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Installing Apache, PHP, and MariaDB (instead of MySQL) in Mac OS X

August 5, 2014 by carlosonweb Leave a Comment

I have to admit, the first time I got my hands into Mac OS X, I fell in love with it. It was a beauty to behold. No wonder folks who own a Machitosh like to say, “I love my Mac.” Truly, Apple is one of those software companies that really knows what a good design is.

But the real reason why I got a Mac was to learn how to develop an iOS App. This is really a development machine, not just another piece of gadget to show off and impress my friends who are stuck in Windows. Mind you, I still keep my Windows 8 laptop.

As a PHP Web Developer ( and soon an iOS App Developer ), I can’t help but wish I can install all the development tools I get to enjoy in my Ubuntu Linux Box and have them all ported into this Mac machine. Surprisingly, Mac OS X makes the transition a snap and a painless experience.

Underneath its beautiful User Interface, Mac OS X is a power-house — it’s an operating system based on UNIX. It’s got most of the things I need for Web Development work. Here is a sampling of the things that comes pre-installed into a fresh Mac OS X: Python, Ruby, PHP, Apache and many more. So under the hood, I feel comfortable already.

This article shows you how to setup a PHP Web Development environment within Mac OS X (Mavericks) containing the following software components: Apache 2, PHP (of course), and MariaDB Server. Note that I picked MariaDB in favour of MySQL, but the two have a lot of things in common. And in fact, most commands that you issue against the database server are similar and compatible.

So enough talk, let’s get going with the setup.

How to Install Apache 2 in Mac OS X

This one is pretty quick and easy since Apache 2 is really installed Mac OS X. You just need to run Apache to see it in action. And that’s exactly what we will do here.

From the Terminal, issue this command:

 
  $ sudo apachectl start

Naturally, the sudo command will ask you for an administrative password, so go just type it in.

That’s it. No sweat.

You can test it out to see if Apache is really running by firing up Safari or any Web Browser that you installed in you system and typing this in the address bar: http://localhost/

You should be able to see a Welcome Message.

In case you’re wondering where Apache is looking up the file to serve from the localhost, it’s located here:

/Library/WebServer/Documents/

In Apache-speak, that’s called the DocumentRoot. The welcome message is contained in the file named index.html.en.

Later in this article, you will learn how to create an Apache Virtual Host and map it into any directory that you wish to use. But for now, let’s configure Apache so that it is able to serve PHP Scripts from the document root.


Configuring Apache 2 to use PHP

Doing this is very simple. You just need to tweak a single line from the Apache Configuration file, httpd.conf. Okay, follow along with me.

First, be paranoid. Make a backup copy of the current Apache Configuration file by issuing these from the command line:


  $ cd /etc/apache2/
sudo cp httpd.conf httpd.conf.BAK 

Next edit the httpd.conf file with a text editor. For this example, we’ll use the nano text editor. So from the command line, type the following then hit RETURN:

  $ sudo nano httpd.conf 

Locate the line that says "LoadModule php5_module libexec/apache2/libphp5.so"

If you notice the pound sign (#) it means that line is commented out and therefore disabled.

To enable, simply delete the pound sign.

Save the changes by pressing Control + O. If you are asked to confirm, just hit Y for YES.

Then exit nano with Control + X.

You don’t have to install PHP anymore since it is already there in your machine. But there is one more thing you have to do – make sure that you have a PHP configuration file called php.ini. Apache will be looking for that file.

The php.ini file should be located in directory /private/etc/. Now let’s check if there is that file already by looking it up with ls command:

  $ ls php* 

If your machine is like mine, you won’t be able to find php.ini in there, but instead, you’ll see the php.ini.default file. That’s good for two reasons, we have something to copy, which makes life easier a little bit, and then in case something went wrong while we are tweaking the file, we have something to fallback to. As Apache will be needing the php.ini file, we can simply copy from the existing php.ini.default, by typing:

  $ sudo cp php.ini.default php.ini 

From here, we are now in the position to test out if Apache can execute some PHP Scripts served from the document root.

Now let’s see if this works. Let’s put a PHP File under the document root and see if Apache can execute that file. To do that, you may do the following:

Fire up Terminal and navigate to the default Document Root which is /Library/WebServer/Documents/

From the Command Line, type

  $ cat > test.php

The cursor should be waiting at the next line waiting for your input. This is one just one of the ways you can create a file very quickly.

