Marcel Legros - Play the Game of Life

Here’s day four in my six part series designed to help an absolute beginner learn how to build a web site. If you’re new to computing or you have no idea what skills and tools you need to become a web developer, this is for you. The articles aren’t designed to teach you web development skills; they’re meant to give you a push in the right direction so that you can quickly learn those skills on your own. I hope you find my guide helpful. If you do, please Stumble it, so that others can benefit.

Article Outline

Day One - Tools Required for Website Development

Day Two - Skills Required for Website Development

Day Three - The Most Powerful Learning Secret for Website Development

Day Four - Beyond Basics - Tools That Take Your Site To the Next Level

Day Five - Beyond Basics - Skills That Take Your Website to the Next Level

Day Six - Wrap-Up - Summary of Tools, Skills, Books, and Tutorials for Website Development

Day Four - Tools To Take Your Site To the Next Level

HTML Editors

Once you get a handle on HTML and CSS, there are many tools to help you automate the process of building web pages. They aren’t necessary, but certainly help speed things up for you. There are many HTML editors available - some are text-only while others are WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get), meaning you can view the web page while you code it. Here are my top four suggestions, in order of preference:

Adobe Dreamweaver (Windows / Mac) - $399.00 - Dreamweaver is a WYSIWYG editor and handles HTML, CSS, most scripting languages, and also automates the process of uploading files to your FTP server. Dreamweaver is part of the Adobe CS suite, so it really shines when you’re also using Photoshop, Illustrator, Contribute, or Flash. Dreamweaver is expensive but easily my top pick for commercial HTML editors.

TextMate (Mac only) - $59.00 - Textmate is a powerful text-only editor. It might not be WYSIWYG, but don’t let this fool you. Textmate is capable of handling any web language and most programming languages as well. If you’re a Mac user, this is the best text-only editor available.
Coda (Mac Only) - $79.00 - Coda is an easy to use, WYSIWYG editor. The feature set isn’t amazing but it has an excellent interface. If you’re a Mac user and you want a basic WYSIWYG editor, then buy Coda.
UltraEdit (Windows) - $49.95 - If you’re using Windows, UltraEdit is the best text-only editor available. Like TextMate, it handles web languages or programming languages with ease.

Image Editing Software

Even the most austere sites require some use of graphics and images. Images make your site more readable an interesting. Here are two high quality image editing programs for your viewing pleasure:

Photoshop - ( $649.00 - Windows, Mac)

Gimp - (Free - Windows, Mac, Linux)

Photoshop is easily the best in the field but unless you’re aiming for a career in graphic design, Gimp will handle most graphic tasks quite well. If you discover a passion for creating high quality graphics, the high price for Photoshop is well worth the investment.

Content Management System / Blogging or Forum Software

You’re viewing this web page as the result of a content management system. Blogging or forum software automates the task of coding your pages and delivers them to your viewers quickly with a lot of cool features.

If you want to start a blog, there are a few choices for you, but I highly suggest using Wordpress. Forget Facebook, MySpace, or free Blogger accounts. They work, but you’re at the mercy of those websites and their software - if their site goes down, so does your blog. If you want to start a successful blog, you need Wordpress. It’s free, and you can control every aspect of the user experience. Typepad is used by a few high-profile bloggers but you’re locked into a monthly payment plan and it’s not as flexible as Wordpress.

If forums, or bulletin boards are more your thing, I suggest phpBB http://www.phpbb.com/. It’s free and easy to install on your host’s web server. I think vBulletin http://www.vbulletin.com/ is actually better software but, again, it’s expensive at $169.00 for a lifetime license. What is it with me and expensive software?!

Bonus Tools for Mac Users - CSSEdit and Scrivener!

CSSEdit - If you’re interested in learning CSS, immediately download and purchase CSSEdit. We reviewed the Firefox plug-in, Firebug, yesterday. Firebug is extremely powerful but if you’re interested in honing your CSS chops, CSSEdit has many features that Firebug does not. This is an exceptional tool for web developers on the Mac.

Scrivener - I’m writing this blog every day on Scrivener. I can’t say enough about this program - if you’re a serious writer and you want to write the next great American novel, or you’re blogging like me, Scrivener has it all. It’s not a word processor; it’s a writing program. It also lets you collect online links and media so that you can refer to them while you write. It’s truly inspiring. If you’re a writer or blogger and you’re on a Mac, please try it out. It’s a steal at $39.95!

That’s It For Today

Thanks for reading! I hope you join me for tomorrow’s article - Day Five - Beyond Basics - Skills That Take Your Website to the Next Level.