Our Internet Survivor's Guide has been prepared to help aspiring web masters gain some basic understandings while learning about some of the most important concepts and tools of the trade. You won't learn how to program in Perl or PHP but you will learn what they are. Business owners and prospective web-merchants should also find helpful information, even if you don't plan on doing the work yourself.

The main topics with brief descriptions are listed below and the side navigation bar contains the same links.

Glossary of Common Internet Terms

Look here if you are perplexed about a specific term for a basic definition. If you don't find the term you are looking for, let us know and we will add it to our glossary. You won't find every possible acronym that an IT guy with a Microsoft pocket protector throws around in a conference but at least you can get up to speed on some of the most important concepts.

Basic HTML Primer

This is NOT written for experienced web developers but if you are looking for perspective and a place to start with the basics, check it out.

We adhere to the fundamental premise that the Internet (the Web in general) is not just a marketing tool for the fortune 500 companies. It is not yet another way to make Bill Gates more wealthy. It is not just a place where smart (but idle) nerds spend their time trying to break into someone else's computer. It is a collective rebirth of the first technology to radically increase the spread of information and ideas ... the printing press! It is also a way to eliminate the restrictions of being a local business and offer goods and services to a vast worldwide audience. However there are pitfalls and it sure does help to know a bit about the basics.

E-Commerce, Merchant Accounts, and Payment Gateways

Basic pros and cons about the various options available to sell goods and services via the Internet. Much of this is geared for the small to medium size business or individual entrepreneur, especially those looking to jump into the web as a sales medium without prior experience.

Ready to get started but need a Merchant Account and/or a Payment Gateway? We offer an application for these services through a trusted and proven source. This is the same company we refer our own clients to and use ourselves!

X-Cart Shopping Cart System

X-Cart is a solid e-commerce option for web developers and technically minded online merchants. Customization possibilities and third-party enhancements make this reasonably priced PHP/MySQL based software capable of serving online stores that sell several or thousands of items.

Electronic delivery of software by secured downloading and the sale of subscriptions are also implemented!

Search Engine Performance

There are few areas of greater mystery and voodoo in the WWW than the subject of Search Engines and how to get your site listed and/or listed better. This page reflects our professional opinions derived from experience. If you don't agree, fine ... we wish you the best of luck.

Visitor Interaction

A website today needs to be more than a simple brochure that one views on a computer screen as opposed to a piece of paper. A completely static presentation was acceptable when it was novel to even have a website but certainly no longer. This topic offers suggestions to the owner of small site that wants to better understand how they can interact with their site visitors without significant technological requirements.

Platform Choices

Considerations regarding the selection of your production computer platform and your website hosting server platform. Why buy a Mac or why use a PC. Why use a UNIX/Linux host vs. a Microsoft host? How does the production computer interact with the web server? Pros, cons, and opinions from experience.

Books & Software

Recommendations for specific books and software titles to get you going with rewarding web production. The various tools and resources suggested are based upon hands-on experience along with the time consuming (and expensive) process of elimination to arrive at these conclusions. If a competing product is not mentioned, it is most likely intentional.