What tools do you need to get started with website design and development? It all depends on factors such as Level of Experience, How Often you do the work and Budget.

A website should never be hard to update or manage. But it does require some basic tools. Here we get into a few of the ones that you must have, as well as some that are nice to have.
Your first tool, Your Browser.
Firefox
Plugins
Measure
Colorpicker
Screen Capture

Browser Comparisons

Editor
Text Editors

WYSIWYG Editors

FTP

Image Editor

Thumbsmaker

Advanced Tools
CSS Editor

PHP/Script Tools

The first step to building a unique brand for your business is to get past the fonts included with your Operating System. Invest the time to select a typeface for your logo that really captures your company’s spirit. Often you can find quality typefaces for free, other times you will need to make a nominal investment. Here are our favorite font resources, as well as articles on the importance of typeface selection and how to best use custom type for websites.
The How and Why of Font Selection

Best Free Font Collections

Best Commercial Font Collections

How to use custom typefaces on your website

Where can you find quality images for your website and marketing projects? Here our favorite free and royalty-free sources for images of all kinds.
Free Stock Photo Resources
Stock Xchng – http://www.sxc.hu/

Low-Cost, Royalty-Free Images
iStockPhoto – http://www.istockphoto.com

{tab=Web Hosting Basics}

• 35 GB disk space
• 35 GB data transfer
• 1000 e-mail accounts
• Over 70 scripts installed via Fantastico
• PHP, MySQL, Web Traffic Statistics and much more!

{slide=30-Day Guarantee}
Total Hosting provides a 30 day "no nonsense" money back guarantee. If for any reason, you request cancellation within 30 days of signup, we will refund you the 1st month’s cost plus set-up. This applies only to direct customers.{/slide}
{tab=Full Details}

Account Features

{slide=www.YourDomain.com/YourDomain.com}
Either variation automatically works with any Total Hosting web hosting account. No need to waste space in your print adverising. Go ahead and make your URL bigger on all your materials.{/slide}
{slide=35GB Traffic per Month}
This is how many files may be viewed or downloaded from your domain. {/slide}
{slide=35GB Disk Space}
This is the amount of space allocated to your account, each 100 Megabytes represents approximately 5000 files. Additional disk space is available as your allotment fills.{/slide}
{slide=Server Access via FTP or SSH}
SSH is a program that enables you to log into a remote host/terminal securely (E.g.: Home PC) as though that terminal were attached directly to our server. Access is free and set up upon request.

FTP (File Transfer Protocol) is a simple method of uploading files from your computer to the Total Hosting server using FTP software. Our online FAQ’s provides detailed instructions on how to use SSH & FTP programs.{/slide}
{slide=Fantastico Deluxe}
Fantastico, an instant installer of over 70 different scripts and tools, to make your website:

Have you wanted to add a
blog? A photo gallery? A wiki? A shopping cart? Well now you can. All for free.{/slide}
{slide=Linux CENTOS}
Linux (often pronounced LIH-nuhks with a short "i") is a UNIX-like operating system that was designed to provide personal computer users a free or very low-cost operating system comparable to traditional and usually more expensive UNIX systems. Linux has a reputation as a very efficient and fast-performing system. Linux’s kernel (the central part of the operating system) was developed by Linus Torvalds at the University of Helsinki in Finland. To complete the operating system, Torvalds and other team members made use of system components developed by members of the Free Software Foundation for the GNU project.

Linux is a remarkably complete operating system, including a graphical user interface, an X Window System, TCP/IP, the Emacs editor, and other components usually found in a comprehensive UNIX system. Although copyrights are held by various creators of Linux’s components, Linux is distributed using the Free Software Foundation’s copyleft stipulations that mean any modified version that is redistributed must in turn be freely available.

