One of the biggest factors in setting up in business is the Start Up Costs.  Designing and running an online business can be the same.  You can hire a professional or do it your self.  Either way it could potentially cost you a lot of money with the purchase of all the software needed.

Over the years I have spent literally thousands on software from leading brand names.  My computer is now worth more than my car!

A lot of the time you will find that most professional software contains features that are just not used in the normal day-to-day run of life and are surplus to requirements.  Certainly not worth paying the asking price!  And don't forget – You are more then likely paying for features you will NEVER use.

Then we have the added slap in the face where certain "Paid" software and services require a continuing License Renewal or Upgrade Fee which, over the years, adds up to a lot of financial outlay.

I got fed up of paying these continuous, over-the-top prices for products that I ALREADY OWNED and began to look elsewhere.

I started trying some of the Free Software available on the internet.  A lot of what I found was junk, some even messing up my computer so much so that I had to completely rebuild.

It was a hard and expensive lesson to learn, yet the outcome has been that I have now put together some links to some excellent Open Source software that equals, and in some cases, out-performs their professional counterparts.

These are more then adequate for beginners and intermediate designers to get up and running at ZERO cost.

The software included will literally save you Thousands!.

Enjoy!

Shane O'Riordan Included you will find

  • Full Featured Web Authoring Software – FREE
  • Full Featured AutoResponder – FREE
  • Screen Capture Software similar to Camtasia- FREE
  • Photo Editing Software similar to PhotoShop – FREE
  • Audio Editing Software – FREE
  • FTP Client – FREE
  • Webinar Resource – FREE for up to 20 people

And more…

Web Design

Wordpress: Blogging for Your Business

WordPress

For 80% or people, this has to be the only resource you will ever need! Download Page
Artisteer - WordPress theme generator

Artisteer

WordPress theme generator
(Not Open Source but relatively inexpensive) Download Page

Web Browsing

firefox

Mozilla Firefox

The premier free, open-source browser. Tabs, pop-up blocking, themes, and extensions. Considered by many to be the world's best browser. Download Page

E-mail

thunderbird

Mozilla Thunderbird

Powerful spam filtering, solid interface, and all the features you need. Download Page
Mozilla Mail Tweak

Mozilla MailTweak

Add On package for Thunderbird Download Page

AutoResponder

KompoZer

Infinite Responder

Full Featured Auto Responder

  • GPL Licensed
  • Single or Double Opt-In
  • Easy web-based subscriptions
  • Email-based subscriptions
  • Sequential and absolute autoresponder timing
  • Newsletter style mail bursts
  • Easy bounce handling
  • Unlimited messages and lists
  • Individual scheduled messages
  • Full web-based control panel
  • Easy setup and installation
  • Easily add emails individually or in a group
  • HTML and text email messages
  • Multi-part HTML ensures readability
  • Strong security features
  • Numerous remote subscription possibilities
  • 30+ custom tags to personalize your mail
  • Convenient in-line help system
  • HTML editor plug-in
  • Global blacklist capability
  • Simple templates allow easy customization
  • RFC compliant emails aid deliverability
  • Unlimited custom fields
  • Subscription referral tracking fields
  • Daily and per-batch throttling
  • Queued message cache
  • Efficient mail delivery functions
  • Easy opt-in and opt-out redirect

And more! Download Page

Screen Capture

KompoZer

CamStudio

CamStudio is able to record all screen and audio activity on your computer and create industry-standard AVI video files and using its built-in SWF Producer can turn those AVIs into lean, mean, bandwidth-friendly Streaming Flash videos (SWFs) Download Page

Webinars

filezilla

DimDim Webinar.

Open Source Web Conferencing – Free for up to 20 People. Dimdim lets anyone easily host webinars with up to 1000 attendees using just their web browser. Guests do not install software to join, see, hear or participate in your presentations. It’s so easy, you can now make money with webinars. Download Page

Developer tools

KompoZer

KompoZer

KompoZer is a complete web authoring system that combines web file management and easy-to-use WYSIWYG web page editing, designed to be extremely easy to use, making it ideal for non-technical computer users who want to create an attractive, professional-looking web site without needing to know HTML or web coding. Download Page
CC Publisher

Wamp Server

WampServer is a Windows web development environment. It allows you to create web applications with Apache, PHP and the MySQL database. It also comes with PHPMyAdmin to easily manage your databases. Download Page

FTP / SFTP

filezilla

Filezilla

Excellent FTP program. Download Page

Word Processing / Office Suites

open office

OpenOffice.org

Big, fully featured suite of tools for word processing and spreadsheets. Compatible with and a free replacement for Microsoft Word documents. Also supports OpenDocument Format. Download Page

Audio Recording

audacity

Audacity

Simple sound recording tool. Download Page

Graphics / Photo Editing

gimp

GIMP

Photo editing application that rivals Photoshop in features. Download Page

Free File Hosting

CC Publisher

CC Publisher

Host Creative Commons video or audio files for free on archive.org with this easy uploader. Download Page

Design Resources

CB Trends

Mega Graphics Packs to Download and use. Visit Site

Free CSS Templates

Free Templates to Create Stunning Websites. Visit Site

Free Graphics World

Loads of Graphics, from banners to buttons. Visit Site

Useful Extras

WikiPedia

For a HUGE List of Fully Open Source Software. Visit Site

Portable Apps

A lot of the above software to run straight from your USB Stick leaving no traces on your PC. Your Office in your Pocket! Visit Site

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