online tools for web designers

Online Tools for Web Designers

Web Designer Tools

As a busy web designer on the go, you need access to online tools and resources that can help you maintain a high level of quality and also make you more efficient. Whether you need photos, images, or just want to grind out some awesome code, there is a site on the web somewhere that can make your life easier.  Here are a few we have selected that you might find useful.

Stock Photos

A website can have phenomenal design, but without photos (particularly photos of happy people), your site will always be one that came close but could not deliver. There are plenty of sites that sell royalty free stock photos, and I strongly recommend you consider them when your project budget permits it. However, there are also a few sites that offer free photos.

The Stock Xchng

The Stock.XCHNG is not your typical photo sharing site. The photos are uploaded by competent photographers, and the site maintainers review them for quality before accepting them. It provides free stock photos, always in high resolution. Restrictions vary according to photographer, with some requiring no further permission to use and other requiring credit and prior contact for permission.

Freedigitalphotos.net

One way a site can make money is by offering free service and “premium” service for a price. Freedigitalphotos.net allows downloading of low-resolution free digital photos, with the option to buy higher resolutions for print and graphic design. Like Stock.XCHNG, the photos are high quality from real photographers and include shots of professional models.

EveryStockPhoto.com

We all know there are a lot of free quality photos available on Flickr, Wikimedia Commons, and other photo-sharing sites. Everystockphoto.com allows you to search for free, Creative Commons licensed photos all over the web.

Online Image Editing

Image editing on your desktop with your dual monitors will always be a more pleasant experience, but online imagine editing still has its place, especially if you need to edit images and photos while traveling.

Pixlr

This is a free online image editor and painting application — no registration required. The one thing it does require is Adobe Flash player.

FotoFlexr

Designed specifically for touching up photos, fotoflexer.com integrates with many social media sites and provides the user with immediate, free access to the editor. Like the other online image editors, it requires Flash.

Photoshop Express Editor

Yes, that Photoshop. Adobe’s much-loved image editing software is available, in limited form, over the web. It is free to use and offers many Photoshop features, while stripping out ones that may not be the most commonly used, or that provide more advanced features.

Online HTML and Script editing

Ultimately, being able to easily edit your site’s code is the most important feature you can find to make your work easier. These editors are completely browser-based and give you the freedom and flexibility to manage and design your HTML and web script documents.

Online-HTML-Editor.org

This online HTML editor is actually a commercial product, but the company that sells its offers it for free on their site, with the hope that users who like it will purchase a version for their own websites. It is a WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) editor with snappy response time and support for uploading current files, as well as saving new creations.

HTML Edit

This little HTML editor is probably one of the most unique I have come across. It is a real-time HTML editor. The top half of the page has a text box for entering raw HTML code, while the bottom contains a formatted page that changes as code is edited on top. It works instantly and is an ingenious way to edit your code and see live results. It also does not require any special plugins to work.

Edit Area

If you take your coding seriously, a simply HTML editor is probably not sufficient. You need something powerful that can support multiple programming languages and offer a wide range of features. Edit Area might be the tool you need. It is not an online service but rather software that you can upload to your own website and use for free.

Amy Editor

Take the above-mentioned scenario and then throw it into the “cloud”. If you need a powerful editor but do not want to host it on your own website, Amy Editor is one of the best. With features like syntax highlighting and project organization, you may find yourself working out of your web browser more than any other app on your computer.

Be Free and Explore

Depending your needs, you may find some or all of these applications useful, and there are plethora of other tools on the web, offering everything from file storage to website monitoring. The days of being bound to a single office computer are over, so take advantage of your free mobility and use that inspiration to create even more spectacular sites.