Expanding on the Top 10 Musician Resources Lists, we come to one of the most important questions of every musician: How do you sell your music online?

For years, major labels have held a monopoly over the traditional distribution channels. Now any artist can use the Internet to distribute their music through the same channels. And more importantly, you don’t have to give up money from each and every sale of your music. You don’t have to enter into exclusive deals or sign binding contracts. You don’t have to give up your rights and the ownership of your own music to some other company just to gain access to music stores.

Here are the five best web sites through which you can sell your music.  Check them out.

1. CD Baby

   CD Baby is the largest online distributor of independent music. It began as a garage startup in 1997 and has grown to serve more than 2.2 million customers worldwide. Artists get paid within a week of making a sale, and until now more than $160 million was paid directly to the artists.

   As a member, you can sell your CDs and MP3s in the world’s most popular music stores, both online and offline. CD Baby makes your music available on iTunes, Amazon MP3, CDBaby.com, Facebook, Spotify, and dozens of the most popular music sites. It also lets you sell your CDs worldwide and make them available for special order sale in over 2,500 brick-and-mortar retail stores. You can even sell vinyl on CDBaby.com.
   
   CD Baby offers a handy Music Store Widget, so you can sell your music directly to your fans wherever they follow you online. From CD manufacturing to web hosting and podcasts, CD Baby offers a big assortment of artist services.

2. TuneCore

   If you don’t know TuneCore, you should definitely check it out. It is a marketplace for digital music and video distribution, and its success lies in keeping things simple. TuneCore doesn’t ask for “membership,” it doesn’t have minimums or maximums, and it doesn’t insist on exclusivity. It simply provides artists with valuable information and resources.

   

   With TuneCore you can:

   • Get digital distribution with all the online retailers non-exclusively and without giving up any of your rights, royalties or income streams.
   • Place your music and items on the shelves of retailers everywhere.
   • Have the freedom to pick and choose where and how your music is made available.
   • Get the money generated from the sale of your music the moment it becomes available.
   • Print promotional material, from buttons to posters to t-shirts.
   • Produce top-quality audio CDs with full high quality art in ultra-small batches and ship them wherever needed.
   • Get all the money from around the world owed to you, including money you might not have otherwise collected due to copyright laws, international tariffs or regulations of other countries.

3. The Orchard

   Founded in 1997, The Orchard provides an innovative and comprehensive sales and marketing platform for musicians. Operating in more than 20 global markets, with over 2,500 labels from over 50 countries and thousands of artists representing every music genre, The Orchard is without a doubt a big player in the independent music and video distribution.

   

   Click here to view the video on YouTube.

   If you go with The Orchard, your release will be registered with All Music Guide, Muze and Soundscan, and encoded to meet the specific requirements of each digital music service and retail outlet, thus optimizing it for mass exposure. The Orchard’s distribution agreement is non-exclusive and lets you retain full ownership and rights to your recordings.

4. IODA

   IODA (Independent Online Distribution Alliance) is one of the longest established digital music aggregators with a huge distribution network and an impressive list of services. Founded in 2003, it has since built a catalog of nearly two million tracks that is licensed to more than 400 digital stores worldwide.

   

   IODA‘s catalog represents a diverse range of music from over 50 countries, including rock, electronic, hip-hop, metal, punk, indie, world, latin, jazz and classical. IODA‘s distribution network includes all major digital music services like iTunes®, Amazon MP3 and MySpace Music, and mobile carriers and outlets such as Verizon Wireless, Sprint and Nokia.

5. SongCast

   SongCast offers music distribution, but also a variety of other useful tools for promoting your music online. Their distribution service covers all major digital stores such as iTunes, AmazonMP3, Google Music, Spotify, Rhapsody, Emusic, and MediaNet and you’ll have access to all of their respective international stores like iTunes Europe, Amazon UK, etc.

   

   SongCast provides monthly accounting and royalty payments, along with world class artist & label support. It also allows musicians to create their own profile where they can display photos, list show times, and provide links to buy their music. Although SongCast is probably not the cheapest solution available (it will run you $5.99 per month plus an initial $25 set up fee), it is well worth considering since you will never have to pay them any commission for sales after that.

   Watch this short tutorial video to understand better how SongCast works.

 

If you travel by plane a lot, either for business or for pleasure, then this here is a shortlist of Frequent Flyers’ Essentials, well worth bookmarking. It will save you time and money when you’re on the move.