Type the following then press RETURN at the end: <?php echo 'Welcome to PHP!';

Press Ctrl + C to end the cat command and allow UNIX to finally create the file with the text you just entered.

Now, using the Web Browser, navigate to http://localhost/test.php to try to execute the PHP file you just created.

You should be able to see the string “Welcome to PHP” displayed on the screen.

Congratulations you are now ready to develop in PHP under Mac OS X!

How about a self-pat at the back?

But wait? Did I say, we’ll be installing MariaDB? Of course!

Next paragraphs please.

Installing MariaDB into Mac OS X

Unlike Apache and PHP, MariaDB doesn’t come pre-installed with Mac OS X. To do that we’ll be using another cool tool: HomeBrew which claims to be the missing package manager for OS X.


Let’s see it in action and then proceed right away with the MariaDB installation.

Install HomeBrew from the command line:


  ruby -e "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.github.com/Homebrew/homebrew/go/install)"

As you can see, we are using ruby to run the installation. It should take a while and you know it’s done when you see this message:



  ==> Installation successful!
  ==> Next steps
  Run 'brew doctor' before you install anything
  Run 'brew help' to get started
  Type brew doctor from the Command Line and you’ll see this message
  Your system is ready to brew.
  Now comes the thing that we’re really after – installing MariaDB. Go and type in:

  brew install mariadb

Again it will take a while to download and install, but the nice thing is you don’t have to much after that. After a successful installation, you will be offered a mug of freshly brewed beer like the one shown in the screenshot below.



Screenshot of successful MariaDB installation
MariaDB Installation using Homebrew

From here, you can now experiment with MariaDB. 

In the next couple of articles, we’ll try to use MariaDB more and more starting with the installation of phpMyAdmin (my favorite MySQL / MariaDB Client), setup WordPress development box. And finally as I am exploring the Laravel PHP Framework, I’ll touch that as well.

Meanwhile, if you have some questions about the installation process shown here or you encounter some sort of problems following this article, please feel free to get in touch with me or leave your comment from the Comment Box below.

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Filed Under: Code, Console Tagged With: Apache, Mac OS X, MariaDB, PHP

Using WordPress — The Good, The Bad, and The Overkill

January 4, 2014 by carlosonweb Leave a Comment

Aside

Did you miss me already?

Sorry for starting this article with that statement, but if this is your first time to visit my website, you would probably notice that my last article was written almost four years ago.

However, as I promised to some of my tech friends, I’m going to revive CarlosOnWeb.com this 2014!

So here I am.

Should I explain my long hiatus?

I don’t think so. It has nothing to do with the article’s title and, as Elbert Hubbard once said, “Never explain — your friends do not need it and your enemies will not believe you anyway.”

Zipped. My lips.

And, by the way… Happy New Year!

Back to WordPress

Even if I decided not to accept any programming projects for roughly five years, that doesn’t mean I stopped programming.

Like the retired Kung Fu master that you see in those Jacky Chan movies, I know the importance of occasional kicking in the air, and punching an invisible enemy, and shadow-fighting like a crazy old man. I realize, though, that I can’t compete head-to-head with Chuck Norris when the competition involves doing split up there in the stratosphere.

Layman’s Translation: “Once a programmer always as programmer.”

Technical Translation: I’m still eating PHP and MySQL and WordPress almost on a daily basis.

I get to cook my own meals, though.

That said, let me touch on the topic of the various ways people use, misuse and abuse WordPress.

Sigh… Finally.

Putting WordPress To Good Use

WordPress as a Website Building Tool
Building a simple website or blog is a snap if you use WordPress.

There is a good reason why WordPress has dominated the CMS arena taking the place that formerly belonged to such bloated software as Joomla, Drupal and PHPNuke (remember?)!

I can explain its success using just two words: “It works!”

WordPress doesn’t try to be an all-things-to-all-your-website’s-problem. It’s just very good at solving a very specific problem: Blogging.

It’s the ultimate no-brainer solution to the problems faced by bloggers, small publishers, and mom-and-pop online entrepreneurs all around the world. These folks simply want to get their words out into the open, letting their customers know that they exist.

That is why they want to own a website or a blog.

They don’t even care how you call it. They just want an online presence.

“Don’t make me think,” they would say. Period.

And WordPress – that magical wand – is the perfect fit.

The magic comes when you dress your website with a good design. In WordPress-speak, it’s called a Theme. There are so many good themes out there – some commercial, others free.

