Webmaster tools
No webmaster is complete without his or her set of tools. There are many tools you can use to build your site but your webmaster Swiss knife will consist of three main ones.
- Web building tool
- Web graphics tool
- FTP tool
Web Building Tool
This is the father of all tools. This tool will determine whether you make or break a site. Your web building tool is responsible for forming the main building blocks of your site. It can be a desktop software. It can be an online application. It can even be a script.
And unless you're very good at HTML coding, you'll need to look for a tool that will help you set up your site without having to mess around with much code. What you're looking for is a tool that has a WYSIWYG interface.
Now comes the golden question? What is this tool?
This is not so easy to answer. It depends on what you're trying to build. Different types of sites require different types of tools.
Let's take an example. Say you want to build a mini site.
- Scenario 1: You have no money but have time to spare
You can download a free software called Nvu (or a later patched up version called KompoZer). It lacks more advanced features, but for the purpose of creating a minisite, it's more than good enough. It provides a visual interface so you don't have to do any coding. With this software though, you will have to put in more effort to build a mini site. - Scenario 2: You have no time but have money to spare
If you lack of time and are more than willing to spend money to get a tool that requires less effort to use, you could subscribe to an online application such as the Lazy Site Builder.
The main thing is to find one that suits your working style.
If you have no idea what type of web site you need for your purpose and what tools to look for, just hop over to the coaching forum and post your question there. We'll help you find the best tool for your need.
Web Graphics Software
A web graphics software is the next tool you will want to get a hold of. Not so much to create graphics but more to customize one. Don't get me wrong. You can create web graphics if you want to. But you'll need to take a proper course before you can create professional graphics.
You'll be surprised to know that most webmasters out there, including myself, would just take an existing image from a template or image library and change the color a bit and the angle and maybe even merge it with another image and add some text to it and some reflection and presto ... you have yourself your own unique image.
If you're going to design your website using website templates, most good template providers will provide you with two types of images:
- Images in PSD (Photoshop) format
- A set of blank images i.e. just the images without any text on it.
You will, therefore, need a graphics software that can either read a PSD file or a software that can just add text to the blank images.
An obvious choice would be to just get Photoshop. However, it's not a very intuitive software for beginners and very very pricey. An alternative would be to get Photoshop Elements, which is good enough for us non techies.
How about a free graphics software? Well, I can only think of one - the GIMP. But it's way too advanced for our need.
Lately, there's been several online image editing software. The most popular, in my opinion, is Picnik. For basic image manipulation, including adding text to an image, Picnik is a fantastic option.
FTP Software
FTP is just a method of moving your files from your computer to your server and vice versa. Most web design software have a built-in FTP feature. So, you may not even need an FTP software. But just in case you need one, there are many FTP softwares out there to choose from.
I'm currently using WS FTP Pro. But before I purchased an FTP software, I was quite happy using CoffeeCup FreeFTP. Another popular one you can get, for no cost, is FileZilla .
Well, again, it really depends on what you're comfortable working with. But make sure the software you choose has at least the following two features:
- Upload and download in ASCII or Binary format.
- Change file permissions.
