Why use WordPress?
Why use WordPress? http://www.blogohblog.com/why-use-wordpress/
If you are new to WordPress and looking for reasons to use WordPress as a CMS (content management system) in your new website, let me give you some.
Open Source Software – WordPress is an Open Source software which allows it to be used free of cost. You can use it on any kind of personal or commercial website without have to pay a single dime for it. It is built on PHP/MySQL (which is again Open Source) and licensed under GPL.
User Friendly – You don’t really have to be experienced to use WordPress on your website. Nowadays most of the hosting companies provide the ability to install WordPress on your site at a single click of the mouse. The administration section is easy to navigate and its even easy to add articles/content to your website.
Themes Support – You will never run short of templates when using WordPress. If you don’t like the themes that come with the default installation of WordPress, you can hunt on the Internet and you will find thousands of free themes that you can download and use for your website. There are themes which can even make your website look like a regular site instead of a blog.
Plugins Extend Functionality – WordPress plugins allow you to do just about anything that you want and can be installed in a jiffy. For example, you want to paginate your blog posts, just look on Google and you can easily find the relevant plugin that will easily do the job for you.
Standards Compliant – WordPress is one software that follows all the Web Standards and keeps your blog or website compliant to all the rules that have to be followed when running a website.
SEO Friendly – Search Engines have to be definitely kept in mind when building a website. WordPress uses different functions which allow it to be search engine friendly. For example sending pings to other sites, making categories, tagging your posts, use of h1/h2 tags etc.
Large community Support – As per recent statistics, WordPress is used on more than 1% of the websites on the Internet in the world. There is a large user community backing the development of this software. So, whenever you face any problems, you can go through all the available WordPress forums and communities and find answers for all your questions.
So, you see the benefits of using WordPress now? And, you can add to this list by providing your feedback in the comments.
Overview of Email Marketing Services
Overview of Email Marketing Services
Engage and educate your clients and potential customers with newsletters, marketing materials, customer correspondences or other documents. Email marketing services are your gateway to professional, effective bulk email campaigns that excite results.
A complete list of features and side-by-side comparisons with other products is available on the Email Marketing Services Review Product Comparison page
Why Email Marketing Services?
Why Email Marketing Services? http://email-marketing-service-review.toptenreviews.com/
Engage and educate your clients and potential customers with newsletters, marketing materials, customer correspondences or other documents. Email marketing services are your gateway to professional, effective bulk email campaigns that excite results. Read more
10 Tips for Using QuickBooks
Filed under: Accounting, Intuit, QuickBooks, Small Business
10 Tips for Using QuickBooks
ARTICLE DATE: 03.25.09 PC WORLD
By Kathy Yakal
The point of using business finance software is to make accounting easier and more reliable. And QuickBooks—in all versions—is an easy program to use. But you can make it easier. Read more
Top 5 Accounting Software for Small Business
Filed under: Accounting, Intuit, Microsoft, QuickBooks, Small Business, Software
Top 5 Accounting Software for Small Business
By Susan Ward, About.com
Every small business needs to know where the money went – and is going. These top selling accounting software programs simplify your small business accounting tasks, and provide all the reports and tools you need to effectively use your financial data. Simply Accounting and QuickBooks are available for Windows, NT, and Mac platforms.
Intuit GOpayment
Filed under: Accounting, Intuit, QuickBooks Add-ins, Small Business
Intuit GoPayment - VIDEO: http://mobilepayment.intuit.com/demo/gopayment/index.php?TB_iframe=true&height=560&width=850&v
Critical Steps to Writing a Business Plan
Critical Steps to Writing a Business Plan
By Darrell Zahorsky, About.com – http://sbinformation.about.com/cs/businessplans/a/aa020903a.htm?nl=1
Writing a business plan can be an overwhelming task. These feelings often translate into immobilization or confusion as to how to start the business plan. Starting a business plan begins with the first step:
1. Audience & Funding Type: When writing a business plan, you must determine who will be reading it. This decision will shape the business plan. Do you plan to go for bank financing (debt finance) or investors (equity finance)? Each form of funding for your business has pros and cons. For instance, the venture capital market can be very time consuming and competitive. Do you have the time to write the business plan for investor funding and to network within the community?
Writing a business plan for investors is 15-30 pages with in-depth analysis and full details of facts and figures to support assumptions of the market. Writing a business plan for the bank is 10-15 pages and focused with the bank’s concern with risk. A venture plan presents the upside and potential return on investments, whereas a bank plan reduces the risks and sells the ability to repay the loan.
2. Research & Information Collection: Once you have made the decision of the type of funding your business requires, it is time for the research. Business plan research covers several key areas:
6. Financials: Start the financials when you have found some average industry ratios for your business. Work closely with your accountant to develop realistic projections. Being overly optimistic will raise eyebrows with your investors or banker.
7. Executive Summary: Save the first section for last. When you have thoroughly, completed all sections of the business plan, write the summary. Highlight the key points and include the return on investment or loan payback requirements.
8. Review & Editing: Remember, you only have one shot at making a good impression. A well-written business plan that opens doors and wins the money is a plan that has been revised and reviewed. Do not forget this important step. Ask others for feedback. Make certain to edit, proofread, proofread, and proofread.
Business planning is not easy but by following these critical steps to writing a business plan, you will ensure your business has a chance at funding and success in the future.
The Best Free Software 2008
The Best Free Software 2008
02.08.08 http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2260070,00.asp
157 software tools. No fees. No expiration dates. No problems. Sometimes even no downloads. No kidding.
by Eric Griffith and PCMag.com Staff
Note: We’ve just released our newest collection of the best free software-the 2009 edition! Click on over for 173 other pieces of software to unlock the real potential of your PC…for free.
