(Mostly) Free Resources for the Web Worker Who Works on the Web
December 7th, 2007 (6:00am) Chris Poteet 53 Comments
By Chris Poteet
Everyone, especially computer people, love lists of resources. I do as well, and I decided it’s time to share many of the resources that have helped me in my career. All of these resources (except for the print books) are either freeware, open source, or the application offers a free version.
Firefox
- Firebug – Essential tool for CSS/JavaScript debugging.
- YSlow – Firebug add-on to help determine performance bottlenecks.
- Web Developer Toolbar – Provides tools to compliment Firebug.
- Fireftp – The best FTP client and in a browser no less!
- Dust-Me Selectors – Scans the page against your current style sheet to determine extraneous styles.
- Server Spy – See the server technology for current page.
- Colorzilla – Awesome color picker.
- HTML Validator – Validate pages and clean them with this tool.
- IE Tab – View pages in IE inside Firefox.
- Selenium IDE – Record and playback end-user testing.
- X-Ray – Bookmarklet to examine elements in DOM.
Web Worker Applications
- Box.net – Backup your files with this tremendous tool.
- Harvest – Time tracking utility.
- Jott – Record messages from your phone and add them to various applications.
- Gliffy – MS Visio replacement for diagramming.
- Yugma – Free video conferencing.
- 101 Essential Freelancing Resources – Need more than we’ve got here?
Print Books
- Designing with Web Standards – A great introduction to web standards design by Jeffrey Zeldman.
- CSS: A Definitive Guide – Eric Meyer’s magnum opus on CSS.
- Don’t Make Me Think! – The acclaimed introduction to usability.
- Codin’ For the Web – Great book to teach application development to designers.
- Web Design in a Nutshell – Invaluable desktop reference.
Online Books
- Version Control with Subversion – Introduction to the precepts of Subversion.
- Getting Real – 37 Signals famous work on design.
- O’Reilly Library – Various O’Reilly books you can read online.
- The Elements of Typographic Style Applied to the Web
Tutorials
- W3Schools.com – XHTML, CSS, PHP, SQL, XML, etc.
- Good Tutorials – Photoshop, Flash, Illustrator, PHP, HTML, etc.
- PHP for the Absolute Beginner
- ASP.NET 2.0 Quickstart Tutorial
- Learn CSS Positioning in 10 Easy Steps
Editors
- CSS Vista = Neat CSS editor.
- PSPad – Simple, fast editor that I used for a long time.
- Aptana – Editor built on Eclipse that, I think, is the best out there.
- Microsoft Visual Web Developer – Free MS editor to create ASP.NET applications.
- SQLYog – GUI interface to MySQL.
- SQL Server Management Studio Express – The free edition of the GUI to SQL Server.
Templates
- Open Source Web Design
- Themebot – Themes for Drupal, WordPress, Joomla, and phpBB among others.
- Open Web Design
- The Open Design Community
- The CSS Tinderbox – CSS layouts.
- Little Boxes – CSS layouts.
Project Management/Version Control
- Assembla – Free TRAC/Subversion workspaces.
- TRAC – Slim, extensible SDLC tool.
- Subversion – The great open source source control.
- TortoiseSVN – GUI interface into Subversion via Windows shell.
- AnkhSVN – Browse Subversion repositories inside Visual Studio.
Testing/Validators
- UITest.com
- The Scrutinizer – SEO validators and analysis.
- Test Everything!
- Web Site Tools
- WAMP - Apache, MySQL, and PHP on Windows
Application Comparison
- Wiki Matrix – Compare wiki applications.
- Forum Matrix – Compare forum applications.
- WebBlog Matrix – Compare blog applications.
- The CMS Matrix – Compare CMS applications.
- OpenSourceCMS – Demo various CMS’.
Web Designer Blogs/News Aggregation
- Design Float – Digg style site for designers.
- Web Developer’s Handbook – More resources then you could ever need.
- CSS Juice – CSS tips and utilities.
- Smashing Magazine – The best resource for resources.
- .net Develop – Cutting-edge articles on web technology best practices.
Chris Poteet is a web application developer under his company name, Siolon.
53 Comments Post your own comment
Andrew says: December 7th, 2007 8:13am
Great list! Delighted to see Design Float on there :)
shoo says: December 7th, 2007 8:14am
Great list. Tagging this one.
Simon says: December 7th, 2007 8:27am
WebAppers.com can be in the list of Web Designer Blogs/News Aggregation as well :)
Make It Up As You Go » Blog Archive » Essential Resources for Web Designers/Developers says: December 7th, 2007 8:51am
[...] Web Worker Daily lists mostly free resources to assist web developers and designers. Includes debugging tools, tutorials, applications, etc. [...]
GigaNET: Gtalk Tips, VeriSign CDN and Gushan IPO - GigaOM says: December 7th, 2007 11:40am
[...] WebWorkerDaily: Mostly free web resources for who else, web workers. [...]
