Resources and links
The following list is a collection of references to applications that are useful in the preparation of data and images for an online shop.
Image Preparation
PhotoFiltre: www.photofiltre.com
A free image editing application with a suitable range of functions for preparing images for the web, and a rather nice automation facility to help speed your work. A later version with more features is available at very reasonable cost here.
Image Viewer
IrfanView: www.irfanview.com
A fantastic image "viewer" that actually does a whole lot more ... format conversion, cropping, re-sizing, batch renaming, panoramas, email images, brightness, contrast and colour adjustment, special effects, screen capture and more. Business users are asked to make a donation but at the suggested rate of 10 Euro it's not going to break the bank!
Article Submission
Objectware Inc: www.objectwareinc.com/article-submission-site-list.aspxSubmitting articles for publication is a great way to raise your profile as an online business operator, as well as providing extremely useful backlinks to help improve your prominence with search engines. It has to be said though that the actual process of finding article submission sites and submitting articles to them can be tedious. Anything that can help is to be applauded and in this instance my special thanks go to Mike Bradbury of Objectware Inc for supplying a list of 80 popular HTML article submission sites along with an easier way of signing up!
PDF Document Preparation
PDF995: www.software995.com/
A terrific suite of programs for converting documents to pdf format. This is very useful if you want to make a printed version of your online catalogue available for download. The registered version is only $19.95 USD
FTP Client
FireFTP: https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/684/An FTP client is not required for general administration of a TOSD online shop. There is one exception however. If you intend to use the [Click to Enlarge] image feature then the additional large images must be transferred to your site using an FTP client.
Firefox users may like to consider using FireFTP, my personal favourite. It integrates beautifully into the Firefox browser. So much easier than having to exit a browser to upload a file and then re-enter to view the results. Installation is very straightforward. Please make a donation if you continue to use this excellent application.
If you are not currently using Firefox and are interested in a better browser experience you can download Firefox2 here.
Another option is AceFTP 3. This is a standalone freeware application.
MWSnap - Screen Capture, Colour Picker, Ruler and More
MWSnap: www.mirekw.com/winfreeware/mwsnap.html
A free utility that includes some very useful features. Of particular interest are the screen capture feature (it allows you to capture only the part of the screen that is of interest) and the colour picker. Great for communicating precise information to your web designer :)
Access Manager - Password Security
Access Manager: http://accessmanager.co.uk/Are passwords driving you nuts? This excellent utility to help you manage your passwords easily and securely. Both free and professional editions are available.