Contributed by Deb Powers
Mambo is an open source content management and publishing system that makes it easy for you to update content on your web site. Among the modules that you can add are forums, photo galleries, download and upload pages, polls, news, rss feeds, reviews, member voting and member tracking. Other content management systems that are often included free with a hosting account are PHPNuke and postNuke.
These three content management and publishing systems are so popular that many web hosts include dozens of free templates based on one or the other for subscribers, and include support for them in their customer support services.
The other most popular/useful group of PHP applications offered by web hosts are site builders and shopping carts. The most popular of these include:
Yahoo Web Hosting's SiteBuilder
Though it's only offered for free with Yahoo Web Hosting accounts, Yahoo's Sitebuilder deserves a mention for one good reason: it can be downloaded and used on your own machine rather than just online.
PHPCart
Like the discussion forums and content management systems above, PHPCart is free, open source software, and is offered by many web hosts. It includes page and storefront production capability, gateways for common credit card processors, and shopping pages, as well as comprehensive data tracking on your customers.
With the prices of web hosting low, you can afford to shop around and find a web host that offers the free scripts you want, either preinstalled or in an easy-to-install format.
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