Todd G says: December 7th, 2007 12:36pm
You get an award for being the first web development blog post that doesn’t link to a CSS Gallery or have an insporation section… great post!
Dustin Brewer says: December 7th, 2007 1:59pm
Great article, tons of wonderful resources on there. I would have probably added a few other blogs on the list if I were writing the article. Not just mine, either.
Definitely a delicious bookmark worthy article though.
Dustin Brewer says: December 7th, 2007 2:00pm
Also, another great Firefox extension is MeasureIt which comes in super handy for not only measuring random spaces to place things but also for using it as a ruler, of sorts.
Tim says: December 7th, 2007 2:05pm
You mention the Selenium IDE, but I found that iMacros is easier to use. Plus, it works in IE and Firefox.
http://www.iopus.com/imacros/firefox/
Tim says: December 7th, 2007 2:08pm
If you need to create screencasts, Camtasia V3 is free now:
http://internetmarketingtipsandtricks.wordpress.com/2007/11/25/get-camtasia-free/
BR says: December 7th, 2007 3:33pm
You missed the best project management software for programmers –
http://www.unfuddle.com
Unfuddle has s free plan that includes a hosted subversion repository, tickets, milestones, wikis and more
Fabrizio says: December 7th, 2007 4:12pm
Even http://www.feedmyapp.com/ is an excellent resource to discover useful web 2.0 applications.
links for 2007-12-08 says: December 7th, 2007 4:32pm
[...] Web Worker Daily » Archive (Mostly) Free Resources for the Web Worker Who Works on the Web « “All of these resources (except for the print books) are either freeware, open source, or the application offers a free version.” (tags: tools list programming webdesign design development css php) [...]
web500 » Free Resources for Webmasters says: December 7th, 2007 4:34pm
[...] is a great collection of free resources for webmasters var addthis_pub = [...]
Haugen’s Tech Tips Blog » links for 2007-12-08 says: December 7th, 2007 9:24pm
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Dopp Juice » Blog Archive » A Few of my Fav-o-rite Tools says: December 7th, 2007 11:28pm
[...] post was inspired by Web Worker Daily’s list today. …Splash it forward… These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers [...]
GigaNET: Gtalk Tips, VeriSign CDN and Gushan IPO teasered @ Feed UP !! says: December 8th, 2007 3:36am
[...] WebWorkerDaily: Mostly free web resources for who else, web workers. [...]
A Web Developer/Graphic Designer who rocks at designing and being a computer geek » Blog Archive » Free Resources for the Web Worker says: December 8th, 2007 11:22am
[...] read more | digg story [...]
links for 2007-12-08 « toonz says: December 8th, 2007 3:23pm
[...] Web Worker Daily » Archive (Mostly) Free Resources for the Web Worker Who Works on the Web « (tags: resources tools free development) [...]
links for 2007-12-09 | Funny Stuff is all around says: December 8th, 2007 4:32pm
[...] Web Worker Daily » Archive (Mostly) Free Resources for the Web Worker Who Works on the Web « (tags: webdesign resources tools free web design online) [...]
Adam Benayoun says: December 8th, 2007 4:49pm
http://www.octabox.com is a business platform for small businesses and freelancers.
It combines diverse modules ranging from CRM, project management, a thought module and several other tools allowing you to manage your daily operation.
The platform is smart enough to provides you with business logic, trends and behavior pattern and auto-configure your user interface to enhance your user experience and your productivity.
We’re currently in private beta but we should launch very soon a public beta, so check us out or mail me for more information.
Other than that I find this article very interesting!
Thanks,
Tamar Weinberg says: December 8th, 2007 6:24pm
“(Mostly) Free Resources for the Web Worker Who Works on the Web”
Redundancy much? :P
Chris Poteet says: December 8th, 2007 7:06pm
@Tamar: Ya, it wasn’t my original title.
Judi Sohn says: December 8th, 2007 9:58pm
I take the blame for the title. Sorry. :-)
I was partly enjoying the play on words, and partly stressing that these resources are primarily aimed at web developers…not all web workers focus on building sites.
Weekend Homework « [ ! ] The Sugarbuzz Project says: December 8th, 2007 10:47pm
[...] (Mostly) Free Resources for the Web Worker who Works on the Web [...]
Resources voor de webdesigner-- Sund Creative Blogging says: December 9th, 2007 10:49am
[...] bronnen tussen die je goed kan gebruiken (bv: online IE rendering voor de webbuilders onder ons). Web Worker Daily heeft al zijn resources geordend en op het web geplaatst. Al deze resources (enkel voor de print [...]
links for 2007-12-10 « Simply… A User says: December 9th, 2007 4:40pm
[...] Web Worker Daily » Archive (Mostly) Free Resources for the Web Worker Who Works on the Web « (tags: webdesign resources tools web free design development online ** links) [...]
