Archive for the ‘ Reviews ’ Category

Review SubmitEaze Software

In my previous article I had mentioned how useful free directory submission can be for any website or blog. Even though Google has stripped most of the link directories of their PR but that does not mean you will not get some link juice from the thousands of cached pages of those directories.

You can either choose to hire someone to submit links on your behalf. This is a good option if it is going to be a one time deal but if you have multiple websites and you do directory submission or exchange links on a on going basis, I have a awesome solution for you.

Automate Directory Submission

Check our SubmitEaze, this is a directory submission software which will automate your submission process. The best part is that you can use it yourself and trust me on this, most of the companies you would pay to submit your website are using this software themselves.

Check out the screenshots of the software. It is available for free trial also, so you can use before you buy. At $78.95 it is worth the price. Heck! You can even start your own directory submission service!

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Best Joomla Hosting Provider

Don’t have a Joomla website yet or having problems with your current host? Switch now to the Best Joomla hosting provider!

Joomla CMS is a multi functional Open Source application for creating websites. It is free to use and has a great community support.

- Multiuser and Multilevel environment: many users can interact and contribute to the development of a Joomla-based site. Users can be assigned to different groups with different privileges.

- WYSIWYG editor – the intuitive What You See Is What You Get editor allows for easy editing of the content online.

- Additional components / modules – the Joomla system can be easily enhanced with additional functionalities from integrating a forum to installing an E-commerce solution.

SiteGround has been supporting and hosting Joomla sites from the very start of Joomla! back in 2005. Through the years we have proven to be the best Joomla host, providing features such as free Joomla installation, Joomla-optimized servers, hundreds of free templates, fast and efficient support. The tutorial below is based on the experience we have gathered with Joomla through the years.

There are two ways to install Joomla on your SiteGround hosting account. The easiest and preferred method is through the Fantastico tool in your cPanel. It requires no technical skills and your Joomla website will be set after just few clicks.

On the other hand you can install Joomla manually. This method is preferred by advanced users who want to follow closely the installation process and make any customizations right away.If you feel comfortable with FTP, and have basic understanding of file permissions, databases and web technologies as a whole, you can install Joomla manually.

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Live Chat Support Software Review (Crafty Syntax)

A few days back I was asked to find out a live help support system for an online store. My client gave me the following criteria.

1. Very easy to install
2. Simple to work around
3. Easily Customizable
4. Multiple Operators
5. Multiple Departments setup
6. Limited Sub-Admin logins.
7. Should be FREE

The above features are usually easy to find in almost all the live chat software out there but not all of them come free! In fact most of the software would charge you a minimum of $19 a month for just 1 operator.

Live Chat SupportThat’s when I stumbled upon Crafty Syntax which is available for automatic install on most cpanel’s under Fantastico. I will admit that at first, I was a bit skeptic to try it out as their website was quite dull and I was used to seeing those flashy websites of other paid chat software provider but then I decided to give it a try as it was free and I would not have to take any pain in installing it.

I must admit that I was wrong, though the software lacks the flashy graphics it is very well laid out and is very easy to understand even without reading any help document. My clients online store was a statup and so they did not have any dedicated support person to be on chat all the time. They wanted to make the chat button invisible on the user end so that they can passively monitor who is online and only they could initiate the chat. This way the user never sees the “Chat Support Offline” button which looks bad when your customer is looking for live help and no one is there to provide it. This was very easily accomplished by Crafty, there was a setting in the admin to make the button invisible.

Another thing my client was adamant about was the interface of the chat window. They wanted that the support window should look like a part of the website and not like we were using a free software. This was quite easy to do as well… I downloaded a graphic file which was used as the header of the chat window and created our custom header with PhotoShop and replaced it. That simple!

The Admin section of the software is web based, which means that it can be operated from any computer with a internet connection, though I think the desktop version is in the making. There are lot more features which you can explore, check out some of the Live Help Screen Shots.

The above is just a basic of what this software can do, I have to give a shout out to Eric Gerdes who is the brain behind it and has kept the software free… If you do use the software and find it useful, I would urge you to donate some money to Eric as a way of thanking him for the hard work.

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Top 2 WordPress Hosting Providers

Of course there are many hosting services which offer 1 click WordPress hosting but my experience has been limited to a few out of which I have hosted many websites and WordPress blogs with the Bluehost and Hostgator.

Bluehost.com

Bluehost.com LogoThey offer unbeatable features with 1 click WordPress hosting (using Fantastico Script Support) for both new as well as transfer clients. Setup is usually instant and you can have your blog running in under an hour.

Features

- Unlimited Hosting space
- Unlimited File Transfer
- Host Unlimited Domains!!!
- 2,500 POP/Imap Email Accounts
- SSH (Secure Shell), SSL, FTP, Stats
- CGI, Ruby (RoR), Perl, PHP, MySQL
- 2000/2002 Front Page Extensions
- Free Domain Forever!
- Free Site Builder
- 24/7 Superb/Responsive Sales/Support

For $6.95 / month SignUp Here!

Hostgator.com

Hostgator.com LogoMostly known for reseller hosting, they provide decent 1 domain hosting as well. Unlike Bluehost, Hostgator supports both Linux as well as Windows hosting (Coming Soon!). Though Linux is the one to use when opting for WordPress Hosting. Setup is as easy as signing up and take a few min. Hostgator has 3 plans and you can choose them depending on your requirement, I recommend starting with the Hatchling plan and then upgrading as and when required.

Features of Hatchling Plan

- Unlimited Hosting space
- Unlimited Bandwidth
- Host Only 1 Domain
- Unlimited POP3 Email Accounts
- SSL, FTP, Stats
- Free Site Builder
- 24/7 Superb/Responsive Sales/Support

For $4.95 / month SignUp Here!

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The Perfect Affiliate Software

Like many webmasters, even I have been looking around for the best affiliate script but never got around to finding one which suited my requirements. To be honest, I was always looking for something which was free… but good things in life are never free!

Then i happened to stumble upon iDevAffiliate.com as most of the forums / ebook sellers / SEO companies are using them to manage their affiliates.
iDevAffiliate Software
In their own words “Since 1999, iDevAffiliate is the original in self managed affiliate software! iDevAffiliate was hand coded from scratch by the same team that provides your technical support! iDevAffiliate is not a product we’re reselling and it isn’t something we’ve pieced together from several other lesser quality products.”

Why would an Affiliate script be useful to you?

Why ever not! Anyone and everyone who is selling something on the internet need to have a superb affiliate management software, this will not only get you more and more sales but also increase the brand value of your product / company. Besides this is one investment which will directly reap you monetary benefits.

Pricing for the Affiliate program:

1. Standard Edition: $99

2. Gold Edition: $199
(Includes: CommissionAlert, Comission Stats, Custom Filename, QuickBooks)

3. Platinum / SEO Edition: $299
(includes: CommissionAlert, Comission Stats, Custom Filename, QuickBooks, Language Packs & SEO / SEF Links)

The above pricing is for their stand along software, which will be installed to your server. If you do not have your own hosting account, nothing to worry… you can you their Hosted Plan.

If you are using Joomla CMS (Content Management System), they have a Addon Module which is designed to take user information from your Joomla signup forms and auto-create affiliate accounts. If you do not have this module, users simply use the provided signup form that comes with iDevAffiliate.

Enough said, go to iDevAffiliate.com and check out their Demo and see if it fits your needs.

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