So what are the good uses of WordPress? Let’s count the ways:

  • If you want to put a face in your faceless company, WordPress can be your virtual front-desk attendant.
  • If there is a voice inside of you that wants to speak-out, WordPress is the obvious choice.
  • If you have a small business that you want to market online, WordPress is a handy solution.

In other words, if you want to be online, you want it quick, no technical rah-rah, get WordPress. In 5 minutes, you have a working website.

WordPress Can Be Bad, Too

Ask any Java or .Net fanatic what they think about WordPress and they would probably laugh in your face.

Now, it’s time for you (to) fight back… I mean, laugh back. Ask them if they know of any CMS made in their favourite programming language.

Wait for the answer and then say, “Hahahah…Never heard.” Chances are good, you probably never heard of that thing.

But seriously, don’t do that. Never engage in that kind of argument. That’s bad attitude.

And speaking about bad…

Did you know that 90% of WordPress website owners are abusing and misusing WordPress?

Do you want to be in the top 10% website owners who are running their WordPress smoothly?

I’m your guy, contact me now. 🙂

I don’t really have the statistics. The 90% figure, I just made it up.

But looking at so many WordPress websites from so many people, I’ve come up with my own list of top 3 most common abuses which you should not do or at least, try to avoid:

Abuse #1: Going Plugins Crazy.

Out of the box, the software is really very simple. But — thanks to PHP, MySQL and JavaScript — it can be supercharged to do anything you want it to do. Most people do it with plugins.

Plugins are little pieces of code that you add-on to the system according to some rules set by the WordPress Team. The problem with plugins:

  • Vulnerabilities could creep into the system if the plugin is not carefully done.
  • Conflict issues with other plugins could arise. Some plugins step into other plugin’s shoes.
  • Maintainability. An unmaintained plugin doesn’t deserve to be put in your website, because sooner or later, it could cause you some headaches.

I’d like to mention just three, but there could be more.

If you find yourself overloading your WordPress website with plugins, maybe you should not be using WordPress in the first place.

Abuse #2: Making Code Modifications Everywhere.

Sure, WordPress is open-source, but that doesn’t mean you should also mess up with the code that is already there. The problem most commonly encountered by people who put the code all over the place is that all their customizations are also lost the moment they upgrade the WordPress core into the latest version.

As a general rule, there are only two files that you should touch:

  • wp-config.php. It’s a small file that sits at the root directory. You use it to set some configurations in the system.
  • functions.php. Every parent theme and every child theme has it. All customizations that you create — css, javascript, PHP classes and functions – should be in their own files and just referenced in the functions.php file.

Warning: Be very careful in when modifying any piece of the code. And before you do, always back-up your files.

Abuse #3: Not Updating the WordPress Core.

Of all the major sins committed by WordPress website owners, this is something I cannot forgive.

God forgives, but not me.

If I have my way, I’d throw these folks out the bottomless pit so they can’t use WordPress anymore. But before I do, I have to make sure I’d change their admin password first.

So, are you running on the latest and the greatest WP version now? I hope so.

How WordPress Gets Overkilled

My definition of WordPress overkill is making WordPress do something it is not intended to do.

Take this one for example from someone who wants get some opinions on whether he should go with WordPress or just straight PHP:

“I’m pretty competent in PHP, but know very little about WordPress. I’m going to be building a business directory site that has a lot of the same features as yelp – reviews, maps, searchable information, and so forth. I realize there are plugins for lots (all?) of these things on WordPress, so am considering going that route.”

Luckily, none of the WordPress developers who replied even recommended using it for an ambitious project such as this one. If you do, that’s already overkill. And searching for some random plugins address a very unique business requirement is looking for a solution that will eventually lead to another problem.

WordPress is a simple power-house that works on top of PHP and MySQL. To build with WordPress, you have to be competent in the following areas:

  • Minimum requirements: PHP (with classes), MySQL, CSS, HTML, JavaScript
  • Nice to have: jQuery, XML

But it doesn’t end there. You have to know and follow the guidelines and best practices that are specific to WordPress. These include the following:

  • The Directory and File Structure
  • Naming and Coding Standards
  • Hooks, Actions and Filters

Remember the WordPress tag line? “Code is Poetry.”

If you want to be a WordPress Poet, you have to put these things in mind.

