My Web Design and Development Tools
I thought I’d share with you the tools I use to design and develop web sites. Although the past year I haven’t spent much time doing so, more of managing projects but I’m slowly getting back to it.
Adobe Photoshop - This is pretty much standard for designers. It’s my main design application. Although there’s Fireworks, I’m still not that comfortable using it and still revert to using Photoshop.
Adobe Illustrator - This is for the times that I need to do vector art for designs. I don’t use it as much but it’s there when I need it.
TextMate - I code all my web sites/pages by hand. I don’t rely on visual editors. TextMate is my application of choice. It’s simple, straight forward, there are a lot of bundles available and it’s not expensive. This is one of the best text editors for the Mac.
CSSEdit - For my CSS coding, while I like TextMate, CSSEdit is just better with this regard. From color coding, to live preview and a host of other features, I haven’t seen a better CSS editor for the Mac than this.
MAMP Pro - This is my server environment. It’s painfully easy to set up. It’s self contained and offers a host of options that make web development easy.
xScope - I recently added this to my arsenal. It’s pretty good when you want to see the measurements of web sites you see on screen. The screen size feature also gives you an idea as to how your site will look like in different resolutions and browsers.
Transmit - This is my FTP client of choice. The guys at Panic really did a good job on this one. It’s robust and yet easy enough to use for the novice user. I’ve been using this for quite awhile. While there are free alternatives, I gladly paid for Transmit.
Those are pretty much the tools I use. If you’re a web designer or developer, care to share your tools?
Updated: June 7, 2008
I forgot to add Parallels. I use this one mainly for browser testing. I’m still only have IE6 on my XP installation via Parallels. for IE 7 I just ask a friend or colleague to get a screenshot for me. Most often if my work looks ok on Firefox, it’s good at IE7.
Orexia, one of our readers pointed out Coda. It’s also a great all in one tool. I’ve tried it although I still can’t justify making the switch from TextMate and CSSEdit. If you’re just starting web design/development on a Mac, you may want to give Coda a look as well.
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POSTED IN: Apps, Juan's Posts, Productivity, Software
4 opinions for My Web Design and Development Tools
oreixa
Jun 4, 2008 at 1:24 pm
Similar setup: Photoshop, Coda, xScope, Mamp
Have you tried Coda?
Michelle
Jun 4, 2008 at 2:49 pm
Thank you so much for sharing your web designing tools. Though I have been around the web since its inception, I feel that I am still fairly new to the world of web design. I decided that this would be my second career so I am in school pursuing this very subject. I have been looking at other designer’s websites for ideas and inspiration. I am at the point where I am in need of a better computer system and through research have found that the Apple Macbook is the answer. However, the price is a factor so I am having to acquire one the old fashion way - saving up for it. It has been difficult to acquire an older version of the Macbook but I am still looking. Again, thanks for the information, this has been quite helpful to me.
Chris Marsden
Jun 4, 2008 at 4:05 pm
oreixa - you are the second person who has mentioned Coda today. I will definitely be trying that one out.
Juan
Jun 4, 2008 at 7:42 pm
@orexia - Yup I tried CODA. It’s pretty good actually. However since I had already paid or both TextMate and CSSEdit I wasn’t sure if there was enough reason for me to fork over another $79 for another app.
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