Here are links to useful tools, services and resources that we use and recommend to you. If we didn't use and like them, we would not list them here, so shop with confidence.
Where Can You Get A Website?
Do you need a website and don't know where to go or what to do first? You could go to a web designer. The advantage is that you have a pro designing your site. The disadvantages are that: a) it can be expensive, b)
it can often be a lengthy process, and getting small changes done can be both #a and #b; c) you really should learn to do some web changes yourself. I often want to change my copy or a price, or perhaps put up a "Special" for a special occasion. If you can do it yourself you are miles ahead.
We use a lot of "minisites" like this one. They are simple, uncomplicated sites designed to sell just a few products. We get dozens of high-quality templates fro ezminisites.com. They are easy to modify and they provide a wealth of online video tutorials and a really handy forum. We definitely recommend them as an inexpensive way to quickly get a website up and running smoothly.
We use Adobe Photoshop extensively to prepare graphics and photos for our website. Learning to use Photoshop is one of the essential tools of a web designer/entrepreneur. You can learn more and download a free trial by clicking here.
Web Hosting
We have over 25 different websites, all running on one "Reseller Hosting Account" at HostGator.com. This type of account gives you the capability to sell web hosting to others, just as if you were a be web hosting company. We don't promote that service, but I do sell enough hosting accounts to friends and business associates to cover my hosting costs. That allows me to put up scores of my own sites at ZERO COST. Managing a hosting account is easy and for me - just plain fun. Whatever you do, I caution you not to choose a web host solely on cost. Some are unbelievably inexpensive. I've tried some of them myself and what can I tell you other than I no longer have accounts with them. Many have absolutely horrible technical support. Some, I swear, do not speak english at all and when I submitted a question, the answer seldom had anything to do with the question. Choose wisely.
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Where to get beautiful, professional photographs for your website.
It is important that you have professional quality images on your website. We buy a lot of professional photos for our many websites. In the past these could cost a fortune but today you can get good photos for only a dollar or two. Here's where we buy ours:
Shopping Cart Software
Before you can finish designing your website, you'll need to select shopping cart software. Shopping Cart Software is the magic genie that enables a customer to click the "Buy Now" button and quickly go through the checkout process online in a secure environment.
There are lots of choices out there. Many hosting account, HostGator.com included, offer free shopping cart software with your account. Many offer osCommerce, a program which I have used and that is quite popular. The down side of that program is that it is open source software, meaning that there is no company or official organization to turn to for help. You basically have to install it, set it up and administer it yourself. It can get technical, and modifying the look can be challenging. Plus, it and many of the other free shopping carts are designed as a catalog. If you only have one or two products, they do not work well.
We use Marketer's Choice, also known as 1shoppingcart.com. It has a monthly fee, but we do not have to worry about support the software or our database. Plus, they offer top-of-the-line security. You'd pay more to get the SSL (secure sockets layer) certificates than we pay for the entire shopping cart. We think it is a real deal.
Promote Your Website Now that you have a website, have selected a place to host it, and added shopping cart software, it's time to get your website some visibility. We've found that Submitplus offers some great free tools and powerful website promotion services.
Blogs are HUGE. Learn how to quickly build and promote your blog. Wordpress is one of the most powerful and popular blogging programs available, and it is FREE. Most hosting accounts include it. Learn from Sherman Wu, one of the top experts on Wordpress. Click here to check out video tutorials to blog with Wordpress.
This is just the coolest thing! Turn a folder full of photos into a mind blowing slide show video that your clients will love. They will think you are a genius, so don't spoil that magic by telling them that you made it in minutes with Animoto.
