The title may be a bit misleading; ‘need’ is a very strong word indeed. But there are certain pieces of software that can be very, very useful to have, software that web hosts should be offering as a matter of course.
Most software can be installed for free no matter what the host – but if your host offers the solution already then usually it is far, far easier to install. So what is the software that you should be looking at?
Free Software You Need From Your Web Host
Of course such a question depends entirely on what you are trying to do. But some of the most powerful pieces of free software that a web host can offer include:
- Cpanel. This is the ‘operating software’ interface that you will come across most often. It is a powerful GUI system that allows you to easily find what you are looking for, no matter how proficient you are online.
- Fantastico. Fantastico is a great installation software. It allows you to install all sorts of powerful free software pieces that can save you hours of implementation headaches. It offers such vital software pieces as WordPress, and PhpBB. All free and all installed within a minute from start to finish.
- QuickInstall. Works a lot like Fantastico in that it allows almost one click installation of software, but offers a different range of software. From MyBB forum software to Wikimedia Wiki software (which Wikipedia is based off of). Also covers the essentials like Drupal and Joomla.
- Autoresponders. Autoresponders can be expensive, especially when you are first starting out. But what many people don’t realize is that many web hosts actually offer autoresponders as part of their hosting. Ok they won’t be as powerful, but free software can be a God send when you are first starting out.
Obviously other software can matter – each case is different, it is about choosing what is right for you. But these 4 examples are very powerful software pieces that almost anyone will get some benefit out of.
Tags: autoresponders, cpanel, fantastico, free software, free web hosting software, quickinstall
