The 4 Free Software Tools I Rely On

This post was written by Steve on January 22, 2010
Posted Under: Site Development

When it comes to my online business, there are some software tools that I’ve found to be essential. In this article I am going to show you 4 software tools that I can’t live without and tell you why. I’m also going to show you where you can get these tools. They are all free, but don’t let the cost trick you into thinking that these tools aren’t worthwhile.

1. Xheader.
Header graphics are almost a must-have element on any web page. In the past, you had to know how to do it yourself, pay someone to do it for you, or purchase and learn how to use software so you could make them yourself. Not anymore. With Xheader, you get software that comes with over 500 templates in several categories that you can choose from. Select a template, add text and any graphics you want, add text effects, and you have a professional header. This is not some kind of “Lite” software that has the option to get the “Pro” version. There is only one version, and that’s Xheader. You can learn more by clicking here.

2. Kompozer.
Now that you have a header graphic, it’s time to create the web pages that you’re going to use it on. You can pay a lot of money for some web design software – sometimes several hundreds of dollars. There’s no reason to do that because you can create really nice web site with Kompozer. This is free, open source software that you can use to create web sites quickly. It’s a WYSIWYG web page editor – What You See Is What You Get – so if you can use a word processor, you can easily learn how to use it. There are help files that will answer a lot of questions, and there is a forum that you can access when you go to the Kompozer page. There is no advertising, and never any option to upgrade to a paid version. Free and powerful. Get it here.

3. Open Office.
Creating small reports, articles, and ebooks is a big part of online business. So you need a tool that will make it easier. So you need a tool that will make it easy to write and format your content, including adding graphics, as well as the ability to turn your content into a PDF file. And a tool that would make it easy to create PowerPoint slides would be good as well. If the tool would open Microsoft Office documents as well, it would be great.

The software that does the above and more is called Open Office. It is free software that can take the place of Microsoft Office. It can create PDF files, slide shows, spread sheets, and a lot more. As a marketer, you can create as many PDF files as you need, all with Open Office. It’s a big download, but it’s something that I wouldn’t want to be without. Get Open Office here.

4. FileZilla.
Once you’ve created your header graphics, and have your web pages looking good, it’s time to get them to your hosting account. FTP software makes it easy to upload your files up to the Internet. But which one should you choose? For me, the choice is easy – the free open source software called FileZilla. FileZilla will upload all of your web pages, graphics, PDF files, video files, and anything else you can think of. No ads, no cost, easy to use. It doesn’t get any better than that. Get it here.

There you have my 4 must have software tools. They are all I need to create professional web pages and sites, header graphics, PDF ebooks and reports, and upload them to my hosting account. These tools are powerful and free, so go check them out and see for yourself.

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