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Filed Under: Content, Uncategorized Tagged With: WordPress Tips

Domain Name: The Beginning Of Your Online Empire

May 16, 2010 by carlosonweb Leave a Comment

A journey to a thousand miles begins with a single step. You have probably heard about it a couple of times in the past. It makes sense and it’s very well applicable to an online business.

Every serious online venture starts with a domain name. In this article, we’ll discuss more about domain names.

What is A Domain Name?

Put simply, a domain name is your primary identity on the Internet. It is a name that helps people remember you or your online business.

Here are some examples:

  • Google.com – By Google Inc., the giant search engine we all have grown to love.
  • CarlosOnWeb.com – That’s the domain name of my personal website.
  • Facebook.com – The social networking website where I’m hooked every single day — almost.

Of course you are not limited to .com domains. There are a couple of others including:

  • .net — usually used by Network providers
  • .org — for the non-profit organizations
  • .info — websites that usually give out information to the general public

A domain name is unique; no two businesses can have the same domain name.

To get a domain name, you have to register it using a domain registrar (companies like Godaddy.com). But before doing that, first do a research. Make sure that you come up with a domain name that is easy for people to remember.

The Pre-Registration Process

There is really no pre-registration process, but the following tips will save you a lot of time during the registration process. Make sure that you keep these things in mind.

1. Check for the availability of the domain name. Use the DomainSearch.com website to check if your domain name is still available. Nothing can be more frustrating than knowing that someone has already taken the domain name that you have in mind. If it’s already taken, be creative and come up with a different name that is as close to your line of business. It also helps if you can brainstorm with someone when coming up with a domain name that is easy to remember.

2. Have your credit card within reach. These days, when you pay for stuff online, you are most likely to use a credit card. Ours is a Credit Economy and having a credit card becomes more and more important if you go online.

3. Decide on which email address to use. If you are like me, you probably have separate emails for friends, family, and business use. Make sure that you use the one you are using for business purposes and never ever mix it up with emails that you use for other things.

How To Register A Domain Name

There are a lot of companies that you can use to register a domain name. But the best one I have been using over the years is Godaddy.com.

If you are excited to go about it, go to the website site now by clicking on the image link below.

If, however, you want to get a step-by-step overview on how to go about the process, the short YouTube video can be of help.

Register Your Domain Name Now!

How would you respond if someone asks you, “Do you have a website?”

If that question is not yet important to you, you’ll soon find out that it is. As an entrepreneur, having your own business website is one thing you can really be proud of. And the first step — the very step to that direction — is having your own domain name.

Start learning now.

Start earning online now.

Register your domain name now. Follow this link.

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Filed Under: Classics By Carlos Tagged With: Domain Names

3 Easy Ways To Make Money Online

April 28, 2010 by carlosonweb 1 Comment

The Internet is a goldmine with vast reserves available to anyone for the taking. But unlike the physical goldmine where there is finite amount of resources and works on a zero-sum principle (one’s gain is another’s loss and vice-versa), the wealth available online is virtually unlimited and grows more as the technology advances.

And the best part — the one the I love the most — is that it is a level-playing field.

Almost anyone can possibly succeed online. Rich, poor, well-connected, Mr Unknown, genius or under-schooled, young and old … these things don’t matter. With luck, timing and the right attitude, anyone can make it.

If someone is throwing away money and all you have to do to get some is to learn how to catch, what would you do?

I don’t know about you, but for me, I better learn how to catch and hone that skill to perfection!

The fact that real money can be made through the Internet is nothing new.

But if you are the Johnny-come-lately type, this article is a gentle introduction on how money is made online.

Listed below are three easy ways to make money online, through a website. See if there is a hole you can fit in and hopefully you can begin your online business journey by taking the steps leading to the direction of Internet money.

1. Sell Your Own Products or Services

Most entrepreneurs would perfectly fit here. You have products that you have created and that you are truly proud of? Go online and let the whole world know about it. Who knows? Someone from the other side of the planet is dying to have your product.

Professionals and consultants who are very good at doing their own things would find it very fulfilling if they go online and expand their reach. This is also one way of standing out amongst the crowd.

Go online or die. Someone said it best: “If your business is not on the Internet, your business will soon be out of business.”

2. Sell or Promote Someone Else’s Products or Services

Are you too lazy to create your own product? No problem!

After all, after one has created the product, the next step would be to sell it and eventually put it in the hands of the buying customers. In fact, the vast majority of your business activity will be on marketing and selling the product. It only makes sense. Without sales, your business will die.

