Some Useful Links...

In the course of our research, we come across a number of useful sites and products and we feel it is only fair to share them with you!*

Please do not suggest links for this page - we only add sites that we find have genuine worth!

The simplest way to allow people to buy from your site is with Paypal. The buyer doesn't even need to have a Paypal account to complete the purchase. You can use Paypal's own shopping cart facility or we can integrate Paypal with a customised shopping cart for your site - please enquire for more details.

PrestaShop is free, open source eCommerce solution. It can be used 'out of the box', but the design can be customised to create your own unique shop. There are also lots of extra features that can be added on to the basic setup. We can help you customise and install PrestaShop on your own site - just get in touch to discuss your requirements.

Like PrestaShop, Open Cart is free and has many extra features that can be added. The admin area is clean and easy to use and as usual, you can either use it 'out of the box' or customise the design to create your own unique shop.  Please enquire if you need help customising and installing Open Cart.

A great, secure way to easily allow people to purchase digital downloads from your site. There are a number of versions for automated use with: Paypal, Clickbank, Mal's Ecommerce or 2Checkout.com. Once payment is complete, the user will be sent a unique link to the product to download it. Vibralogix say: "The download links included in the download page and email do not show the location of your files on the server and will expire after a predefined time (you can even IP lock them if you wish). There is no way to break or modify the links as we use an MD5 hash to verify authenticity". If you want us to integrate Linklok into your new site, just get in touch to discuss your requirements.

A totally free web tracker that you can add invisibly to your website. View all sorts of statistics that can help you to optimise your site.

Another free web tracker, but while this one displays the information in a prettier and easier to read format, it does not track the page to page route visitors take through your site as statcounter does. Still a fountain of information, though. You can use both Statcounter and Google Analytics alongside each other - we do!

A great way to send large files without clogging up email accounts! We often use this service ourselves to send large artwork files. youSENDit's Lite account is completely free and has only a few limitations (50MB maximum file size, can only send one file at once). We get around these limitations by putting all our files into one zip file (see below) and then sending that.

Another way to send large files. The free version allows you to send up to 300MB at a time (you can register for more control, or just send files straight from the site without registering). Download pages contain lots of adverts however, but this can be avoided by signing up to one of their SendSpace Pro accounts from as little as around £5/month. These Pro accounts also include Drop Boxes so that people can send you files. We find this to be he best value for money paid for file sending service as they offer many ways for seemlessly integrating with your own website.

The link above takes you to a review of Zip Genius at download.com, where you can also download it. Zip Genius is free and easy to use. A great bit of software for reducing file size without compromising the quality of the file itself.

Don't know what we'd do without this free PDF printer!  You can use it to convert to PDF from any file you can print, including Microsoft® Word, Excel®, and PowerPoint® formats. An invaluable bit of software.

Business Link offers free business advice and support. Their site offers a wealth of information on all aspects of running a business.

There is apparently no mystical secret to successful marketing! You don't have to pay for membership to benefit from Chris' useful tips for growing your business as there is a lot of information available freely on his website. You can also subscribe to his newsletter for free.