1. Priority Pass

   If you ever wondered if there was a stress-free way to travel, well – this is as close as it gets. The Priority Pass Card will open doors to exclusive airline lounges throughout the world, even when you are flying economy class, and regardless of the airline.If you’ve had the chance to stay in one of these VIP lounges, then you know what the hype is all about. They provide a safe haven from the chaos of the public airport terminal. You will get complimentary drinks and snacks and comfortable lounging chairs in a quiet, relaxing atmosphere, with free wireless internet. If you need to have a flight rescheduled, or your seats changed, the lounge’s hostess will take care of it while you relax.

   The Priority Pass Card card gets you into more than 600 airport lounges in over 100 countries. Membership plans start from $99 per year, depending on your travel frequency and needs, there are different options. For instance, in some plans, if you are traveling with guests or family they can come into the lounge with you. There are also corporate rates for business.

   Overall, the benefits of the Priority Pass Membership are so obvious that everyone who flies as little as twice per year should be taking the advantage.

   

   Priority Pass Card

2. Points.Com

   If you are a rewards programs junkie, you will like Points.Com. It is a place where you can keep track of all the many different promotional websites and programs where you gain these points and lets you manage them. For example, if you have accumulated points with several different airlines, on this site you can merge these points into one and use them all together. You can do a number of things with your accumulated points: sell them, trade them, convert them into gift cards or redeem into cash!

   Anyone can register for free. Gold Membership is optional at $4.95 per month, and will get you up to 50% off travel and dining benefits. You also get more bonus points to the reward program of your choice.

   

   Points.Com

3. World Taximeter

   Here’s a great online tool that will take the guesswork out from your next budget trip planning. World Taximeter calculates an estimated fare for a taxi ride in cities around the world.

   

   World Taximeter

4. Sleeping in the Airports

   As the site says, airport sleeping is no longer just for the cheap young backpackers. Nowadays, you’ll find travelers of all ages and incomes stretched out on airport floors. The Guide to Sleeping in Airports is a fun resource of airport reviews from travelers around the world.

   

   The Guide to Sleeping in Airports

5. AirlineMeals.Net

   This curious little website offers extensive photo documentation of airline meals. You can browse by airline, or upload your own photos to the site.

   

   AirlineMeals.Net
   

Have you ever wanted to make your own social network? It is probably much easier than you think. All you need to know is where to look.  Whether you want to start a dating site or a collaboration community, chances are that the tools you need are already out there. Why pay a lot of money to web developers to make a costly web application from scratch, when you can use and customize the social networking scripts that have proven to work well?

Listed here are the best solutions for inexpensive web development for online communities and social networks available today. Take a look, see which one of these sites best suits your needs, and start building your very own social network today!

1. Ning

   Anyone looking over the options for social networking development will quickly realize that Ning is the king. Even though the company stopped offering free products since April 2010, everything indicates that Ning still supports the largest number of sites.

   Basically, Ning incorporates a number of separately available technologies in a single unified, hosted, user managed platform. It integrates a blog, wiki, forum, photo/video gallery, “latest activity” micro feed, events calendar and member manager. Extended functionality allows you to add widgets, form sub groups and organize projects. Ning’s interface is user-friendly on both member and administrator end. There are many ways in which you can fine tune the look and feel of your site.

   Ning offers a solid product that provides most of the features a social network site should have. If what you need is the most basic of sites, then Ning’s lowest tier may be a good option. However, if you require more advanced features, Ning does not come cheap. there are still plenty of free or less expensive options out there.
   

2. Elgg

   Elgg is a free, open source CMS that has been online sine 2004. Over the years, the community has grown and now boasts a rather active set of users. With a plugin repository of over 1000 available plugins and a huge selection of themes, Elgg has quickly become the go to CMS for open source social networking.

   Similar to Drupal in that it is more of a content management framework than a CMS, Elgg provides the foundation to build a powerful social networking  website and you get to customize it by adding modules and setting up plugins. At first Elgg can seem very basic, but the real power of the system comes from the ways it can be extended and built upon. You decide what will be added, how it will be configured and as you add the individual plugins, the system begins to take on the form of full fledged social networking CMS.

3. Grou.ps

   Grou.ps is a big player among social network providers. If you have a complex project and require special additional plugins, you will find that Grou.ps have covered pretty much every feature you might desire in a social network. Their system is robust and functional, interface is user friendly and they provide good customer support.

   Free account gives you 100MB of storage, 500MB bandwidth and is limited to 25 members. If you want more options, there are different pricing plans.