Peter Drucker, the man considered by many to be the person who “invented management”, said that any business has only two basic functions: Marketing and Innovation.

And what does it mean to you? A lot, I hope!

This means that if you can effectively market, promote, or sell someone else’s products you smell good to the company. Because of competition, many companies are on the look-out for the best marketers out there.

If that’s you, here’s good news: you can earn by becoming an affiliate of the company.

In simple terms, here’s how it works:

  1. You put up a website and sign-up as an affiliate of the company.
  2. The company gives you the code that you can use in promoting their product.
  3. When the visitor that you referred buys the products, you can you get a referral fee.

Sounds good? A lot of online companies are following this business model. There should be something for you. Start exploring now.

3. Selling Ad Spaces

This one is the lazy man’s monetization model.

It is easy and it is also hard. Am I crazy?

No… I mean, not yet. Let me explain.

If you happen to have created a high-trafficked website — everyone who owns a website should strive to have high-traffic — and you don’t know how to monetize it, they is the way to go.

Remember: Traffic means people and people equals money. There are a lot of online businesses out there that are dying to have people visiting them. And if you can direct some of the traffic from your website to theirs, you can earn that way.

Remember: Traffic means people and people equals money. There are a lot of online businesses out there that are dying to have people visiting them. And if you can direct some of the traffic from your website to theirs, you can earn that way.

What you will do is put some ads on strategic places on your website. Do it in a way that helps your website visitors. Those ads should complement your content. If your website is all about Yoga, for instance, some ads related to meditation and yogic exercises (called asanas) would be very helpful to your website visitor.

You help your web visitors by giving other resources via your ads, the company that uses your ads space pays you in return for giving them the favor of driving traffic to their business.

That’s another example of a Win-Win business partnership.

Getting those ads is quite simple, or easy if you may. There are companies that will directly rent a space on your website. And there are other companies like Google, Yahoo, Amazon, and others that provide you with HTML code to put on your website and do everything else programmatically.

The hard part is getting the traffic in the first place.

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Filed Under: Classics By Carlos

Is Your Lack of Technical Know-How Preventing You From Running An Online Business?

April 21, 2010 by carlosonweb Leave a Comment

Do you consider it scary running an online business, or even just a simple website, simply because you lack the technical knowledge to go about it?

If you say “yes” to that question, well guess what, you are not alone. I’ve met a lot of offline, brick-and-mortar type of entrepreneurs who would not even entertain the thought of going online.

And while they are forever buried in their fears, there are a different breed of entrepreneurs who are so hungry for action and so eager to go online with only below the minimum skills and who are succeeding anyway.

I can only guess that there must be something else at work here that I can’t explain yet. But apparently, it’s not the lack of technical know-how that is the hindrance to one’s success in an online business.

Personally, I think, not going online is just fine if you are contented with mediocrity and as long as your competitors are also not bent on doing it online. But once they do it ahead of you, you could be eating their left-over pies.

My background is on the technical aspects of Web Technologies. And when it comes to running an online business, I can say that having a technical knowledge is certainly an advantage. But it is not even a requirement just to get started.

It’s true… if you know how to use an email, you are ready to go. And if you can Facebook, you are more than capable.

Are you eager to learn how easy it is to have your website up and running in no time?

I can show you how. But I guess, let’s postpone that for a moment and discuss it in the next up-coming article.

(So if you just bumped into this website, I suggest that you get a free subscription so that you will be notified when that article comes up any time.)

The Non-Technical Work Involved In Running An Online Business

I believe it’s very important to emphasize the non-technical aspects of running an online business. They consist of the majority of the work required to make your website valuable from the visitor’s point of view.

To be honest, it’s not enough just to have your website up.

It’s a common mistake repeatedly done by small businesses: They hire a guy to make them a website. The website is done. And then that’s it…end of the story.

This is the kind of online business that is doomed to fail right from the start. You don’t want this to happen to you. What you want is a website that your customers will love; something that makes them want to buy from you or use your service.

You need to realize that after the web design is done and the website is up and running, your online business is just beginning to take off. As I always said, treat their a new website as you would a newborn baby.

Here are some of the most important tasks involved in running your website:

  • Copywriting
  • Marketing and Sales
  • Promos, Special Offers and Updates
  • Special Reports, Newsletter, Blog

There are a lot more.

The point I’m trying to convey is that these things are non-technical, but are nevertheless important components of your online presence.

