Webmaster's Toolbox

Tune-up your Toolbox: check out some tools and resources that help you make better websites, recommended by Chuck Upsdell, our webmaster.

This page lists:

• Tools for Tight Budgets
• Tools for Power Users
• Reference Materials

If you have something to suggest for this page, contact Chuck.

Tools for Tight Budgets

Here are tools that are free or inexpensive, ideal for those on a limited budget:

• Atomz: you can put a search box on your site that visitors can use to search your site! FREE in most cases. Works just like the big search engines. This is what I used to put a search box on this site's home page.
• BraveNet: you can use a variety of its services to enhance your site. FREE. We use its Guestbook, Forum, Email-form, and Hit Counter services.
• CAST: you can use its code checker, Bobby, to check for accessibility problems in your site. FREE.
• Eric Fookes' NoteTab Pro: this program is great for those who like to create and edit HTML files using a text editor. Great features, low price.
• ICRA: you can use this rating service to help control access to sites with inappropriate content. FREE. Rate your site with this service so that visitors with modern browsers can know that your site is safe to surf. I support this organization, and register all my sites with ICRA.
  

  For more information about ICRA and protecting people from inappropriate content, click here.

• iSyndicate: you can put put news on your site, selecting newsfeeds from a wide variety of sources. FREE. Pick a newsfeed that interests your visitors, and they will return to your site often to check the news.
• Steven Le Hunte's HTML 4 Reference Library: this program is a great HTML reference. FREE. Find out how to properly use all the HTML tags and attributes. Internet Explorer 5 required.
• JASC's Paint Shop Pro: this program is great for creating and editing web graphics, including animations: all the images on this site were made using Paint Shop Pro.
• NewsHub: you can put put news on your site, selecting newsfeeds from a wide variety of sources. FREE. Pick a newsfeed that interests your visitors, and they will return to your site often to check the news.
• Liam Quinn's ARV (A Real Validator): this program reports violations of standards in HTML files. Includes off-line HTML documentation. A new program, still a bit rough around the edges. Uncover HTML errors in your code.
• TaFWeb's WebSpeed: this program estimates how fast pages will load at various connection speeds. FREE. Identify slow pages, and measure how changes affect load times.
• Talicom's HTML Power Tools: this set of programs helps cut the errors out of websites. Buy the whole set, or just the programs you want.
• Tucows: a great place to find software tools, including many listed here.
• Chuck Upsdell's Browser News: this weekly web-based newsletter brings you the latest news about browsers, and lists places from which you can download old browsers for testing your websites. FREE. A useful resource for those who want their sites to work for all their visitors.
• Xenu's Link Sleuth: this program reports broken links in your websites. FREE. Banish those nasty 404's.

Tools for Power Users

Here are more costly tools, for those who need more power:

• Allaire's Homesite: this program is great for those who like to create and edit HTML files using a text editor. Use it to edit and test code, to check the code for errors, to find spelling errors, to check for broken links, to estimate download times, and to FTP your files. Includes an ancient version of JASC's Paint Shop Pro. Internet Explorer 4 or 5 required for some features.
• Flaming Pear's BladePro: this is a filter that adds special effects to graphic programs like JASC's Paint Shop Pro. Best for professionals and graphics enthusiasts.

Reference Materials

Here are useful reference materials for creating web pages:

• CSS Pointers Group: A good on-line resource for people using CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) in their websites.
• Steven Le Hunte's HTML 4 Reference Library: A program that offers a great HTML reference. Very comprehensive, and very easy to use, though a tad out of date. Internet Explorer 5 required.
• Official CSS 2 Specification: The most recent CSS specification, issued by the W3C (World Wide Web Consortium). Download it to your computer so that you can view it off-line. A bit technical.
• Official HTML 3.2 Specification: An older specification, issued by the W3C (World Wide Web Consortium). Useful for finding out what the older browsers should support. Download it to your computer so that you can view it off-line. A bit technical.
• Official HTML 4.01 Specification: The most recent HTML specification, issued by the W3C (World Wide Web Consortium). Download it to your computer so that you can view it off-line. A bit technical.
• Search Engine Watch: A great on-line resource for learning how to get the Search Engines to work for you.
• Web Standards Project: An organization that tries to persuade browser makers to comply with standards. Has many resources for learning about browser incompatibilities: a good starting point for learning how to cope with browser differences. I belong to this organization.
• Official XHTML 1.0 Specification: The XHTML specification, issued by the W3C (World Wide Web Consortium). XHTML is the successor to HTML: new sites should be built using XHTML instead of HTML; because XHTML is backwards-compatible to HTML, a site built with XHTML will work with existing browsers. Download the specification to your computer so that you can view it off-line. A bit technical.

Disclaimer: although these tools and resources are recommended, neither ChristRing.org nor Chuck Upsdell assumes any liability for any untoward results arising from their use.

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