   

   Click here to view the video on YouTube.

4. Groupsite

   Groupsite is different from other sites on this list whose main focus is on social networking. Groupsite is more of a hybrid between social and professional networking, and it emphasizes collaboration and project completion. It offers many unique features including separate public and professional user profiles, user objectives and personal networking and last but not least, a very extensive event/calendar solution.

   Unfortunately, there is one big downside to Groupsite – it doesn’t leave much room to creativity in customization. The layout and design are fixed, and although you can change the colors and put your own banners, you are stuck with the basic layout and menu order.

   

   Click here to view the video on YouTube.

5. Boonex

   Boonex Dolphin is another open source Social Networking system based on the PHP scripting language and MySQL database software under the GPL license. It includes blogs, events, groups, video chat, video messenger, players, mobile app, desktop app, files, media sharing, store, profiles, friends, boards, media sharing, store, and files sharing. It also features paypal supported affiliate management, which makes it ideal to use as a dating script.

   A word of warning: Boonex does not have a coding standard, which causes a lot of bugs in the system. So unless you are a programmer and know how to work on fixing and adjusting the code, you may want to look at other options.
   

6. SocialGO

   SocialGO is a very attractive DIY solution for creating your own social networking site. Its interface is user friendly, has tab-based navigation, and offers a wide array of features, even in the free version (Forums, SubGroups, Photos and Events).

   If you don’t need more than 1GB of storage and are happy with 10GB Bandwidth, then the free Ad supported account is for you. However, if you want additional options, such as the ability to use your own domain name, your advertising instead of SocialGO‘s, expanded layout features, unlimited storage/bandwidth, etc, you will need to upgrade to premium account.

   

   Click here to view the video on YouTube.

7. Sprūz

   Sprūz is another service worth looking into if you are searching for a social networking solution. It features very powerful tools for customizing themes and layouts, and an easy to use drag and drop style editor. User profiles even have the option to add custom fields to user permissions/roles administration. However, there are a few disadvantages: the forums are not threaded, and subgroups can’t create group events, house group photos, or subscribe to group forum posts.

   

   Click here to view the video on YouTube.

8. Wall.fm

   Wall.fm If you want to make a private social network, or an online community that focuses on specific groups of people (clubs, people who play a certain game, a hobby, etc.) rather than a general social network, then Wall.fm is an excellent option. It is the free, hosted version of an open source social networking software called Oxwall, which you can opt to install on your own domain. Depending on the features you want you can choose between the free and paid options.

   Wall.fm has been called the walled Facebook. All you can do on Facebook you can do here as well: content can be tagged and commented on, and you can  participate in forums, blogs and wikis. However, it provides high privacy, so it is ideal for these social interactions that are not suitable to a site as general as Facebook, and also convenient for educators who want their students to interact in a safe and secure setting, free from any kind of distraction.

   

9. ONEsite

   ONEsite Platform offers a rich community experience with Blogging, Photo and Video Sharing, Tagging, Rating, Flagging, Commenting, Built-in Messaging, and Groups. Their Widget and API libraries let you integrate the ONEsite community with  existing Web properties, search, registration, and authentication systems.

   A subsidiary of Catalog.com, ONEsite has a staff of 40, including developers, designers, systems operations, and their own in-house customer support and service center. They will give your project personal attention and work with you on its concept, design, implementation, and launch.

10. SocialEngine

    SocialEngine is a social net­work system that will let you start a self-hosted social net­work. Based on Zend Frame­work, it is quite easy to customize.

    If you are looking for an application that is affordable then this is a good bet, and one of the better options available on the market today. Priced at $250 for a license, SocialEngine also has a number of plugins which can be installed and configured for use. Plugins are available for between $30 to $50  depending on the plugin.

    

11. phpFox

    phpFox is another online community software packed with features. It is very easy to install and comes with out of the box functionality. The core phpfox script is well written and unencrypted, but you will need to know php and mysql to customize it.

    phpFox interface is simple and features pretty much everything you would need. It has a great events calendar; however, there is no video chat or phone. Priced at $300, it is still another inexpensive alternative.

    

12. Pearse Street

    If you would like to have a professional team handling your project, check out Pearse Street. It has been providing social media services since 2005, giving its clients professionally designed and programmed new media solutions, from social media marketing campaigns to blog development to large-scale social networking websites. Their portfolio is quite impressive.