Beth says: December 10th, 2007 8:47am
Elluminate vRoom is a free virtual meeting room for up to three people. Lots of functionality, including full-duplex audio, high-rez video, interactive white board, app/desktop sharing, web push/tour, file transfer. Supports multiple platforms and low bandwidth connectivity. Visit http://www.getvroom.com.
- Beth, Elluminate Goddess of Communication
kris says: December 10th, 2007 2:20pm
Don’t forget fiddler:
http://www.fiddlertool.com/fiddler/
for debugging http issues in IE.
Great list by the way!
Lavori o studi sul web? Fatti un ufficio online con tutti i comfort » TecnoDuo says: December 10th, 2007 10:35pm
[...] cavallo del weekend sono apparse due liste di risorse web – una da Web Worker Daily e una da Office 2.0 Database – che ci promettono di sfruttuttare al meglio le risorse e le [...]
Tamar Weinberg says: December 11th, 2007 7:14am
Judi/Chris: no worries. It actually keeps attracting my attention as I see it all over del.icio.us and other social sites. ;)
imgriff.com » Blog Archiv » Webdienste für das Onlinebüro says: December 12th, 2007 3:25am
[...] Web Worker Daily » (Mostly) Free Resources for the Web Worker Who Works on the Web [...]
Carlos Carreño says: December 13th, 2007 6:04am
Great list of links, you gime a good hand to find good resources
The Nonprofit Webbie » Great Free Resources for Web Work says: December 13th, 2007 5:52pm
[...] Webworkerdaily has a good roundup of really useful free web resources. [...]
links for 2007-12-16 « Jeff’s random thoughts says: December 16th, 2007 3:21pm
[...] Web Worker Daily » Archive (Mostly) Free Resources for the Web Worker Who Works on the Web « (tags: webdesign resources tools) [...]
Web Worker Daily » Archive 3 Scrappy Project Management Techniques to Master (Plus 2 Tips) « says: December 18th, 2007 1:17pm
[...] since just the beginning of the month, “Organize Your Life With Jott,” “(Mostly) Free Resources for the Web Worker Who Works on the Web,” and “QuickBase Goes Enterprise“), actually doing the job of project management [...]
SMASHINGAPPS.COM says: January 3rd, 2008 11:30pm
Smashingapps.com is also great source for free and useful resource for designers and developers.
web500 » Best 101 Free Software-updated 1-6-08 says: January 6th, 2008 8:34pm
[...] (Mostly) Free Resources for the Web Worker Who Works on the Web updated Jan 6-08 [...]
am Design » Baabelin kirjasto » Artikkelikatsaus: Joulukuu 2007 says: January 8th, 2008 11:59am
[...] Web Worker Daily listaa joukon (lähes) maksuttomia webresursseja: (Mostly) Free Resources for the Web Worker Who Works on the Web. [...]
Free resources for web workers | Cool Stuff! says: January 9th, 2008 12:34am
[...] Worker Daily has a really nice resource for free sources regarding maintaining and building websites. Definitely worth checking [...]
web500 » Best of the best free and open source software both Mac and Window says: January 10th, 2008 4:53am
[...] Mostly Free Resources for the web workers [...]
Goldie says: January 16th, 2008 1:13am
You can check the new version of ProjectOffice.net – it’s in beta and free online project management and collaboration tool
Christina says: February 6th, 2008 2:24am
Great list of links, thanx for sharing
Nadia Dxb says: February 6th, 2008 2:34am
Nice sharing!
chk this also
Delivering the Best Templates on the Net
Templates Mission offers professional web templates, flash templates and other web design products available for immediate download.
http://www.templatesmission.com
Anastasia says: February 6th, 2008 4:57am
Great list!
Thank you for sharing.
christina says: March 26th, 2008 2:09am
Well its nice sharing!
Cosmina says: March 27th, 2008 5:13am
Great list but you missed Fanurio.
Fanurio http://www.fanuriotimetracking.com helps with the less appealing aspects of freelancing like billing and keeping track of time. It’s a useful application, with a user-friendly interface.
dreambox says: June 3rd, 2008 2:14pm
thank you so much. this is nice sharing :)
Lee Starusta says: June 13th, 2008 6:00pm
Nice list
add http://www.ziipa.com
Free web design tools! « Karen Munro, Learning Librarian says: August 12th, 2008 1:32pm
[...] Free Resources for Web Workers: WebWorkerDaily’s list of free web design and development tools. Including tools, tutorials, and even (gasp!) recommended books. [...]
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kosystems says: September 9th, 2008 7:46pm
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please click link http://www.alfresco-plugin.com
Animashki says: April 22nd, 2009 2:39pm
Great you put Firebug as a first item out of other nice things. I use it a lot and in many cases.
Also I agree that Aptana is the best choice out there!
I think you should also mention some SEO add-ons or software here. Thanks!