Here are a few of my favorite online tools I've found on the web:

1. Doc 2 Pdf Online

If you have a Word document you want to upload to your website for your customers, this handy little tool will automatically convert it to a pdf file (a more web-friendly format than Word documents) and send it to you in an email at no cost! This is perfect if you just need to convert the occasional file and don't want to buy pdf conversion software. You just have to browse to the doc file on your computer, type in your email address, and five minutes later you'll have your pdf file! If you convert documents frequently, they also sell a Microsoft Word plugin that will export your doc files directly to pdf right from Microsoft Word. It only costs $15, so it's a great time saver if you find yourself frequently needing to create pdf files. You can find it here.

2. Optimizing Images for Web

If you have a content management system running your business' website (and you should talk to us if you don't), you'll likely want to add pictures to spice up your content from time to time. Unfortunately most of the time, the pictures you have are not optimized for download and can needlessly slow down your website (slow websites send your visitors running!). Enter Dynamic Drive's image optimizer. It gives you quality options, from 90% compression all the way to 10% compression, and lets you pick the best compromise between file size and image quality.

3. Google Analytics

This is the best solution for finding out what your website visitors are up to most of the time. Google Analytics meticulously tracks each and every visitor who spends time on your site, and provides you with detailed reports that include everything from where they came from (a search engine? another website linking to yours?) to how long they spent on your site and what pages they visited. Being aware of how your customers and potential customers use your website will allow you to modify and change it to be more effective by meeting their needs better. This is probably the most important tool on this list, and if you aren't using it already, you should get it set up today!

4. Online Meeting / Collaboration

Until recently, options for Online Meeting / Desktop Sharing through the web for teleconferencing were limited and expensive. Enter Vyew, a free online meeting solution that is surprisingly robust. Despite a somewhat clunky user interface, the desktop sharing was able to render GL, video, and just about anything we threw at it. While you're not going to be able to watch a video through Vyew, it's perfect for meetings that require an online / Internet based demo when the participants aren't within driving distance. Another plus: is it is browser-based using Flash and Java - in simple terms, that means it will work on most setups. Thus, Windows, Linux, and Mac users should all be able to join the same web conference.

5. Visual Traceroute

You're probably wondering what exactly IS a visual traceroute. Well, if you collect payments through credit cards on your website, a traceroute is your best friend. When a suspicious order comes in, you can just drop the IP in to the page and find out where it is located. So, if the address on the order is New Mexico, and the IP is in Nigeria, you have a serious problem to address. This tool will let you quickly and easily track down an order for potential fraud. As an Online merchant, you have very little protection from the credit card companies; all the protection is afforded to the Online shopper. Basically, you have to look out for yourself, and this handy tool will help you do so.