Unlike Windows and other proprietary systems, Linux is publicly open and extendible by contributors. Because it conforms to the Portable Operating System Interface standard user and programming interfaces, developers can write programs that can be ported to other operating systems. Linux comes in versions for all the major microprocessor platforms including the Intel, PowerPC, Sparc, and Alpha platforms. It’s also available on IBM’s S/390. Linux is distributed commercially by a number of companies. A magazine, Linux Journal, is published as well as a number of books and pocket references.

Linux is sometimes suggested as a possible publicly-developed alternative to the desktop predominance of Microsoft Windows. Although Linux is popular among users already familiar with UNIX, it remains far behind Windows in numbers of users. {/slide}
{slide=Apache Web Server}
Every web site in the world requires a web server to enable its information to be accessed. A web server works behind the scenes to transport web pages from across the world to your computer, forming a critical part of the Internet.

When you are using the web, your browser requests the text and images that your computer then displays. These requests are sent over the Internet to remote computers. The web server software that runs on these computers takes the request from the browser, and sends back the files and data that make up that page.

Apache has been the most popular web server on the Internet since April of 1996. The August 2002 Netcraft Web Server Survey found that 63% of the web sites on the Internet are using Apache, thus making it more widely used than all other web servers combined.

Our servers are Unix based servers.{/slide}
{slide=CPanel Web-Based Control Panel}
Total Hosting offers you a graphical web-based system to administer your hosting account. We offer two levels of control. One for the administrator and one for the user. The admin can set up users, add/edit/delete files and view your statistics for your website 24/7.{/slide}
{slide=Password Protect Directories}
You have the ability to password protect any directories that you choose to limit access to only authorized users.{/slide}
{slide=Parked Domains 2 Free, $15 for each additional}
Parked domains are also known as domain “aliases” If your main domain is domain.com, you can also have domain2.com or domain.net go to the exact same spot when someone types it into their browser. This is a great way to increase brand recognition to your website. {/slide}
{slide=IP Address available, $3 per month}
Each web hosting account is set-up by default as a Name-Based Account. This means that the hosting account uses the root IP address for the server which allows the web account to be found while sharing a single IP address with other accounts.

You can run SSL, SSH, eCommerce and any other service you can think of using a name-based account. Name-based accounts can not have their own SSL certificate (you can use our shared certificate) or more than one SSH log in.

Some people like having their own IP address. If you feel that you need one, they are available at the time of sign-up for a nominal monthly fee.{/slide}
{slide=CGI-BIN}
Every web hosting account from Total Hosting allows you the ability to run scripts in your own CGI-BIN. We do not allow chat scripts as they are very server intensive. If you need a chat room, please contact us for information about our reasonably priced Java-based chat rooms.{/slide}
{slide=Referrer Logs}
This is an extended logging feature that documents where each visitor to your Site came from. You will know if they found you through a Search Engine or a Web Site link. This is invaluable information when planning and evaluating your site’s marketing efforts. {/slide}
{slide=Error Logs}
This is an extended logging feature that documents any errors that occur on your domain. This is invaluable information when doing any type of programming or development. {/slide}
{slide=Access to Raw Log Files}
Raw logs show you the IP address of the computer that came to your website, the time, date, and files that they accessed. It is in a text-based form. Analog Stats also comes with your account, which will show information in a graphical form.{/slide}

Email Features

{slide=POP/IMAP Email}
This is a private secure storage location for anyone sending email to your POP box. It can be accessed from just about anywhere by a 3rd party email program like Eudora or Netscape. Our online manual provides detailed instructions on how to use POP email.{/slide}
{slide=Web-based email}
Total Hosting offers you web-based access to your email from anywhere you can connect to the web. This option is perfect for mobile organizations or connecting to remote offices. Every POP account set up with your web hosting account is web accessible.{/slide}
{slide=Unlimited Email Aliases}
Our mail system will automatically capture any name that may be emailed to your domain name. This means that as long as the yourdomain.com is correct even typos in the user name will still be captured and not refused. {/slide}
{slide=Unlimited Email Redirects}
The WebControl System enables you to redirect e-mail to any POP box of your choice, allowing you the ability to forward e-mail to anywhere in the world. {/slide}
{slide=Unlimited Auto Responders}
An Autoresponder is a pre-determined message with information you want automatically sent to anyone who emails a designated email address/mailbox at your Domain. When an email is sent to a mailbox that you have assigned an autorespond message to the autoresponder automatically sends a reply. You can easily create an autoresponder with the WebControl System provided with your Domain. {/slide}

