Software

Authoring web pages can be a complicated business, but thankfully there are loads of tools out there to help you.

HTML Editors

Coding in Notepad can get a little tiresome, especially when you have to type the same things over and over again. Many specialised HTML editors still allow you to have complete control of your page's code, but also provide you with additional tools to get the job done faster.

1st Page 2000

1st Page 2000 is a mammoth program, offering you hundreds of options to deal with your code. Common tags can be created from Wizard style dialog boxes just by enteting the necessary details, there are sizeable Java, Javascript and DHTML libraries, HTML reference guides and an awful lot more. Plus it's completely free!

Allaire Homesite

Homesite is very similar to 1st Page in looks but there are differences. While Homesite still includes most of the code short-cuts and other basic features, it lacks the libraries and refernce work that 1st Page includes. However, it does boast some other useful features such as code and link validators and a site wide search and replace tool. A 30 day evaluation is available, but after that you'll have to pay!

Hot Dog

From Sausage software comes Hot Dog, another highly advanced HTML editor. The basic program is the same as 1st Page 2000 and Homesite, but again you'll find some specific features that the others don't offer. One of the most notable is the page structure viewer, which strips all the detail out of your page to show where all the most important tags are. The full version is priced at around £70, but a free trial is available.

Arachnophilia

One of my personal favourites, Arachnophilia is ideal for the sort of person that find Notepad sufficient most of the time. Arachnophilia combines simplicity with carefully selected features to save you time, like shortcuts to common tags and a built in browser. Plus the complete program is absolutely free!

Notetab

Notetab is an all-singing version of the Windows Notepad, specifically intended for HTML use. While not as complicated as some editors, Notetab will still be useful to those used to the simplicities of a basic text editor who just occasionally like a helping hand. The Lite version is available free of charge.

Dreamweaver

The mother of all HTML editors, with a price tag to match. Dreamweaver is the ultimate package offering just about everything you could ever want including a built in WYSIWG editor. To be honest, only serious programmers need this level of software and most of us can get by using the free, or at least low-cost, editors. But if you've got the cash and you want the best, you can't really go wrong.

Utilities

The following programs may also be useful if you're creating webpages:

QuickReplace

If there's something you need to change, update or correct in a lot of pages, QuickReplace will do it all for you without you having to search each file individually. It works like a Find & Replace tool in a word processor, except that it can scan entire directories in one go. Very useful, especially if your site has a lot of pages.

Eyedropper

This small utility attaches itself to your mousepointer and tells you all about the colour of what you're hovering over, including its hex code. A brilliant free tool for finding the perfect colour for you site quickly and easily.

Graphics Applications

You'll need a decent graphics app to create the image files for your site. Here are some suggestions, but anything that can work with GIF's and JPEG's is enough to start with at least.

Paintshop Pro

The hugely successful Paintshop Pro combines excellent features with an easy-to-use interface. Once you've learnt the basics you'll have no problems creating and editting images in a wide variety of formats. You don't need to understand what all the options do although you're sure to find many of them invaluable, so it's worth making the effort to read some of the documentation. A free trial version is available to download.

Fireworks

From the same people that brought you Dreamweaver comes Fireworks, a highly powerful graphics application that can do just about anything. Again, it's not cheap but high-level users will find the rich features it delivers to be worth the expense.

Flash

Flash is probably the most popular web animation system available. You can use it to create everything from simple animations or icons right up to entire pages and sites. Any browser with the necessary plug-in can view these files, and support is growing all the time.

Browsers

To check that your site appears correctly (or at least least reasonably) in all the major browsers, it's well worth having a copy of each on your machine.

Microsoft Internet Explorer

Rightly or wrongly the most popular browser, IE is normally the easiest to get your site to work in. It's available as a free download and is usually on most magazine cover disks.

Netscape Communicator (Navigator)

Netscape was once king of all browsers, but now it's a distant second to IE. However, there are plenty of people still using it and so you should make sure your site works with it, although this can sometimes be tricky. Again this browser can be downloaded free and is available on cover disks.

Opera

Opera is the third browser fast gaining popularity with its huge range of features and close adhesion to the HTML standards. You can now download a free (banner-ad supported) version, or pay for a fully registered copy.

FTP Software

You'll need a FTP client to upload pages to your server.

FTP Explorer

Once you've created your site you need to actually get it onto the internet. To do this you'll need an FTP client, and FTP Explorer is perfect for the simple uploading of files. It uses a drag & drop interface to make uploads simple, and the program is free for non-commercial users.

Leech FTP

Leech is a slightly more advanced FTP client, ideal if you're doing a lot of uploading. Tasks are queued so you can do more than one thing at once if you need to. A major advantage over FTP Explorer is that you can see your local files within the program, which cuts down the number of windows you need to work with. It's also completely free to download and use.

WS FTP

If you're looking for a more feature packed FTP client, try WS FTP. In addition to the most important functions of uploading files, you'll find more to help you get the job done. The full version is available on free trial but must be registered after 30 days, or you can use a Light version for free. To get the free version, visit Download.com and do a seaech for WS FTP LE.

Cute FTP

Again, CuteFTP is aimed at the higher end of users who require more than just a simple upload client. One of it's most notable features is its logging - each command to the FTP server is clearly shown. A free trial is available for download, but the full version must be paid for.

If you know of (or have written) a useful HTML related program, why not let us know and we'll add it to this page!