subject: Starting an Online Business - Basic Internet Tools You'll Need [print this page] Starting an Online Business - Basic Internet Tools You'll Need
Before getting started in an online business, there are several tools you are going to need. The good thing is that many of the tools that are critical for doing business online these days are available for little or no cost.
Before we get started with the basic tools you'll need, I'm making the assumption that you already hae a media player capable of playing MP4 and.flv / flash videos. Windows Media Player or the Real Player should handle these files for you without any problems. However, if you encounter an issue, you can download the VLC Media Player for free. It handles virtually all media files. To download, simply do a Google search for VLC Media Player.
There are several basic tools that you will need as get your online business started. You may already have many of these tools. If you don't - don't worry. As I said earlier, most are available for little or no cost. Download VLC Player to compare and see all its features and the media playable.
The first tool that you will need is a program that will zip and unzip files. Most of the files you will be downloading will come in.zip format. Most computers already have this utility built in, but if yours doesn't, it's not a big deal because Zip Central is available for free, as are many others. To access this tool, simply do a Google search for Zip Central.
The second tool that you'll need is a word processing program along with a PDF conversion tool. Many word processors come with a PDF conversion tool built in these days, including Microsoft Word. Fortunately, there is another Word Processor available at no cost that handles most of what Microsoft Word will do, including PDF conversation. This open source Office Suite is called Open Office. This program is fantastic as it has a suite of Office products - all available for free. This suite of programs is available at openoffice.org.
The third tool that you'll need is some sort of screen capture program. I've been using a product called Snag It made by Tech Smith for years and couldn't be happier. The downside to that program is that it'll set you back a few bucks. Fortunately, Tech Smith came out with a free version called Jing a couple of years ago that include all of the features you will need in a screen capture program. There is a paid version as well, but to start out, I'd recommend the free version if you are just looking for a screen capture program.
A fourth tool that you'll want to have in your arsenal of basic internet tools is an audio creation program. I've been using a free tool called Audacity for this purpose for the past couple of years. I couldn't be happier with the product or with the fact that it's free! It's available at audacity.sourceforge.net.
In addition to audio, you'll also want to have some sort of video recording software. In this day and age, video is almost a must have on your sites. There are several programs to choose from - some are free, while others are going to cost you some money. In the case of the free ones, they are certainly something you can use to get started, but as you become profitable, you'll want to move up to a paid version. I mentioned Jing earlier. If you go with the Jing Pro - you'll get plenty of functionality and it'll likely be the only video program you'll need for your online business. Techsmith does have a full featured video program called Camtasia that I've been using for 5 years now and wouldn't live without it. But, the paid version of Jing would do you just fine.
There is also a completely free program that you can use as well called CamStudio. While this is a nifty free tool, you will not be able to edit the videos you record. For that reason, I recommend Jing Pro or Camtasia once your business gets off the ground. You can download Cam Studio at camstudio.org.
Next, you'll need to have a file transfer program. This program is referred to as an FTP client. You'll need it to upload files to your server space. Without it, you'd have no web site. There are many free FTP clients available. The one I recommend is Filezilla. It's available for download at filezilla-project.org
The next tool I suggest that you have available to you is a graphics editor. There are several to choose from, from a top of the line program such as Photoshop, to many free programs and everything in between. I've actually used two programs over the years. Paint Shop Pro by Corel handles any editing project I have. For those projects I have that aren't as intense, I use the image editor that comes with Snag It - the screen capture program I mentioned above. I use the Snag It editor for 90% of my image editing tasks.
For a free option, try paint.net
These basic tools will be certainly be enough to get your online business up and running.