During the course of running your online business, you’ll discover that these activities are more and more important and that they are in fact the very activities drawing the clients to you, affecting your bottom line.

And as for the technical side of things, here’s the shocker: your clients just don’t care at all about that. What they are after is you give them what they are looking for.

It’s not the fancy, graphics-filled website that they want. And the music that load when they are at the home page… please turn it off.

Most customers are self-centered. In fact, most of them are coming from a place called hell. All they want is for you to take away their pains. That’s essentially what your business is in the first place — to solve your clients’ problems.

And for real entrepreneurs, for every problem solved, there is a reward.

Now, which would rather spend your online activity? On the technical side or the non-technical, business aspects?

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Must-Have Tools For The Budding Online Entrepreneur

April 6, 2010 by carlosonweb 2 Comments

The main advantage of putting up an online business is it requires just a little start-up capital.

Its main disadvantage is it requires just a little start-up capital.

Yep, you read it right. But if you still don’t get it, you may read it again or you can read further down the succeeding paragraphs to get a detailed explanation.

There are two ways of funding a new online business venture.

  1. Using a shoestring capital. Somewhere from $ 200 to $1,000; where $ means US Dollar.
  2. Shelling out a large fortune. Yes, it’s indeed very possible if you are angry with your money. Got $ 100,000? Sure thing, gather your team of experts and have them develop a killing Online Business concept.

Obviously, I love going the first route. And if you are new to Online Business, that should be your choice too for three good reasons:

  1. You minimize your risk
  2. You can treat it as a game
  3. You can have fun along the way

Entrepreneur Beware: Let me warn you ahead. Never under estimate the potential of an online business started on a minimal capital. If done right, your initial capital can actually grow from 10 to 100 times in a matter of a few weeks without you sweating too much on your business.

Tools Of The Trade Revealed

An online business is, in many respects, similar to an offline, traditional business. There are tools of the trade that needs to be on your arsenal and that you need to use effectively.

In any business, some sort of capital is necessary. Capital could be in a form of money, time, or energy. You need all three in setting up an online business.

Here are some of the most essential ones to prepare for.

Money Matters

1. Seed Capital – As mentioned you need to prepare somewhere from USD 200 to USD 1,000 in start-up cash. Can you think of any other business that requires as little money as that? In multi-level marketing maybe, but that requires a freaking lots of hard work to even get it off the ground and become really profitable.

Consider your seed capital as a play money. And don’t forget to have fun as you watch it grow.

2. Credit Card – Sometimes you need to buy stuff online. Some examples include: a domain name, web hosting, learning materials, books, etc. Credit Cards are the most popular method of accepting payments online. And not having one is like being stuck in Stone Age.

Credit Card Note: If you are in the Philippines and you need a recommendation as to which Credit Card Company to use, please drop me a message using the contact form provided on this website.

3. PayPal Account – PayPal allows you to send and receive money online. While Credit Cards can be used to pay online, wrapping it up on Paypal adds another layer of protection against credit card fraud. When you pay an online merchant using Paypal, you will not be asked for your credit card details anymore. Rather, you only provide your PayPal Account Credentials. That way, your credit card information is hidden from the online merchant.

Notes On Paypal: When signing up for a PayPal Account, it is best to remember two things:

  1. Use a Credit Card to send money.
  2. Use a Debit Card (could be your ATM Account) to receive money.

Tech Tools

1. Computer – You computer doesn’t have to be the fastest running cheetah. But it should be fast enough to do you most important transactions.

Personally, I prefer using a laptop since it is very handy I can take it with me should I get bored in the house and feel like having a nice cup of coffee in a nice coffee shop would attract some nice people to keep me company for a couple of hours.

2. Office Software – Sometimes they are called Office Productivity Software. They are mainly used to manipulate office and business documents. I highly recommend MS Office if you can afford one. The FREE alternative is Open Office.

3. Broad Band Internet Connection – Can you imagine running an online business and not have an Internet Connection at home or at the office? With the price of Internet Connection going down and the speed improving each year, Broadband Internet could be the best investment you can have after investing in a good toothbrush.

4. Email Account – Gmail comes highly recommended. When running an online business, you’ll be surprised to discover that a lot of business communications are done using email. Gmail is massive, very secure and has the best features I’m looking for. Get one now if you still don’t have it.

5. Website – A website is your virtual, professional image. At the very least, it serves as your online brochure for all of your customers and partners to see. Strive to have a clean and simple web design with lots of useful information your visitors will consume.

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