional-grade (and professionally priced) platform, so it's not something most business owners need to buy for themselves. It's a tool we bring to the table on your behalf. But if you want to understand the strategy behind your SEO, this is where a lot of it starts.
BDOW!
bdow.com
A smart, flexible email collection tool that's built to play nicely with Showit, which is exactly why we reach for it. BDOW! (formerly Sumo) lets you create genuinely good-looking opt-in forms, popups, and inline signups that match your brand instead of fighting it, so growing your list doesn't mean cluttering your site with something clunky.
If email is part of your strategy, and it should be, this is where we start for capturing subscribers on a Showit site. We'll set it up to feel like a natural part of your design, not a bolt-on.
Kit
kit.com
The email marketing platform we use and recommend for sending. Where BDOW! captures subscribers, Kit is where you actually reach them. Formerly ConvertKit, it's built specifically for creators and small businesses: clean, powerful automation, easy-to-build sequences, and a sender reputation that helps your emails actually land in inboxes. If you've received one of our lead magnets, it came through Kit.
It pairs naturally with BDOW! Collect with one, nurture and send with the other. We can help you get set up so your list works for you from the start.
Coming Soon
We are building out additional sections for this page including social media tools, additional email marketing platforms, and copywriting resources. Subscribe to By Design and we'll let you know when new resources are added.
