Keeping it in the Family - Website Building Tools on the Family Shoe String.
I built a website for my family's company (still building) using all open source software and freeware. Essential when you are provided with a budget of almost zero dollars :). The only thing has to be paid for (so far) is the actual web and e-mail hosting service. Well the domain name registration too. I enjoy building the site and incorporating various software into the site. At the moment the site has a Forum, WebLog, Live Help Chat, Event Calendar, Site Visitor Monitor, Visitor Counter and eCommerce (not yet online).

Most of these applications use php as the code. I don't know php but if you do it does help with modifications to the applications. Knowing a little HTML is useful and probably essential.

The following is a list of the open source and freeware applications I use on sites I build. Some of the applications, mainly the freeware have paid versions which extend the capability of the free versions. In most if not all cases there is a open source application which does as good if not better job than the paid version. :

Special Note - Visit http://www.demodemo.com/ for help with the installation of phpBB, osCommerce and others. They have free Flash tutorials on installation and basic setup of these applications.

Crafty Syntax Live Help - www.cslh.com - (open source) A multi-user, multi-operator, multi-department Live Help support chat system that allows the operators of the websites to monitor their visitors as they are browsing the site and proactively open a chat session with that visitor. The modular structure and open source code allows for the highest level of freedom in customization to fit your needs.

phpBB2 Forum - www.phpbb.com - (open source) phpBB is a high powered, fully scalable, and highly customizable Open Source bulletin board package. phpBB has a user-friendly interface, simple and straightforward administration panel, and helpful FAQ. Based on the powerful PHP server language and your choice of MySQL, MS-SQL, PostgreSQL or Access/ODBC database servers, phpBB is the ideal free community solution for all web sites.

Special Note: If you want to add an event calendar to your site/forum and are using phpBB2 then take a look at this mod for phpBB2 LINK and download the mod (mod-topic_calendar-101.zip)

BoldChat - www.boldchat.com - (freeware - paid version available) - Boldchat is a FREE live chat service for web sites to do live help and live support chats with visitors.

0Stats.com - www.0stats.com - (freeware) - Real time reporting, visitors-pageviews-new visitors day/month/years, online visitors, max online visitors (day,month) , Statistics archived forEVER! , password protection, invisible button, flash graph, referrer sites-engine, Keyword positioning, Advanced users info, users frequency.

phpiCalendar - www.phpicalendar.net - (Open Source) - PHP iCalendar is a PHP-based iCal file viewer/parser to display iCals in a Web browser.

Its based on v2.0 of the IETF spec. It displays iCal files in a nice logical,
clean manner with day, week, month, and year navigation. It is available in 13
languages and includes support for printing, searching and RSS news feeds.

PHP iCalendar DOES NOT create or edit calendars (or events). Instead it
provides a way to view calendars from applications that generate valid
IETF 2445 files (.ics). Some of the supported applications are:

- Apple iCal
- http://www.apple.com/ical/
- Mozilla Calendar
- http://www.mozilla.org/projects/calendar/
- Ximian Evolution
- http://www.novell.com/products/evolution/
- KOrganizer
- http://korganizer.kde.org/
- WinDates 5.0
- http://www.rockinsoftware.com/windates.htm

osCommerce - http://www.oscommerce.com/ - (Open Source) osCommerce is an online shop e-commerce solution under on going development by the open source community. Its feature packed out-of-the-box installation allows store owners to setup, run, and maintain their online stores with minimum effort and with absolutely no costs or license fees involved.

osCommerce combines open source solutions to provide a free and open e-commerce platform, which includes the powerful PHP web scripting language, the stable Apache web server, and the fast MySQL database server.

With no restrictions or special requirements, osCommerce is able to run on any PHP enabled web server, on any environment that PHP and MySQL supports, which includes Linux, Solaris, BSD, Mac OS X, and Microsoft Windows environments.

EasyStoreCreator - http://www.easystorecreator.com - With their FREE Website Builder, you make your own eCommerce store. It's fast and easy... even for non-techies.

So you want to take your business online and make money, but you don't have a lot of technical expertise or a big budget. No problem. With their free website builder you get a professional website capable of selling any product or service... and you don't spend a dime.

This free online store builder incorporates with almost any ecommerce merchant account that automatically processes credit cards online, making the payment procedure easy for your customers... and for you. Even when you're not online, your store continues to take orders and accept payments!

Here's what the Free Online Store Builder Lets You Do.

EasyStoreCreator works a bit like paint-by-number art -- only easier. With the free website builder, you can...

Build an ecommerce site that sells a handful of products or thousands (free version limited to 10 items).
Control all your inventory.
Use our pre-designed templates.
Edit one item or all of them.
Securely accept and process credit cards with your ecommerce merchant account.
Protect yourself against credit card fraud.
Get instant online help or toll-free phone support.

Get full support for some of the most popular payment gateways
You can start making money online today! In as little as 10 minutes, the free website builder makes it possible for you to have your very own, fully functional website and ecommerce merchant account. No technical training required. No software either. EasyStoreCreator is a completely web-based, free online store builder.

Best of all...EasyStoreCreator BASIC is FREE!!

Here is a feature by feature chart outlining the various features of the available packages versus the FREE version. LINK - (http://www.easystorecreator.com/features.asp)