Databases

{slide=MySQL 4.1x}
MySQL is a very fast, multi-threaded, multi-user, and robust SQL (Structured Query Language) database server which is the most popular language for adding, accessing, and processing data in a database. MYSQL is noted mainly for its speed, reliability, and flexibility.{/slide}
{slide=PHP MyAdmin}
phpMyAdmin is intended to handle the administration of MySQL over the web. Currently it can: create and drop databases, create, copy, drop and alter tables, delete, edit and add fields, execute any SQL-statement, even batch-queries, manage keys on fields, load text files into tables, create and read dumps of tables, export data to CSV values, and administer multiple servers and single databases, check referential integrity. It supports about 40 different languages.{/slide}

Advanced Features

{slide=PHP 5.2.x}
PHP is a tool that lets you create dynamic web pages. PHP-enabled web pages are treated just like regular HTML pages and you can create and edit them the same way you normally create regular HTML pages. {/slide}
{slide=Server Side Includes}
A server-side include is a variable value that a server can include in an HTML file before it sends it to the requester. For example, if you wanted a footer on all your pages that may change from time to time, you can create a text file with the desired footer and place it in your Domain. On each page you put a simple ‘Include’ to read that file and place it on the desired pages. {/slide}
{slide=Graphical Web Stats}
This will filter your raw access logs and break them into an easy to read graphical form. This will help you understand, interpret, and evaluate your sites accesses. {/slide}
{slide=Cron Jobs – Available upon Request}
Cron is the ability to run programs based on the system clock. A cronjob is a scheduled task that you want to automatically run at a scheduled time, e.g. run my backup at 7:30pm everyday. You need to create a cron table or "crontab", a file of dates and commands that you want to run. A crontab file instructs the system to run specific commands at a given time. Run unlimited cronjobs a day. Please contact our support department to have a cron file enabled for your domain. {/slide}
{slide=Customizable 404 Error Page}
By placing a file in your main directory called missing.html, you will be able to provide a customized page to any viewer that requests a file with their browser that does not exist on your domain.{/slide}
{slide=Miva Empressa}
Miva Empressa is the engine that is loaded onto our servers that allow our clients to run Miva Scripts. This is also the engine that makes it possible to run the Miva Merchant Catalog and Shopping Software. {/slide}

Support Features

{slide=Online Manual}
Get the answers you need about managing your web hosting account right from your control panel.{/slide}
{slide=Daily Backups}We backup your web directory daily on redundant hard drives installed on each of our hosting servers. Providing the peace of mind that if the main drive should fail for any reason we can quickly and completely restore your site. You may also request backups for files you may have lost by accident for a one-time restoration fee. {/slide}
{slide=24/7 Support Center – e-mail – Web Based}
Our online Support Center provides more than just a fast personal response from one of our trained technicians. All submissions are tracked and monitored by our Quality Assurance team. Average response time to support requests are less than one hour.{/slide}
{/tabs}

Shopping Carts, Gateways and Payment Processors: Anatomy of an Online
Purchase

Years ago, an exchange of cash was all it took for
a customer to make a purchase from a merchant. How things have changed! Today,
most businesses offer their products or services on the Internet – clearly,
they can’t be restricted to cash-on-delivery practices anymore. E-commerce has
emerged as a lucrative channel for merchants to boost sales and grow their
bottom lines. Many consumers have Internet access both at work and at home, and
browsing an online catalog can be faster than browsing the aisles of a physical
store – and customers get the added convenience of shopping 24 hours a day,
seven days a week.