    Pearse Street‘s biggest advantage in the world of web giants is that they are small enough to give you personalized attention, and yet large enough to be able to easily address the many aspects of your project, including graphic design, advanced programming and marketing support.

Finally, one word of warning as to the cost involved: Unless you opt for a free, open source script, most of the networking software will have a price tag attached to it. Keep in mind that even though you pay the initial fee for a license, you will have to pay extra for all the other things: additional apps and plugins, ads removal, branding removal, etc. So the final price can easily go up to $100 per month, or even more. But don’t despair, and don’t stop here. Do your own research and find the solution that best suits your needs and your budget.

There are many great online tools and resources for musicians. Here we give you the Ten Best Online Tools for Music Making available on the web. As you will find out, today you don’t have to be a skilled musician to create music. But it certainly helps if you are…

1. Audacity

   Audacity is a free, multilingual audio editor and recorder for Windows, Mac OS X, GNU/Linux and other operating systems. It is very easy to use. Here are some things you do with Audacity:

   •     Record live audio.
   •     Convert tapes and records into digital recordings or CDs.
   •     Edit Ogg Vorbis, MP3, WAV or AIFF sound files.
   •     Cut, copy, splice or mix sounds together.
   •     Change the speed or pitch of a recording.

   

2. Aviary

   Aviary offers great tools for sound editing and music creation. Music Creator ROC will let you make music loops and ringtones using a simple point-and-click interface. You can choose from hundreds of instruments: pianos, guitars, drums, etc. Easily customize your sounds by recording your own voice and instruments, or upload MP3s instead of using instruments.

   

   When you’re done, export your beat into Myna Audio Editor to add effects and develop a full-length track. Myna offers powerful clip editing with a range of effects you can use to customize your sound.

3. AudioTool

   AudioTool is a Web app that is apt for serious music production. It features a wide range of inputs, outputs, mixers, effects pedals, and drum machines that may even be a bit intimidating for a beginner. Speaking of which, Audiotool doesn’t offer much guidance on how to assemble a track. However, for those who have that basic knowledge, Audiotool ptovides a professional sequencer to automate songs and create complex arrangements. When you are done making a track, you can share it with the community or download your own song and put it on your MP3 player.

   

4. Noteflight

   Music composition software and electronic tools for annotating musical notes are not cheap and not all musicians can afford them. Noteflight is a free online music composer and note editor which comes as a nice alternative for such tools. It has a simple and easy to use interface through which you can create, edit, display and playback music notations online.

   Noteflight also lets you share your compositions and publish them online. To see how easy it is to use Noteflight, watch the Noteflight Demo.

   

5. Mixxx

   Mixxx is a free cross-platform digital DJ mixing software with professional features like automatic BPM matching, seamless looping, hot cues, crossfading, etc. Whether you’re new to DJing or a pro, Mixxx will give you everything you need to perform live mixes, like you would with turntables and a mixer.

   Mixxx supports most popular DJ MIDI controllers. Using a turntable and timecoded vinyl, Mixxx’s playback can be syncronized to the turntable. This let’s you scratch and mix with your digital music collection as if it were on vinyl. And best of all, you don’t need to invest your time building your music library with expensive commercial DJ software. As an open source license, Mixxx will always be free.

   

6. Drumbot

   Drumbot‘s tagline: A free online drum machine for non-drummers pretty much sums it up. Drumbot is probably the best online resource for full song loops and tons of grooves, designed specifically for non-drummers for use as backing tracks during song composition.

   Each of the Drumbot “songs” consists of loop sets that run at the same BPM and are all inter-related. Most of these loop sets have multiple intro’s, verses, chorus’, fills, crashes and outros. You can organize these basic building blocks into unique arrangements to suits your requirements.

   

7. eJamming Audiio

   eJamming Audiio is the collaborative network for musicians. It is a meeting place for the worldwide community of musicians and a platform that enables them to work together online in real time and create music together as if they were in the same room even if they are far from one another.

   

   Click here to view the video on YouTube.

8. Kompoz

   In some ways similar to eJamming Audiio, Kompoz is the place for musicians to create songs with others from around the world. However, unlike eJamming Audiio, Kompoz does not aim at real time collaboration, but rather provides a community site with strong social networking features pinned around distributed music creation. It serves as the platform for creating songs regardless of the whereabouts of band members. Members can post tracks from the comfort of their home studios, using their favorite DAW, and collaborate with others to create new music. Kompoz members span over 120 countries and all 24 time-zones.

