Building websites for yourself or your clients is necessary to remain competitive in today?s online market place.? I have compiled the top ten basic web design tools everyone needs to get started.? Whether you?re an advanced web designer looking to double check you have all the fundamentals or you?re new to web design and want a comprehensive list of the necessary tools ? this article is for you.
1)? Text Editors for Web Design
No matter how much you hate it, at some point building a website will require you to edit some code.? Make sure to have a text editor.? For PC users NotePad is the best, free choice.? Microsoft Word doesn?t work because it formats text automatically.? For Mac users you can use TextEdit.
ProTip:? Try Adobe Dreamweaver to professionally edit code.? It has great features that make life simple, such as Live Preview, numbered lines, and layered settings? displays.
2)? An Internet Browser
Pretty obvious.? However, the choice of browser that you use is important.? There are a total of four fundamental browsers, Safari, Internet Explorer, FireFox, and Chrome.? Make sure to have them all installed on your computer and use them each to check that your website looks the same.? Different browsers can sometimes display websites differently if they are not coded according to best practices.
ProTip: Professional web developers know to use FireFox. The FireFox browser has an open source community of add-ons and plugin applications specifically geared towards web designers.
3)? FireBug
I already said you should be using FireFox because of it?s add-ons, and without a doubt the most important add-on of all is FireBug.? This add-on allows you to click on an area of a webpage in your FireFox browser and view the code operating behind the specific element.? I can?t stress enough that this is the most useful tool for web design you?ll ever find.? That website you like so much, how did they do it?? Use FireBug to inspect the CSS and HTML to reverse engineer it.? FireBug also helps you troubleshoot issues on your own website, by easily allowing you to check what code is operating behind particular elements of a webpage.
4)? A Web Host
All websites need a Web Host in order to get online and go public.? Popular web hosts include Blue Host, Host Gator, GoDaddy, Media Temple, and literally hundreds more.? They all offer fairly inexpensive monthly rates for their services.
ProTip:? Use Blue Host.? A little more expensive than the others, but the number of free tools they offer and their excellent 24/7 support is unmatched.
5)? FTP Client
In order for a web designer to move their website?s files to their web host, and thus publish the website to the internet, they need an FTP tool.? There are many out there and most web hosts offer a browser-based FTP tool for free.
ProTip:? Try out FileZilla, an easy to use and powerful File Transfer Protocol (FTP) tool.
6)? A Domain Name
Every website needs an address on the internet for their website.? Usually, your web host will offer a domain registration service that enables you to buy the domain name you want.
ProTip:? Choose a domain name with SEO in mind.? You want one that is short, easily remembered, and includes a keyword such as the name of your business or a qualitative term that describes what you do.
7)? Image Editors
Image editing software ranges in price from free to hundreds of dollars.? Windows comes with Paint which is an OK free image editor.? Mac users can try out iPhoto.? There are also a number of free programs you can search for and download from the internet.
ProTip:? While expensive, Adobe Photoshop is the standard professional image editor you?ll want to use.? It is a true powerhouse program that enables you to create the stunning visuals you?ll need to make gorgeous websites.? Adobe Fireworks is another great program that enables you to design images with transparent elements.
8)? Content Management System (CMS)
Very few people build websites from scratch anymore.? Most use free, open source, CMS software to get started.? Using a CMS allows you to build websites faster and they come prepackaged with back-end administrator functionality to help you or your clients manage the content of the website.? There are many out there, but you?ll want to use Drupal or WordPress.? Personally, my favorite is WordPress.
ProTip:? Never go with a web design shop that offers a ?proprietary? CMS.? These are never as powerful as the free, open source options such as WordPress and they become obsolete in a very short time.? They are also susceptible to hackers and malware because small web design shops can rarely keep their software updated fast enough to keep up with threats.
9)? Google Keyword Tool
Every one wants their website to rank high on search engines like Google.? The Google Keyword Tool allows a web designer to research the competitiveness of keywords when planning what text to place in their website and what keywords to target.
10)? Getty Images
Getty Images is an online repository of stock, professionally created photographs and images.? Web designers can purchase these stock images for use on their websites for a small fee.? There are vector based graphics, professional photographs, and even videos!
These ten basic web design tools will help you get started!? Have a great tool in mind that?s not shared here?? Let us know!
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