While my company may have a very specific list of services… website design, programming, hosting and domain registration… for many of my clients, I am the only person they know who uses a computer more than just to send an email and browse the web. I frequently get phone calls from people asking me technical support related questions, and sometimes even general “how to” questions.

Because a large part of my client base is made up of start-up businesses and individuals looking to get their product out there, I get a lot of questions from people regarding how to set up their business. You’re thinking “But wait, that has nothing to do with websites.” I know it doesn’t, but I get calls like this on a weekly basis, mostly because they don’t know who else to ask or where to turn.

I have successfully managed my own business for five years now, and I have done so without paying a dime for any sort of business management software. So here’s a list of my favorite FREE programs that can aid you in successfully running your business… and believe me I’ve tried them all:

1. Quickbooks Simple Start – Yes, I said Quickbooks. There is a free version of Quickbooks software called Simple Start. Its purpose is to help you manage your books while you are small, hoping you will grow and need to get the not-so-free version. Simple Start lets you do invoicing, set up customer accounts, track expenses, just about everything you need to get started. It does not allow you to hook into your bank account, print checks, etc., however I’ve used Simple Start for 5 years and have never needed any of those features just because of the nature of my business.

Try it here: http://quickbooks.intuit.com/product/accounting-software/free-accounting-software.jsp

2. Task Coach – If you need task/project management software, this is a great one. It lets you set up main tasks and sub-tasks. You can track the time you spend on them, mark them complete, sort tasks by order of importance, and much more. I use this software every day to keep track of the time I spend on all of my website design projects. There is also an iPhone application that lets you track your tasks while on the go and then sync with your computer.

Try it here: http://www.taskcoach.org/

3. Thunderbird – Now I know Microsoft Outlook Express (or whatever they’re calling it now) comes free on PC’s running Windows, however I’m not a fan. Its difficult to navigate, its buggy, and the biggest complaint I get from my clients is that it doesn’t let you organize your email addresses very well. I use Thunderbird for my email client, its from Mozilla (the people that make Firefox), you can download a ton of plugins and add-ons to make your life easier and to help you manage your emails in a way that suits you, you can keep your email addresses separate, and create separate folders for different clients if you like to keep things organized. Its my favorite email client of all the ones I’ve tried.

Try it here: http://www.mozillamessaging.com/en-US/thunderbird/

4. Lightning – Lightning is a calendar plugin for thunderbird. It adds a full calendar right into your Thunderbird email client. It lets you color code events such as meetings, appointments, birthdays, holidays, etc. Its very easy to use, and its built right into your email client so you don’t have to run two different applications for your email and calendar.

Try it here: http://www.mozilla.org/projects/calendar/lightning/

5. Open Office – Now everyone knows one of the first pieces of software you need to buy when you start a business is Microsoft Office right? Not anymore. Open Office is a bundle of programs that work just like the Microsoft Office programs (Word, Excel, Access, Powerpoint). It allows you to open and/or save as Microsoft Office document formats which means you won’t have any compatibility issues with people who are using Microsoft Office.

Try it here: http://www.openoffice.org/

This list should get you started with most of the major software you will need to get your business started. Always remember, before you dish out your money, use Google to search for free alternatives. You would be surprised at what is out there!

P.S. Websites By Kristen is in no way affiliated with the companies or software mentioned above and is not responsible for any issues you have if you choose to use any of these products. Use at your own risk!

The layperson may not know that there are two major types of hosting offered through most shared hosting services, Windows based and Linux based. I have found over the years that many of my clients who have already purchased hosting for their website prior to consulting a professional usually end up with Windows hosting. My assumption is that they are familiar with “Windows” and because they are given a choice and must blindly make a decision, they choose what they are familiar with… even if its the wrong choice (in my humble opinion of course).

Now, I know that there are people who would disagree with me and say that Windows is the best choice, as is the case with any matter. So I shall do my best to convince you otherwise.

1. The main difference between Windows and Linux systems is that Windows is proprietary, developed by Microsoft, whereas Linux systems use open source software to run, and were created and perfected by countless programmers who simply want something better.

2. Because Linux software such as Apache is open source, it is FREE. This means that it costs hosting companies less to run a Linux server and you end up paying less out of pocket for your hosting service without sacrificing function. As with all Microsoft products, you gotta pay for Windows… and its not cheap. Windows servers and ASP scripting require both initial and ongoing costs. Typically, Windows shared hosting runs from $10-$20+ per month, whereas Linux hosting runs from $5-$10 per month.

3. Let’s talk about service. The world of open source is notorious for excellent “customer service”. This is because the countless programmers who create open source software also like to discuss it on the internet and add their two cents worth of improvements. There are many forums and message boards addressing software issues and resolutions, and if you don’t find the answer, ask a question yourself and you are sure to find someone in the programming community with an answer. Additionally, if a bug is found, someone will fix it for the next release and not 8-10 years down the road. If anyone has ever called Microsoft technical support and successfully gotten a resolution to the issue they were calling about, I would be shocked.

4. Let’s talk scripting. There are two major scripting languages, ASP and PHP and you can pretty much do the same things with both. ASP was created by Microsoft and will only run on a windows server (with the exception of a few work arounds that are not commonly available through shared hosting services). PHP is open source and will usually run on either type of server without too many modifications. ASP is notorious for being robust and slow as a result. PHP is, well… not slow.

5. Security. Windows IIS servers are notorious for security vulnerabilities, so you are more likely to get hacked on a Windows server than on Linux. Not to say that you can’t get hacked on Linux too, but its less likely. Just ask yourself how many security updates and fixes did your PC download this week?

6. Databases. Windows supports MSSql databases, obviously because its their own technology. If you ever decide to transfer from one Windows hosting service to another and a MSSql database is involved, cross your fingers and open your wallet. It is NOT simple to transfer a MSSQL database between shared hosting services, and most of the time you end up having to rebuild half of it, or lose data on the way. With a MySQL database, transfer takes 5 minutes and you are done. Painless. I should mention that MySQL is usually supported on both Windows and Linux servers, however most ASP programmers I know create their databases in an MSSQL environment.

I can list a number of other reasons of why I prepfer Linux as a programmer, but that is really not relevent to my clients who are keeping cost, functionality and ease in mind. And as I mentioned before, I’m sure there are people who will disagree with my opiions… just like I’m sure there are people out there who actually like Vista.

My unbiased suggestion, though, is to ask your programmer first what type of hosting you should get. If your programmer is an expert in ASP.NET, maybe you would be better off getting Windows hosting if you plan to use that person for a number of years to come for your website programming services.

But if you come to me, its Linux all the way…