   

9. Jam Studio

   Jam Studio is a free online music mixing & songwriting tool that lets you quickly create music beats, backing tracks, karaoke songs, soundtracks & demo songs. Although it may not be the most cutting edge music mixer in the world, JamStudio will provide you with a sort of a musical sandbox to try out new ideas. Unlimited variations and versions can be explored instantly in a wide range of styles. Another useful feature is the JamRecorder which lets you add vocals and additional audio effects to your song.

   

   Click here to view the video on YouTube.

10. LoopLabs

    Online since 2000, LoopLabs is the web’s premiere online music mixing application. Featuring extremely intuitive and easy-to use software interfaces, it provides an online interactive music platform that offers a wide range of possibilities:
    • multi-channel mixing (up to 32 channels)
    • advanced multi-channel presets
    • MP3 sampling / triggering / remixing
    • complete load/save/vote functionality
    • audio recording capabilities (client-side)
    • sequencing / song composing
    • output audio to WAV/MP3 files
    • ring tone creation and output
    • video mixing capabilities and integration
    • multiuser, collaborative music environments
    • stereo-effects processing
    • drum and rhythm pattern machine
    • MP3 mixing / crossfading
    • Widget playback and distribution
    • Social network integration
    • crossplatform (MAC|PC)

    The company has received top Interactive awards and been featured on TechTV, Cre@te Online and live at MacWorld where Steve Jobs used it during the launch of Safari to illustrate the robust power of the new Browser for Mac OSX. Constantly updating their technology, LoopLabs are currently in the final phases of development of several new and exciting interactive audio tools soon to be released.

    

Yes, there are a lot of scams on the Internet, and you have to be careful about whom you give your money to.  But if you are smart, online shopping can bring you a lot of savings too. There are so many great shopping sites with exclusive offers for their members that let you save up to 80% on major brands. Not to mention the times when what you need cannot be purchased locally, so online shopping becomes the only option.

Whether you love to shop on the Internet, or do it only when it’s the last resort, here are the five truly unique shopping tools that will make your online purchases easier in every way, and save you time and money.

1. InvisibleHand

   InvisibleHand is a plugin for Firefox, Google Chrome, Safari and Internet Explorer. When it is installed, it will make a big difference in your online shopping searches. It works with over 600 online retailers and almost as many airlines, so whenever you search for something on any shopping site, it will pop up in a little window to show you where you can find better deals, in real time. InvisibleHand is a must-have tool for any smart internet shopper.

   

2. Mr. Rebates

   Mr. Rebates is a truly unique website. It gives its members significant cash-back rebates in over 2000 online stores, and it adds daily money-saving coupons and special sales/price drops on hot products.

   Mr. Rebates is able to offer such fantastic service because of their unique concept: they basically refund you the commission they would otherwise be earning on your purchase. Mr. Rebates has been online since 2002 and has an “A+” rating with the Better Business Bureau.

   

3. Seemio

   Seemio is not a shopping site, but a very useful FREE tool designed especially for the online shopper. It makes the online shopping experience more effective and saves time. Seemio is easy to customize with one click, lets you see all brands in one place, compare deals from different shops, etc. In short, Seemio will clear out your inbox and still make sure you receive top offers relevant to your interests and/or preferred brands.

   Although still in beta phase, Seemio is available in UK, Spain, and Australia.

   If you are addicted to online shopping exclusive offers, you will find Seemio to be the ultimate shopping tool. Watch this video to understand better how it works.

4. Shopzilla

   You can’t write a list on best shopping sites and not mention Shopzilla. With a global audience of over 40 million shoppers each month, Shopzilla is the leading price comparison service on the Internet, used by consumers and retailers in the U.S., UK, French and German markets since 2004. Its huge data base of constantly updated product feeds that provide quick price comparison and an extensive collection of unbiased user reviews, make Shopzilla a one-stop-shop in every way.

   

5. RetailMeNot

   RetailMeNot.com provides a searchable database for discount coupon codes, vouchers, and promo codes for over 50,000 stores.  So next time you find yourself on checkout looking at the “Enter your coupon code here” line, the smart thing to do would be to go to RetailMeNot.com and search for the shop coupon there. Chances are, you will find it.

   “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find…” – Matthew 7:7

   

Whether you are looking to set up an internet shop, or take an existing business online, you’ll be surprised to find how many e-commerce solutions there are to choose from. Most of them offer standard shopping cart features, plus additional marketing tools and administration panel to help you keep track of products, orders, customers, shipping, etc. Depending on the  particular requirements and the size of your business, you will want to compare a few of these services in terms of what they can offer you.