Merchants should understand the value of operating
in multiple channels. For those who haven’t yet incorporated e-commerce into
their business but want to, there is much to learn. They must educate
themselves on how payment processing works in order to best accommodate their online
shoppers and serve the needs of their business. Though paying for an online
purchase takes just a few seconds, it involves a complex chain reaction of
behind-the-scenes processes.

Merchants can increase revenues and reach more
customers by offering an efficient, successful e-commerce solution. This
article examines what must be in place in order to complete a transaction that
is both secure and offers superior customer service.

What Makes an E-Commerce Solution Possible?

In addition to the range of software and hardware
that companies use to support the sale of products and services online, there
are three vital components that make online shopping possible: the shopping
cart, payment gateway and payment processor. Each is critical to ensuring
successful implementation of e-commerce functionality.

·        
Shopping cart. The shopping cart acts quite literally as a virtual
shopping basket. It holds the items customers select from a Web site until they
are ready to proceed to the checkout stage, where their credit card information
will be processed. The shopping cart:

o   
Keeps track of items until they are purchased

o   
Automatically totals the amount of a customer’s
order, including shipping and tax

o   
Allows shoppers to securely enter address and
credit card information

·        
Payment gateway. In order to accept
credit cards through the Internet, a payment gateway is critical to transport
the credit card information from the shopping cart to the payment processor
once the consumer clicks the "Buy" button. In most cases, this transaction
happens almost instantaneously. The payment gateway receives encrypted transactions
from the merchant’s shopping cart. An encrypted transaction simply means that credit
card numbers can’t be read by people who are not supposed to read those
numbers. Authentication is then provided and the decrypted payment information
is transmitted for authorization. The payment gateway:

o   
Fulfills the same function as a point-of-sale (card
swipe) terminal at a physical retail location

o   
Takes information provided through a shopping cart
and transmits it electronically and securely to a payment processor to be
routed for authorization of payment

·        
Payment processor. The payment processor transmits
a customer’s credit card information via the Internet to the merchant bank for
authorization. It also sends data back to the merchant’s bank to approve
payment or the transfer of funds. Specifically, a payment processor:

o   
Acts as a link from the merchant to the acquiring
bank or merchant bank

o   
Receives information from the merchant through the
payment gateway and packages the information for delivery to the acquirer,
ensuring that all necessary transactional data is present and valid

o   
Later transmits information back from the acquirer
for delivery to the merchant to settle the transaction

With the shopping cart, payment gateway and payment
processor in place, merchants have all they need to offer convenient e-commerce
solutions that deliver superior security and service. With a little research
and education, merchants can find the best providers to accommodate their
business needs and those of their consumers. It just makes sense – with online
shopping projected to account for $116 billion, or five percent of all retail
sales this year – e-commerce provides merchants an opportunity to make more
money and succeed in an increasingly competitive marketplace.

SIDEBAR

The tenth annual Shop.org report, The
State of Retailing Online 2007, conducted
by Forrester Research states that e-commerce has come of age and its
profitability throughout the channel has stabilized. Eighty-three percent of
respondents to the survey reported making more money and 78 percent said they
were more profitable than just two years ago. The report found that apparel,
accessories and footwear reached $18.3 billion in 2006 for online purchases and
is expected to hit $22.1 billion by the end of 2007.

e-onlinedata (EOD) is the
nation’s fastest-growing, most trusted provider of online payment solutions.
Thousands of Internet, mail order, auction sellers and retail businesses – from
start-ups to billion-dollar companies – are choosing EOD every month for
affordable, reliable, and easy-to-use credit card processing and Authorize.net
payment gateway solutions. For more information on e-onlinedata or to apply for
a merchant account, please visit us online.

Merchant Processing 102 is a
production of e-onlinedata provided to Total Hosting, reprinted with permission
from e-onlinedata. Content is intended to provide merchants and small business
owners with practical information and insight into the world of payment
processing.