19 Tools every online entrepreneur should know and use

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19 Tools every online entrepreneur should know and use

By khalid on April 22, 2008 1:50 am

Comments (19)

Posted in (Business)

There are thousands of tools out there that will simplify your life one way or another. This is a list of tools I find myself using on weekly basis. Some of these tools are technical in nature, others are very easy to use.

1. Beyond compare

There are many instances where you have to compare two different versions of a particular file or different directories. Beyond compare is a file and directory comparison and synchronization utility all wrapped in one. The tool compares text files, folders, zip archives, and FTP sites. Beyond compare is available for a 30-day free trial.

2. TextPad

Regardless of the development environment or language you work with, you eventually have to open your files in a simple text editor. Whether you simply need a powerful replacement for Notepad, a tool for editing your web pages, or a programming interface; TextPad provides all of that. It comes with a simple and familiar interface that you can use right away. However, it adds great features like the ability to start server, powerful search and find functionality, and, my favorite, bracket matching! The tool is available for free.

3. XAT image optimizer

If a page takes more than 10 seconds to load, visitors will leave your site. Images download time can play a role in slowing down your pages. So, next time you upload images to your site, optimize them first with the tool from XAT! The tool allows you to create smaller faster JPEGs, GIFs and PNGs. It is available for free. The commercial version allows you to optimize multiple images at the same time. (All the images in this blog were optimized by the tool from XAT)

4. Agent Ransack

Looking for a file but do not remember its name? File search functionality is poor to non-existent in Windows. Agent Ransack allows you to find files and information on your hard drive immediately and efficiently. When searching the contents of files, Agent Ransack displays the text found so you can quickly browse the results without having to separately open each file!

5. FileZilla

A great tool for file transfer via FTP, FTPS and SFTP. FileZilla is Cross-platform, with versions that run on Windows, Linux, and OSX. It also comes with a powerful site manager and transfer queue.

6. SQuirreL SQL Client

A graphical program that allows you to view the structure of a JDBC compliant database, browse the data in tables, and issue SQL commands. So, if you have to work with Oracle, MSSQL, Mysql, you no longer have to install different tools, SQuirreL SQL is the only program you will need.

7. Snag It

I am an addict! A Snag it addict that is. Snag it is a screen capture and an image editor as well that allows you to capture any window on your PC. So, next time you are browsing the web or something pops on your PC and you would like to keep a picture of, Snag it. (All the images in this blog were produced by Snag It)

8. PuTTY

if you need to login to your server to do any kind of work, then PuTTY is a must have. Putty allows you to telnet or SSH to your server from windows or Unix based systems. What I love about Putty is that highlighting text copies it automatically into the clip board.

9. Trillian

If you are like me, you probably need to communicate with clients, co-workers and colleagues via a number of different chat programs like yahoo messenger, MSN, AOL, and ICQ. Having all of these programs run at the same time is a headache to deal with. Trillian allows you to login to all of these program through a single program.

10. Firebug: the Firefox Add-on

This is a must have tool for any front end developer. Firebug allows you to edit, debug, and monitor CSS, HTML, and JavaScript live in any web page from Firefox.

11. Istockphoto.com

Looking for nice images for your blog? I have tried many services and like iStockPhoto the most. Their prices come to about $1 per picture.

12. Safari books online

I do not have to carry my books with me anymore. Safari is a service provided by O’Rielly which allows you to view books online. Safari builds itself as “the premier electronic reference library for programmers, developers, IT, web designers and the creative professional. “ There is a limit to the number of books you can view at the same time based on the type of subscription you have.

13. GoToMeeting

Meet with clients or coworkers with a click of a button. GoToMeeting has many competitors including Webex however for a 30 day free trial and $50 a month afterwards, Go To Meeting beats its competitors hands down.

14. Subversion

Operating without a code repository is a disaster waiting to happen. Everyone who works online will has faced a situation where you wish you could revert back to the original file you wrote or changed a few days or few months back. Source repositories maintain a history of anything that changed in the code. There are many popular ones such Microsoft VSS (visual source safe) and CVS. Subversion builds on CVS strength and at the same time resolving some of the issues CVS did not handle well. You can also use subversion to maintain history for your documents so it is not limited to code. SVN is available for free.

15. Google Docs

If you are working with a team and you have to exchange documents, email is not a good option. You start losing track of the latest version or changes to the document. Let alone the fact that some of these documents are too large and not easy to send via email. Google Docs solves this problem by providing a central repository where all your team members can access the latest version of any document.

16. Sharepoint

Google docs is great but it does come with its limitations. If you are working with hundreds of files in Google docs, you have to share each of these files with each of your team members. That is cumbersome to do. Sharepoint allows you to share folders with team members, provides an advance security model and provides version control as well. On the downside, you will have to pay for sharepoint or host it on your own server.

17. RoboForm

Too many user names and passwords? RoboForm solves the problem by memorizing your different usernames and passwords. It also fills out long registration and checkout forms with one click without being bombarded and spammed with ads!

18. Eclipse

If you have done or plan to do any Java development, Eclipse is must have tool. Developed initially by IBM and then turned into an open source project, the Eclipse is the most powerful IDE available.