The most important thing to watch out for is  whether your e-commerce service provider is PCI-compliant. The Payment Card Industry (PCI) Data Security Standard is a joint creation of Visa, Mastercard, Discover and American Express. In response to the growing severity of credit card theft, the PCI Standard was created with the goal of protecting cardholder data wherever it may reside. The PCI has developed industry wide standards for card data security to be followed by both merchants and providers alike. Compliance with PCI Data Security Standard is highly recommended for all on-line stores.

1. Volusion

   Volusion is a premium, award-winning e-commerce software, featured in PC Mag and other media and used by major companies like Disney and Motorola. In short, Volusion allows you to build and manage an online store to effectively sell products and services on the Internet. A low cost merchant account is integrated with over 35 Gateways.

   Volusion’s flexibility, power, ease of use and price make it great for small businesses, but it has the infrastructure and expertise necessary to meet the demands of a larger company. Many business owners find that as they grow and become more successful online, their use of bandwidth increases along with their sales revenue. Volusion will not compensate for this by charging you a percentage of your sales, but only charges a minimal monthly fee for the hosting of your online store, while additional bandwidth is available for only $0.007/MB.

   Volusion

2. CoreCommerce

   CoreCommerce is an award-winning, feature-packed e-commerce software that apart from the standard options also provides search engine optimization, one page checkout, and integration with third parties, such as QuickBooks, Facebook, UPS Worldship, and more. Store administration is easy to customize and design, and the control panel is integrated with over 26 payment gateways, all kinds of credit cards, multiple currency support, fully-integrated shipping options, order management, customer tools, etc.

   CoreCommerce offers several pricing plans, starting at 29,99 per month, and all pricing plans include all the features. They also offer a free trial.

   CoreCommerce

3. BigCommerce

   BigCommerce is one of the most trusted names in e-commerce business. They protect your store and data with the same military-grade security and encryption that the big banks use, and have a 99.99% average uptime track record.BigCommerce includes dozens of built-in marketing tools to drive traffic to your online store, including advanced search engine optimization, Google product export and the ability to sell your products on Facebook. It’s very easy to customize. Business owners can choose from over 60 store designs and use the Drag & Drop Design Mode to customize the layout of their store while designers have full access to HTML and CSS via FTP, as well as QuickEdit and different tools.

   You can sell products online easily even without any prior experience. The getting started wizard helps you get your online store and shopping cart up fast and there are dozens of step-by-step videos if you get stuck.

   With over 25 business intelligence reports built in (such as top selling products and average revenue per order), BigCommerce helps you make better decisions which mean more money in your pocket with less work.

   But best of all, there are no transaction fees — ever! Big Commerce never charge transaction fees and have no hidden costs. What you see really is what you get.

   BigCommerce

4. Interspire

   Interspire Shopping Cart is a non-hosted version of BigCommerce, an all-in-one e-commerce and shopping cart software platform that includes absolutely everything you need to sell online and attract more customers using the power, reach and affordability of the Internet.

   Interspire offers an opportunity for web developers and designers to get full access to the source code and easily customize HTML-and-CSS-only store designs. They can create new stores for clients in record time using Interspire software.

   From expert search engine optimization to powerful merchandising features and unique built-in marketing tools to drive more traffic to your online store, Interspire Shopping Cart guarantees you’ll generate more sales by committing to give you your money back if they don’t deliver.

   Interspire

5. eStore Advanced

   eStore Advanced will provide you with a cart, a merchant account, secure payment gateway and unlimited use web hosting. They offer an affordable, easy to use, high powered shopping cart system that includes numerous useful features for your business administration, product management, marketing and promotion, order management shipping and tax, reports, etc.

   They also offer in depth marketing services and guarantee a top 30 ranking on the major search engines. eStore Advanced customer support is exceptional, and they are very flexible in terms of accommodating your individual needs by customizing the software or shop design just for you, free of charge.

   eStore Advanced has fully integrated the Drop Ship Access program into it’s shopping cart code. This implementation gives you the ability to quickly and easily add as many products to your store as you want. You can add as many of your own products as you like then supplement your product offerings with products offered by DSA or set up a store to just sell products offered by DSA.

