Website Designers Unite! Or just read... :)

So... I know the "Chill Out" section of this forum doesn't really allow users to give or receive reputation, but this doesn't really fit in with the other categories.

My idea is for any SevenForums members who have anything to do with website design / development to share tips / tricks / knowledge / libraries / resources / etc, in the pure interest of sharing knowledge.

If you have any helpful or useful tips and tricks with regards to any part of the website development process (from design to coding, images, layouts, etc) post a link here with a short description of why or how you found it useful, and include the average level of knowledge required to make use of it. If you want to give an example of some code, go for it... Just try keep it short and to-the-point.

<Example Entry> said:

Here's a CSS extension I've been using for a little while now, this allows more intelligent nesting of CSS properties, along with variables (similar to those found in PHP or JS). The end-user must have JavaScript support turned on, but since that's a pretty common requirement for most websites these days, I haven't found any compatibility issues with using this extension.

Source: LESS « The Dynamic Stylesheet language
Required: Semi-comfortable in CSS

So... Let the sharing of knowledge commence! Or throw a brick at me and put me back in the dark corner... I think I saw a few cookies there last time.

   Note

I am only just beginning my quest in website design, and I can't afford to do any official courses, so I'm making good use of Google... Free tutorials are all I have to go on. I think sharing knowledge and tips could be a great help to anybody else who either dabbles in or simply wants to learn better ways to handle the same old scenarios.

Either way, I am going to learn as much about website development as I can, and if my experiences and researching can help someone else along, great. I think it would be cool to have a place where many people can do the same thing, and therefore help each other along the ever-changing-TRON-like-world that is our world wide web.

To help keep this section cleaner, each piece will be ordered alphabetically inside categories.

Entries added since last update are marked with a * at the beginning of the line.
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Code Editors
Notepad++ | 5.8.7 - It's notepad on steroids... And it's free.
Programmer's Notepad - Another notepad-style application, possibly more useful for scripting purposes (with regards to websites).
* PSPad - Universal free text editor for script writers and developers.

Code Editor Plugins
* ZenCoding - Type HTML and CSS using a powerful abbreviation logic engine. (Various editors supported)

CSS
Blueprint: A CSS Framework | Spend your time innovating, not replicating - A CSS framework to base new sites on.
CSSDesk - Online CSS Sandbox - Test and develop stylesheets in real-time.
LESS « The Dynamic Stylesheet language - Variables, mix-ins, operators and functions in your stylesheets. Works on either client-side or server-side.

JavaScript
Highslide JS - JavaScript thumbnail viewer - Lightweight and highly customizable photo gallery library (be sure to check out the 'Configurator' link on HS site).
jQuery: The Write Less, Do More, JavaScript Library - JavaScript with countless tweaks and improvements to the coding process.
jQuery UI - Home - Low and high-level site interaction through themed widgets (based on jQuery).

Website Hosting
Free Web Hosting with PHP, MySQL and cPanel, No Ads (000WebHost) - Free and paid hosting options.
Free Web Hosting with cPanel, PHP, and no Ads (x10Hosting) - Free and paid hosting options.

Resources and Useful Apps
* 365PSD - Free PhotoShop template files for various elements.
Font Squirrel | Download Hundreds of Free @font-face Fonts - Use any font for website text, even if it's not on the client PC.
* PixeDen - More free image resources for website design.
* PremiumPixels - Free image resources for website design.
Screen Ruler - A transparent, re-sizable and movable on-screen ruler for measuring virtually anything your monitor displays.

I'm just a beginner web designer but I'm taking a web design class and am using Photoshop, Dreamweaver, and Flash Pro. I'm so glad to not have to do HTML by hand anymore.

computertech19 said:

I'm just a beginner web designer but I'm taking a web design class and am using Photoshop, Dreamweaver, and Flash Pro. I'm so glad to not have to do HTML by hand anymore.

Dude! Doing it by hand is half the fun! xD


Anyway.
X10Hosting for hosting sites. I use it, and personally, I think it's awesome.

jQuery for short JS (and some neat animations...)

Cssdesk to test out your CSS.

The ultimate webbuilders tool:
Notepad++

I don't use anything else.

Prisoner said:

Dude! Doing it by hand is half the fun! xD

Oh yeah, I definitely agree there... My DreamWeaver is also either in 'Split' or 'Code' view. Lol. Only reason I use split view is to see a live view of my site as I write the code for it...

xarden said:

The ultimate webbuilders tool:
Notepad++

I don't use anything else.

I don't know if I'd tell people to only use N++... I mean, sure it's one of the first things about MS Windows that I replace (Notepad), but each to their own I suppose. :)

Update
I updated the second post with the links, also added one or two from my bookmarks bar.. I think this thread may just work out nicely after all.