Web Development Software 

• Accessibility Validation
• FTP Applications
• HTML Tools
• Image Editing
• Web Browsers

Accessibility Validation

WAVE 3.0 Accessibility Tool
Your Web site must be accessible to people with disabilities. Section 508 requires that all Web pages created or modified after June 22, 2001 be accessible. The WAVE Accessibility Tool checks your pages for compliance and gives you a report that lets you know what you need to change to make them accessible.

FTP (File Transfer) Applications

FTP applications enable you to upload and download your Web site files to and from the server. You'll find information on configuring your FTP program on the Web Instructions page. For additional help, see this FTP tutorial for beginners at Page Resource.com.

WS_FTP
A highly rated application for Windows.

Fetch
This is a full-featured, easy to use application for Macintosh.

FTP Navigator (Shareware, Windows)

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HTML Tools

Text Editors

Text editors allow you to use plain text to create Web sites from scratch. To use a text editor, you must be able to hand-code HTML. If you want to learn HTML, try the tutorials at W3 Schools.

Notepad (included with Windows)

TextEdit (included with Mac OS)

Home Site
This text editor features syntax highlighting, code validation and many other features that are very useful when you are editing a large amount of code.

BBEdit
This Macintosh-only editor is comparable to Home Site.

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WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) Editors

WYSIWYG editors generate HTML code for you. Most have an interface similar to a word processor, allowing you to build your Web site from both a design view and a code view. You don't need to know HTML to use this type of editor, but some knowledge of HTML is helpful so you can fix any glitches that may occur. Some WYSIWYG editors don't generate clean, well-formed HTML code. The ones listed below are among the best.

Dreamweaver
This Web development tool is an industry leader. You'll be able to create a simple Web site quickly and easily. Using Dreamweaver's advanced features could be a steeper learning curve for beginners.

GoLive
Another powerful WYSIWYG Web development tool. Some beginners may find the learning curve a bit steep.

NVu
A free, open source Web authoring system for Macintosh and Windows.

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Image Editing

You'll need image editing software to create graphics, edit photos and optimize them for the Web. Editing an image includes resizing, cropping, sharpening, color correction and other enhancements. In addition to this, images must be optimized (compressed) to create the smallest file size possible while still maintaining the quality of the image. This allows browsers to display images quickly, rather than forcing your Web site visitors to wait unnecessarily for images to load. Education pricing is available for most of the applications listed below. Many include a 30 day free trial download. See About.com for a list of free photo editors.

Photoshop
This is the industry standard for professionals. It's sophisticated software with a fairly high learning curve and cost. It is bundled with ImageReady, which makes optimizing your images for the Web a snap. If you can't afford Photoshop just to do image optimization, then check out NetMechanic's GIFBot.

Photoshop Elements
A "light," less expensive version of Photoshop designed for the average person.

Fireworks
This software helps you create and edit images. It's especially good at optimizing photos for the Web and works seamlessly with Dreamweaver.

CorelDRAW
A powerful graphics suite (Windows only) geared toward professionals. Its reasonable cost makes it a good alternative to Photoshop.

Paint Shop Pro
You'll get a lot for your money with this affordable, easy to use photo editing program for Windows only.

GIMP
This is a free, open source application similar to Photoshop.

NetMechanic GIFBot
This free tool will make your image file sizes smaller without losing picture quality.

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Web Browsers

There are many browsers available to help you navigate your way through the Web. The browsers listed below are among the most popular. No Web page will look the same in every browser, so it's important to check your site in as many browsers as possible. All visitors should be able to use your site no matter what browser they are using.

Firefox
This browser has many useful features and is quickly gaining popularity.

Opera
Opera is another feature-rich browser that has a growing number of fans.

Internet Explorer
Although this popular browser is available for both Windows and Mac operating systems, the Mac version is no longer being updated or supported.

Safari
This easy to use, solid performer is bundled with Mac OSX. Safari lets you easily view RSS feeds.Online Tools

These online browser simulators can give you a rough idea what your page will look like in other browsers. Useful if you cannot access other browsers/platforms, but you want to test your Web page to make sure it will work in all browsers.
Anybrowser Site Viewer
Dejavu.org

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