   

   eStore Advanced

6. 3DCart

   3D Cartis one of the most complete website e-commerce solutions, with over 100 features designed to grow your online business. Easy-to-use web-based administration enables you to customize your website and online shop, no graphic design or programming necessary. Additional plugins such as Livechat, Quickbooks integration and ROI tracking give you the competitive edge in an ever increasing market.There are many features to help you run the shop, from strorefront design, promotion and marketing, product management, order processing, statistics and reporting, shipping and payment, etc.

   3DCart

7. Avactis

   Avactis Shopping Cart is another software package that allows you to open an online store on the Internet. Compared to other similar e-commerce solutions, Avactis allows for a fast and easy integration of an online store into an existing website without any programmer’s knowledge or skills. Unlike other shopping cart software, Avactis is integrated into your website, instead of integrating your website into the online store.

   The client side (the storefront) is your website as seen by visitors. The Avactis’ client side allows the visitors to your site to browse products in the online store, select products and put them into the shopping cart, as in a conventional supermarket, and then pay for the selected products using a credit card or other payment options. The Avactis’s administrator side allows you to stock up the store with products, as a conventional warehouse, maintain the inventory, track orders and payments.

   

   Avactis

8. Shopster

   Shopster is a free merchant network that lets you build a free online store, connect to other merchants, find dropship products to sell and sell your own products through new channels. What makes Shopster special is that you can find products from hundreds of different free dropshippers in one place. Get your products in front of thousands of retailers who sell online. Connect with a few or connect with them all – you choose who you build business relationships with. The Shopster platform provides you with a free marketplace and resources to get your products sold.Their online store is customizable, integrated with PayPal, E-bay listing and auction manager. Basic merchant account is free. For more information, watch the video.

   Shopster

9. Vendio

   Vendio is another award-winning platform that has been supporting the needs of online sellers for over 10 years. Similar to Shopster in that it lets you reach buyers where they are shopping, without forcing you to learn a different interface for each online channel. Whether you are a seasoned online sales veteran, or just a beginner, Vendio provides an ecommerce solution that enables you to share inventory with eBay, Amazon and more, which means it makes it easy to build and run your online ecommerce business no matter where your buyers shop.

   No programing knowledge necessary to set-up the ecommerce solution you need in minutes. Once you create your items you can sell them  through multiple marketplaces without complication. There are no hosting fees, listing fees, or final value fees.

   Vendio

10. Summer Cart

    Summer Cart is 100% SEO Shopping Cart Software, with search engine friendly URLs, SEO keywords on every page, automatic generation of sitemaps, etc. The store setup wizard makes it easy to setup your store quickly. The admin panel is very functional, offering useful sorting, filtering and search options, and easy product tracking and management.

    Summer Cart offers numerous payment & checkout options, multi-language support, and 39 automatically updated currencies. It allows for product comparison by attributes, product ratings and reviews, in-stock and out-of-stock tracking, and many other really handy options.

    

    Summer Cart

Technorati Tags: e-commerce, e-store, e-shop, ecommerce, internet-shopping, online-services

With the ongoing growth of the Internet, trends in website hosting and design have seen significant progress in terms of quality of services offered and their value for money. Today only those who are not well informed still pay huge amounts of money to web designers and then later spend a fortune in monthly fees for a webmaster to update their website. Fortunately, there is no need for that anymore. Easy online website design is available to anyone.

Now there are quite a few online services that offer free website builders, quick and complete website solutions, fully customizable and designed not only to accommodate every customer need, but to suit every pocket. Actually, most of the services listed here offer a free basic account that still lets you take advantage of numerous features of a professionally designed web site.

1. Wix

   Wix is a simple yet powerful platform to make flash websites, myspace layouts, widgets, newsletters, banners, flyers, etc. No downloads or programming needed. With a simple click, drag and drop you can arrange the layout of your pages, their design and content. Although Wix websites are flash, they are fully compatible with search engines. You can host your own domain, and hosting is also free. Wix seems to be geared towards the designers, photographers and musicians.

   Wix

2. Homestead

   Homestead is one of the pioneers in quick and complete website solutions, and they’ve stayed on top by keeping up with the trends. They offer a comprehensive solution for various online needs. With their award winning website building software, affordable web hosting and toll-free customer support, Homestead makes it easy to build a website. They also offers several types of inexpensive e-commerce solutions, so you can build an e-business from scratch, or easily take your existing business online.