We did the math: If you bought popular apps instead of trying their gratis counter-parts, at the manufacturers’ list prices you’d be out $5,183 and change! Why spend money when you can get what you need for nothing? Sometimes, you do get what you don’t pay for.
Hall of Fame
Adobe Reader
www.adobe.com
Windows | MacOS | Linux | Mobile This simplest of Adobe’s PDF programs lets you do just about anything PDF-related (besides create new ones), including online collaboration. It includes a host of features to aid users with disabilities.
AIM
www.aim.com
Windows | MacOS | Linux | Web One of the most widely used pieces of free software ever, AOL Instant Messenger offers a ton of capabilities.
Read our full review of AIM 6.5.
Audacity
audacity.sourceforge.net
Windows | MacOS | Linux Whether you’re recording or editing, Audacity is all about audio in practically any format.
Firefox
www.mozilla.com
Windows | MacOS | Linux This PC Mag Editors’ Choice Web browser has been on top of the heap since version 1.5 came out in late 2005. Read our full review of Firefox 2.0.
GIMP
www.gimp.org
Windows | MacOS | Linux The GNU Image Manipulation Program (GIMP) does most of what Photoshop does; the Gimpshop project (plasticbugs.com) even makes it look like Photoshop. Read our full review of The GIMP 2.0.
iTunes
www.apple.com/itunes
Windows | MacOS When you’re attached to the top media player in the land (iPod), success is a given. iTunes continues to build sales and refine its organization of songs, video, games, podcasts, and more. Read our full review of Apple iTunes 7.6.
OpenOffice.org
www.openoffice.org
Windows | MacOS | Linux You can spend a lot for Microsoft Office or nothing for this suite with full-function word processor, spreadsheet, database, presentations, even an equations editor. Read our full review of OpenOffice.org 2.3.
Skype
www.skype.com
Windows | MacOS | Linux You’ll pay to call regular phones, but if you sign up all your friends, Skype provides easy (and even international) calls and video-conferencing for nothing. Read our full review of Skype 3.0.
Thunderbird
www.mozilla.com/thunderbird
Windows | MacOS | Linux Mozilla’s no-cost e-mail alternative is extensible, fast, and easy to master. And a wealth of free add-ons means there’s not much this program won’t do, from calendars to encryption. Read our full review of Thunderbird 2.
Ubuntu
www.ubuntu.com
Linux This Linux-based OS comes with many of these Hall of Fame products (Firefox, OpenOffice.org) preinstalled.
WinAmp
www.winamp.com
Windows After a decade of playing music, the “skinnable” WinAmp has several versions, including one with full CD ripping and burning.
QuickBase – PCMag Editors’ Choice
QuickBase – PCMag Editors’ Choice
REVIEW DATE:01.12.09 – by Edward Mendelson - http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2338773,00.asp
Ratings - Very Good
Bottom Line – Ultra-customizable, fast, and easy, Intuit’s QuickBase is the only business-class online database to come from a long-established vendor that a cautious company can trust.
Pros – Powerful, fast, reliable online database, extremely easy to use, but with elaborate options for user permissions, document storage, automated e-mail notifications, multiple tables, customized reports, and charting. Rich selection of prebuilt applications.
Cons – Attached document files can be exported only one by one. Charting can’t handle some complex data.
QuickBase puts your company’s database applications online, so that anyone in your organization can get customized, secure Web access to anything from inventory to contact lists to product management. You probably won’t want to use it as an enterprise-scaled database, but for almost anything else, it’s an impressive Web-based substitute for a server in your office. Unlike many current cloud-computing services offered by no-name vendors, QuickBase is a product of the long-established financial-software giant Intuit. It gets our Editors’ Choice rating partly because it’s actually what our editors chose: PCMag.com uses it to keep track of previews, reviews, and other features.
You can try QuickBase free for 30 days; after that, you have to spring for a subscription. Pricing starts at $250 per month and scales upward from there. That’s not cheap, but those businesses that can meet the price can have access to a surprisingly simple and elegant application. This simplicity becomes manifest within your first few minutes of using the online app. The straightforward, no-clutter Web-based interface has helpful prompts and explanations everywhere. I found it easy to get started either by using one of more than 300 prebuilt database templates-many contributed by real-world users-or by building a simple database from scratch. From there I found it simple to perform all the sorts of tasks the average user will desire from an online database, including adding multiple tables, setting up tabular and graphic reports, and fine-tuning access permissions for users.
What I like most about QuickBase is its clear interface, obviously the result of years of experience with consumer-level products like Intuit’s QuickBooks. When I first logged in, I clicked on the “Create a new application” icon and was taken to a screen that listed prebuilt applications in a dozen different categories. The Legal category, for example, offered applications for time and billing, multi-party litigation, contract management, and a document library. The document library app is impressive, thanks to a built-in revision-tracking feature that can store multiple versions of the same document. I especially liked the option to lock the document so that other people can’t upload new versions while I had the document open. All these prebuilt applications come with sample data, but it was easy enough to clear this out by clicking on a “Delete Sample Data Now” link at the top of any view that included such boilerplate.
You’re certainly not obligated to stick to templates, however. The “Create a New Application” screen lets you create an app from scratch or by uploading data. It took me about 5 minutes to create a database of my recent and pending assignments from PCMag, complete with an option to display overdue items with special color-coding. I also tried creating a database by exporting data from an Excel worksheet. The time-honored method for importing data into a database app is to export data from a worksheet into a comma-separated values (CSV) file and then import that file into the database. That method worked just fine with QuickBase-the app let me select the CSV file on my disk and imported it instantly-but I preferred an alternate method that spared me the trouble of creating a CSV file.