19. XML Spy

From your RSS feed to complex system integration, XML is a standard and powerful format. If you have to do any work with XML documents, XML spy is a must have tool. It helps with modeling, editing, and debugging XML Schema, DTD, XSLT, XQuery, SOAP, and WSDL. The free version of the tool is available for 30 days trial. The full version can set you back up $600.

Do you use any of the tools I mentioned above? Do you have other tools you use regularly?

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19 Responses to “ 19 Tools every online entrepreneur should know and use”

Irene Rose Says -- April 22nd, 2008 at 6:27 am

nice tools. they are worth the attention of every person who is serious about entrepreneurship.

Troy Duncan Says -- April 22nd, 2008 at 1:04 pm

Thanks for the list. I tagged istockphoto, xat, and textpad. I currently use Filezilla but I’m looking for a replacement. It keeps timing out and I spend a lot of time reconnecting.

Joe Takkle Says -- April 22nd, 2008 at 1:37 pm

Is it wrong that I only recognize 5 of those tools? Well, looks like I have some research ahead on the other 14.

Samir Kumar Mishra Says -- April 22nd, 2008 at 5:57 pm

I failed to co-relate what tool has to do with entrepreneurship? Instead of TextPad try Notepad++ I found it much better than TextPad. BeyondCompare can be replaced with KDiff. I agree with you on googledoc. There is nothing like it and it made the collaboration so easy.

Pablo Matamoros Says -- April 22nd, 2008 at 6:04 pm

Excellent post.

I know half of the tools, I need to try the others.

However, I wouldn’t recommend RoboForm or similar tools. You are giving away critical information. It is a security risk. I don’t even let IE or Firefox to remember my user and password.

I know there are too many user and passwords to remember nowadays. I still prefer to keep them inside my brain.

Call me paranoid…

khalid Says -- April 23rd, 2008 at 9:49 am

@Troy I usually find it is a problem with the server more than FilleZilla when the connection times out. I just had to deal with that problem last weekend.

@Samir, I assume that entrepreneur will need to use these tools running their online business.

@Pablo I am on a project for a client right now with 8 different user names and password. Unless I write them down, I will forget them. Even worse, all the servers will suspend your account if fail to login after three attempts.

Jestep Says -- April 23rd, 2008 at 12:06 pm

Here’s a few more that I use on a daily basis:

Navicat – http://www.navicat.com/ – By far the best mysql gui that I have ever used. I run hundreds remote backups with this program. Allows table level and full database restoration. Well worth the cost.

http://www.radmin.com/products/utilities/ – The advancea LAN, Port and IP scanners are all free and are extremely useful for network diagnostics and simple troubleshooting.

Ultramon – http://www.realtimesoft.com/ultramon/overview/ – By far the best multi taksbar program out there. If you use multiple monitors this puts a taskbar on each one rather than the single taskbar that windows uses.

I would put Open Office on there as well. Save yourself $500 over Microsoft office with just about the same functionality.

Jestep Says -- April 23rd, 2008 at 12:11 pm

@Pablo

Roboform is far more secure than using the standard remember password that IE and Firefox use. As long as you use the password, the information is stored using AES encryption on your hard drive. Additionally, key loggers are completely ineffective since you never have to type anything. Roboform will not write any data unless you are on the correct domain, so even the best phishing attempt would be completely worthless. Not a perfect system, but when you have 500+ logins to remember, there isn’t much other option. Also, you can generate and use really strong passwords with it since you don’t have to remember any of them.

human resources Says -- April 23rd, 2008 at 12:44 pm

agreed with troy. filezilla is easy to use but it keeps timing out and i got to reconnecting. I will try out roboform..got way too many accounts to handle

Web Success Diva Says -- April 24th, 2008 at 12:34 pm

Great tools, a few I’d never heard about!
Thanks for sharing!

Maria Reyes-McDavis

Digital SLR Joe Says -- April 24th, 2008 at 3:24 pm

Pretty good article. I like it, keep it up.

Lisa- Add Your Site to DoFollow Directory Says -- April 29th, 2008 at 3:48 pm

Nice list- I could not live without firebug or Roboform. I keep mine on a USB key and when my laptop was stolen on holidays this year it was a godsend.

Dominic Says -- May 5th, 2008 at 8:20 pm

I agree with your choice of text editor. TextPad rocks … I’ve been using it for 7 years and have tried heaps of others, but keep coming back to it.

Team Reading List » (EMP) E-Marketing Performance Says -- July 17th, 2008 at 4:54 pm

[...] 19 Tools every online entrepreneur should know and use [...]

Patrick Says -- August 30th, 2008 at 2:29 pm

Thanks for sharing all these insights, tips and resources. I will surely take note of all of these. I have in fact bookmarked your site.

Kathy Mead Says -- September 9th, 2008 at 3:36 am

Oh, no, i found that i only used roboform…thanks for your point.

Mike Says -- October 6th, 2008 at 8:56 pm

Nice set of tool. I will have to try them out, thanks for posting them.

Web Success Diva's Savvy Saturday Online Marketing Links Says -- January 12th, 2009 at 12:45 pm

[...] you’re a serious tech-savvy online entrepreneur, you’ll love these online tools compiled at Invesp Blog. There are even a few on this list the Diva was not aware [...]

Paul Says -- October 19th, 2009 at 6:43 am

Thanks for the list. I haven’t used all the tools you mention but I’ll certainly give them a try. Filezilla, snagit and istock are all great resources that every marketer should have.

Thanks

Paul