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* Domain Registration *
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| Hostmonster offers a free domain registration with their new hosting accounts. |
GoDaddy |
| This is what GoDaddy does best, register domain names. They usually have the best value and offer bulk discounts. However, I am not a big fan of their user interface, so I don’t recommend hosting. Their customer service while usually good can be spotty. Remember just because you register here you don’t have to host here. |
* Hosting *
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I have worked with all three of these companies and recommend them because:
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* Website Development *
WordPress.com vs. WordPress.org (blog post) |
WordPress.com |
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WordPress.com is where you can obtain a free url and start blogging quickly. This is where WordPress hosts your account for you. So no costs for hosting but the functionality is limited compared to wordpress.org. |
WordPress.org |
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WordPress.org is where you can get all of the information and tools you need to set up a WordPress website/blog. You will be hosting this account yourself (see above for hosting). |
* WordPress Themes *
WordPress.org Theme Directory |
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Visit the WordPress.org theme gallery for lots of free themes and website ideas. |
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| Pagelines offers themes that include a wide variety of page templates that really let you customize your website. If you are planning to start a forum they offer matching forum themes as well. |
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Headway is a new theme that is really flexible and offers a huge variety of design options. It’s easy to use and is a good tool for designing your website. It is a rival to the Thesis theme and gaining a lot of attention in the WordPress world. |
Free & Premium Themes by Sadish Bala |
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Sadish’s themes are very well organized and have very useful features built in. He also provides good tips through his blog. |
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Woo Themes have good free and premium themes. This is a good place to find Magazine style themes. Some themes require more set up on the back end than others. |
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The Thesis Theme has become very popular with WordPress users. It is known for its superior Content Management features. |
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There are a wide variety of themes presented here. Very well priced. To see a thumbnail preview mouse over the icon on the right. |
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| Gorilla Themes – Interesting selection of themes, some very creative. There are some good Real Estate themes with some good built functions. |
* Email Marketing *
I Contact |
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I Contact offers great features and prices for small business owners. |
* Web Design & Development Tools *
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Paint.net is a great free photo editor you can download. It is very similar to Photoshop, it’s highly rated and free. |
Color Schemes |
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This is a great place to explore various color schemes and get some great free website color tools including the one below. |
Color Picker |
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Color Schemer Online v2 is a great free resource to create color schemes for your website. |
Color Hunter |
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This is a really neat tool. You upload a logo or any other image that fits your brand and website’s look and feel. The program creates a color palette from the uploaded image. You have two palette choices a muted version and a bright version. |
Free & Low Cost Stock Photos & Graphics |
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There are a lot of low cost photo sites. I think stock.xchng is one of the best. Create a free account and create a Lightbox to save your favorites. You can search by image type, concept and more. |
Pixel Ruler |
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This is a great little tool to download and use on your desktop. |
FTP Software |
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Filezilla is a reliable easy to use open source ftp application you download on to your computer and use to transfer files such as WordPress themes into your hosting account. Instructions: Chose the Filezilla Client Option, When the install page opens select the option with the .exe file extension, save the file on to your desktop, when it has finished saving open the downloaded file and follow the directions. Helpful Video |
Data Backup |
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Data Backup – don’t lose your most valuable asset! What would you do if you lost your vital files, precious photos, favorite music? There are several solutions out there, but this one is not only affordable at less than $ 5 for unlimited storage, but highly secure, trusted and used by over 1 million customers. |
Favicon Generator |
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This is an easy cool tool you can use to create a favicon (favorite icon) with having to download any software. If your images are close to 16 x 16 pixels you won’t have to crop the them. Create a Favicon |
