Tools and Tips for Webpage Editing
Notepad -- Notepad is a simple text editor that comes with any windows installation. To open it you can simply right-mouse click on the file you wish to open and move down the menu to "open with" then select "notepad". If notepad is not an option in this list, you can click "choose default program..." to choose notepad. Notepad is very simple, however it will only allow you to modify one page at a time. While notepad will work for any changes you need to make, this page will assume that you are using notepad++.
Notepad++ -- Notepad++ is the open source version of notepad. It works in a similar way, however it has many more features allowing you to work more efficiently. It will highlight syntax while working on files, and allow you to open multiple files at once and keep them in tabs. I would highly recommend using this over the standard notepad. It can be downloaded for free from notepad-plus-plus.org.
Paint -- Paint is a simple image editor that comes with any windows installation. Like notepad, it is very simple, however its lack of features makes it less powerful that some other options. Paint will work fine for simple edits, however anything more complex will require something stronger. To open a file in paint you can right-mouse click on the image file and move down the menu to "open with" then select "paint". If paint is not an option in this list, you can click "choose default program..." to choose paint.
Gimp -- Gimp is the Gnu Image Manipulation Program. It is a very powerful open source image editor and can be used to create many different effects including transparency and fades which are common in webpage design. I would highly recommend using Gimp over paint due to its many features, however it is complex and difficult to use at first, so if you are new to image manipulation this may not be your best option. Gimp can be downloaded for free from gimp.org.
Filezilla -- Filezilla is the easiest and most efficient FTP client that I have ever used. Its simple and intuitive with a great layout, and it has a small footprint on your hard drive. You can download filezilla for free from filezilla-project.org.
NOTE: The windows FTP client is garbage and very difficult to use without previous ftp experience. It is for this reason that I only have one option listed for FTP clients. Filezilla is free, open source, and cross platform; I have never found another option that even comes close to it for both power and ease of use. If you really hate filezilla for any reason, you can simple search for ftp clients on google and find yourself another option.
There are many different tools you can use to modify your webpage. Some will work for simple, single page
edits while others will allow you to manage your whole page. Everyone has their own preferences as to what
tools are the best, so here is a small list of the tools that I would recommend.
Text editing (for .html / .php / .css files)
Notepad -- Notepad is a simple text editor that comes with any windows installation. To open it you can simply right-mouse click on the file you wish to open and move down the menu to "open with" then select "notepad". If notepad is not an option in this list, you can click "choose default program..." to choose notepad. Notepad is very simple, however it will only allow you to modify one page at a time. While notepad will work for any changes you need to make, this page will assume that you are using notepad++.
Notepad++ -- Notepad++ is the open source version of notepad. It works in a similar way, however it has many more features allowing you to work more efficiently. It will highlight syntax while working on files, and allow you to open multiple files at once and keep them in tabs. I would highly recommend using this over the standard notepad. It can be downloaded for free from notepad-plus-plus.org.
Image editing (for .jpg / .gif / .png files)
Paint -- Paint is a simple image editor that comes with any windows installation. Like notepad, it is very simple, however its lack of features makes it less powerful that some other options. Paint will work fine for simple edits, however anything more complex will require something stronger. To open a file in paint you can right-mouse click on the image file and move down the menu to "open with" then select "paint". If paint is not an option in this list, you can click "choose default program..." to choose paint.
Gimp -- Gimp is the Gnu Image Manipulation Program. It is a very powerful open source image editor and can be used to create many different effects including transparency and fades which are common in webpage design. I would highly recommend using Gimp over paint due to its many features, however it is complex and difficult to use at first, so if you are new to image manipulation this may not be your best option. Gimp can be downloaded for free from gimp.org.
FTP clients (for all files)
Filezilla -- Filezilla is the easiest and most efficient FTP client that I have ever used. Its simple and intuitive with a great layout, and it has a small footprint on your hard drive. You can download filezilla for free from filezilla-project.org.
NOTE: The windows FTP client is garbage and very difficult to use without previous ftp experience. It is for this reason that I only have one option listed for FTP clients. Filezilla is free, open source, and cross platform; I have never found another option that even comes close to it for both power and ease of use. If you really hate filezilla for any reason, you can simple search for ftp clients on google and find yourself another option.
Built with Notepad++ and GIMP | © 2010 Rusty Nail Designs