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I’m just sharing some sites I have grown to love in my search for cost-effective ways to get the word out about my site and product. I’m always interested in learning of more so please do drop me a line and tell me what I’ve been missing!
1. WordPress (http://www.wordpress.org or http://www.wordpress.com if you’d like them to host a free blog for you) – This blog would not be possible without them. I love the control I have. (I have control issues. Didn’t you know?) I love all the bells and whistles – there’s too many from which to choose! I also love that there is a sense of community among WordPress users. Have a question? You’ll find the answer or at the very least someone to point you in the right direction.
2. GoDaddy (http://www.GoDaddy.com) – I have an addiction to buying domains. I often buy them only to let them sit until it is time to renew and then I experience agony over having to relinquish ownership because it costs almost $10 a year for each one. I realized quickly that this little hobby is expensive!
3. osCommerce (http://www.oscommerce.com) – I started my business using web carts that charge a monthly fee and where I appreciated the ease of use, often the bells and whistles I wanted were considered add-ons and were simply too expensive. I got my feet wet with sites like Homestead and Miva Merchant. I wouldn’t discourage anyone from giving them a try, especially if you are just starting out and know nothing about web design and shopping carts.
4. Statcounter (http://www.statcounter.com) – Now, I know there are a million-and-one sites out there that register site statistics for you. I am just partial to StatCounter because I’ve been with them since Day One and I find them so easy to use. Also, I can login to one site and view the stats of any one of my sites at any given time. It’s great.
5. Internet Archive (http://www.archive.org/) – Oh my goodness. How many times have I had to use this site to recover a post or picture because I’ve decided to move a blog here or there and didn’t backup the stupid thing before deletion? (Dork!) You can look at your site’s history and see how far you’ve come. Try it. It’s addicting though so beware!
6. CheckYourLinkPopularity (http://www.checkyourlinkpopularity.com/) – How many links do you have compared to your friends and competitors? Hmmm? Just download this to your desktop and find out!
7. Stumbleupon (http://www.stumbleupon.com) – I can get lost stumbling for hours! There are some amazingly creative and articulate people out there. I find something every time I stumble that benefits me in some form or fashion. Really. And some of the best feedback I have ever received regarding my own site has come from Stumblers. Plus I get a lot of traffic from Stumbleupon as well. It’s a win/win situation.
8. Core FTP Lite For Uploading files and graphics I use Core FTP Lite (http://www.coreftp.com).
9. Irfan View For minor graphic alterations such as sizing or making a background transparent, I use Irfan View (http://www.irfanview.de/). It’s not limited to just those two tasks. That’s just what I use it for most often.
10. ColorPix I love, love, love ColorPix. It’s a fun little tool. Sometimes I want to grab a color off an image and I just can’t seem to get it right. I’ll just use ColorPix (http://www.colorschemer.com/colorpix_info.php) to isolate it. It gives you color’s Hex or RGB value! How easy is that?!
11. PHP Designer 2007- Personal For editing PHP, CSS, and HTML code, I use PHP Designer 2007 – Personal (http://www.mpsoftware.dk/phpdesigner_personal.php). This program is so straight forward. I cannot tell you how much time this program has saved me.