When it comes to web development, resources are your best friend. In my experience, I have found some tools that I use to make my life as a web developer easier and more functional. Here is the list.
As a developer, I have had to go through my fair share of installs to get a machine set up in a fully fledged developmental environment. I remember my first introduction to setting up Apache on a computer very well…It was a nightmare, especially for a beginner. As I’ve done this more times, I am comfortable with it, but there is a tool that makes those tasks so much easier.
WAMP will automatically create and install services/software pertaining to Apache, MySQL and PHP. It even provides quick access to your projects and phpmyadmin page. I love it, so don’t leave home without it!
4. Firefox Add-on: Web Developer Tool
First of all, if you are viewing this page and do not have Firefox, you’re peeing into the wind. As a web developer, you are required to have multiple browser installs on your system. These include, but are not limited to Internet Explorer 7, Firefox 3, Opera for Windows, and previous versions of these browsers( Google multiple IE).
This tool is a web developers best friend. It will allow you to view and edit the CSS files on the fly (on a live page), clear/manipulate cookies, outline tables/elements, validate code, re-size and easily access all this info from a simple toolbar! A must have if you are serious about developing on the web.
3. Dreamweaver or any other Web Development Software
I was at a stage in my web development career where I used to brag about how the best tool I used was notepad and that I hard coded everything. This was the dumbest statement I have ever made. While I still hard-code everything, I do not use notepad (except for a quick view source, of course). Why did I make this transition? Lets see:
- Design/Code View - See what your changes have done on the fly, without saving and loading the browser
- Automatic code/tag formatting- No more tabbing out my tags
- Project Management - Easily see your project tree and upload files/folders easily
- Link Updating - If you move a file, it will update your links to reflect its new location and make any page that linked to this update as well.
So if you are still hacking away on notepad, good luck to you. However, you should seriously consider making this tool #1 in your arsenal.
2. A good reference book
I am not going to name any specific books, but there is a book on almost any topic you wish to tackle. Some book topics I have purchased were about HTML, CSS, PHP, MySQL, PERL, CGI, ASP, ASP.NET, CMS, Joomla, various cookbooks, various bibles and a Clive Cussler novel…..Hmmmm
Seriously though, if your interested in a topic, by a book. Give it a good read and tackle the subject. Good Luck!
1. Google
This is a web developers number one resource. If you have a question type in the keywords and you can find your answer. A good web developer knows how to find solutions to his problems this way. It may take some time, but if your not afraid to try different solutions to your task, then Google is the best tool for the job.
Yes I know this list is short and simple, but with these tools you cannot go wrong. Let me know of any other tools you have come across or that I may have missed so I can make sure this list is beneficial to everyone.
Now I am off to try to fix my spellchecker on this WordPress install….hmmm….let’s google it…
FIXED!
Hi! I am a novice. Big time. I heard about dreamweaver. Is it possible for someone with minimal html (self taught) training to use it and get a website up and running? You can shoot me an email with your answer if you have the time. Thanks for your help!
–Kim in DC
(PS - I do the weather here… you can check out my blog!)
Kim, I sent you an email as well, but to benefit others here is what I wrote.
For a novice, Dreamweaver may be to big of a chunk to bite at once pricewise. If you are serious about web development, this is a must have purchase. If you buy this, I would reccomend buy the “Dreamweaver CS3 Missing Manual” to help you further.
An alternative to buying the best of the best, would be another 3rd party software. I would reccomend CoffeCup HTML Editor and/or Visual Designer at http://www.coffeecup.com
Great tips here, especially the Web Developer Toolbar plugin for Firefox. This thing really changed how I work every day… giving me so much access to easy troubleshooting data.
Another Firefox plugin I consider essential is Firebug. It’s almost taken over the role Web Developer Toolbar was filling for me… and if you ever do any Javascript work, its a must.
fdask, I just checked out firebug. Thanks for the mention of it. It’s quite a nice app. I would recomend it as well!
This is great i picked up a lot of information from this blog which is rare these days..