Web designers from beginners to professionals have one thing in common; the tools they use. Every web designer will always use certain tools. Even web design Shrewsbury by VibeCreative uses the simplest of tools to accomplish great things. It’s not about how complicated or underrated something is, it’s how you use these gadgets which counts.
Here are some of the tools every web designer should be aware of, even if they don’t decide to use them at this point.
Firebug
Firebug is an extension for Firefox. It’s free to download and consists of HTML and CSS editing. There are also functions for JavaScript. Anyone can use it and it has a very gentle learning curve.
The most used feature is the HTML and CSS editing facility. Edit any code and copy pieces of code from other webpages to see how they work on your website. There’s also an inspection tool for investigating document object models. For JavaScript, there’s a simple debugging tool.
Notepad++
This is the holy grail of every web design portfolio. Notepad++ is a dedicated opensource code editor. It’s superior to the standard Microsoft Notepad which comes with every version of Windows. Instead of having to comb through mountains of code, it uses colours and highlighted lines to split everything up.
Web design Shrewsbury by VibeCreative uses this regularly in its work as it’s currently the simplest code editor available.
Adobe Photoshop/Paint.Net
These two tools do essentially the same thing. There are great divisions over which is best, though. These are useful for web designers who also dabble in graphic design. Many designers prefer to have basic image manipulation and editing skills so they don’t have to outsource little jobs and compromise on how much they make from their projects.
A word of warning, Photoshop in particular is a very expensive and very difficult program to learn. It will require some dedication to learn about all the functions, assuming you’re starting from scratch.
Pen and Paper
Ok, this is technically cheating as it isn’t a tool, but it’s still something you should always have by your side. You won’t use it to code your latest creation, but it’s handy for storing pieces of inspiration you encounter each day. The best web designers aren’t just computer geeks. They’re highly creative individuals with a lot of innovation and an interest in online art.
ExpanDrive
ExpanDrive is the perfect tool for the designer on the go. It acts like a USB stick. It stores all your files and allows you to open them from anywhere. It works in a similar way to Dropbox, which you can also use. The best part about ExpanDrive is it works with both the PC and the Mac.
Google Webmaster Tools
To check on the effectiveness of your website, it’s always worth downloading these free tools. You can check the rank and edit little pieces of code. It also helps in diagnosing problem areas. There are too many different tools to list here, but since it doesn’t cost you a thing you’re already break-even.
This article is brought to you by web design shrewsbury by VibeCreative.