   

   Homestead provides everything you need, including online catalogs, shopping cart, real-time transaction processing, integration with eBay, custom shipping tables, support for instant PayPal payments and much more. And if you need real-time credit card processing, high-end inventory management or sophisticated supply chain communication, a Homestead Storefront can meet your needs.

   Most impressive are the online tools to help you increase your website traffic. Homestead SearchLight package uses advanced website promotion techniques, including search engine submissions and advertising on Google, Yahoo and MSN.

   Homestead

3. Site Build It!

   If you are looking for a way to set up your small business online, and have little or no experience on the Internet, Site Build It! is probably the best solution. It is a reputable company that has been online since 1997, helping hundreds of thousands of regular people build online businesses.

   Site Build It! is the all-in-1 package designed specifically for small business owners. It gives you the tools necessary to create a professional online presentation of your business and provides a platform to easily run your web site and online sales. Step-by-step video and written instructions guide you every step of the way. Overall, it is very easy to use, point and click through any web browser.

   You can get SBI! 2.0 for USD $299 for one full year, or for US $29.99 per month. All SBI! software updates are free and automatic. Support and business-building assistance are available 24×7, and there are the “help and be helped” SBI! forums, a very active community of success oriented entrepreneurs.

   Site Build It!

4. Weebly

   Weebly was featured in many popular newspapers and magazines, and was named one of TIME’s 50 Best Websites of the year in 2007. Its powerful drag & drop editor makes it easy to build a website in minutes, there are many content elements, powerful blogging features, and hosting is included in the FREE account. Best of all, there is no advertising. You can even host your own domain at no extra charge.

   Weebly

5. Get My Website

   Get My Website is one of the big guys in the business. They have multiple solutions to fit various individual needs, like alumni, community, real estate, restaurant, church, etc. Each website type has specific built in widgets, such as calendar, coupons, directory, and shopping cart which utilize databases to maintain the information you enter. The content management system is so easy to use that you have the ability to create and maintain custom pages.

   Get My Website is successful also because their customer support is really good, and can be reached on a toll free number or by email. If you want to try them out, go for the free website trial offer.

   
   
   

   Get My Website

6. Webs

   Webs offers three different website types: personal, business, and organization (group), and over 300 templates to choose from.  Once you make your website, you can easily add a blog, forum, calendar, photo gallery, video gallery and much more. You can even turn your site into a social network, add members and create personal profiles so you can turn your site into a community where friends, colleagues and family can connect and collaborate. If you need to set up a web store, you can upload multiple images, set your prices, and collect payment via PayPal and/or Google Checkout.

   

   Webs

7. Yola.com

   Yola offers critically-acclaimed, easy-to-use tools and web hosting in free and paid packages. Yola free builder will still allow you to make professional looking websites. It comes with a variety of built-in features. You can choose from over 100 customizable website templates, add online forms, google maps, pictures, videos, etc. Furthermore, the Yola widgetbox provides more than 60,000 widgets so you can pimp up your site nicely. The only downside relates to Yola shopping cart; you can only use PayPal to sell items. Finally, Yola offers great customer support with online tutorials, videos, and webinars. They also offer 24/7 online help available on every web hosting plan.

   
   UPDATE:
   Black Friday Weekend Special – Get 40% off Yola Silver with coupon code THANKS40! Create a professional site for just $5/month! Ends 11/28

   Yola

8. Viviti

   Among the easy website builders, Viviti stands out as the easiest one. It was designed to let you edit your website while looking at it, right in your browser.

   Viviti serves personal blogs, small business websites, news portals, bands, churches, pet groomers, artists, musicians, etc. With over 175 themes and a huge selection of applications and widgets, they are enabling people to create and maintain great looking dynamic websites.

   Viviti

9. XSitePro

   This is one website builder with quite a following. XSitePro is a powerful website designer software product, easy enough for the beginners, and geared toward business owners, affiliate marketers, adsense site builders, website designers, educational users, information marketers, etc. Straightforward design interface gives you complete page control, there are hundreds of website templates, and there is no limit to how many sites you can create.

    

   XSitePro

10. SnapMonkey

    SnapMonkey claims to offer more features than any other site builder on the Internet. Among those are multimedia, calendar, contacts, feedback forms, mailing lists, message boards, Q&A page, redirects page, polling booth,  etc, etc. You can choose from over 1200 pre-formatted templates, and there is an integrated shopping cart that accepts PayPal or credit card processing.

    
    

    
    SnapMonkey

Technorati Tags: web-design, hosting, web-services, e-business, e-commerce, marketing, online-tools, website, design