Modx is a content management system (CMS) as well as a full blown framework. Right now there are two versions available, the mature 1.02 and a 2.0 beta. I’ve tried them both out and they both have their own strengths and weaknesses. I like version 1 for its compactness but I like version 2 for it elegant code (which in my book wins every time).

You can find Modx at modxcms.com

Why Modx?

Recently I’ve been trying to find ways to make myself more efficient and deliver a high quality product. I’m a programmer at heart and I find myself obsessing over good coding practices, sometimes at the expense of time. For small projects this was costing me a lot of money so I decided that I should use a pre-built content management system to handle all of their content.

I searched around the web for a while and considered using the classics such as joomla!, Drupal and Wordpress. While these were all solid solutions each of them had something that I didn’t really like. Joomla! was really bloated, I didn’t like Drupal’s user interface and Wordpress was more of a blogging platform which wouldn’t always work. Then I heard about Modx and it was getting a lot of buzz on the net so I thought I’d check it out.

What I like about it so far

Everything is centralized in the program

It takes a very interesting approach to building websites, you pretty much add all the HTML and PHP that you’re going to use for your site right into the CMS. That way you can make global changes to the interface right from the program and don’t have to log into the ftp server.

Fantastic interface

The interface in both versions is very slick, especially in version two. I especially like that it uses AJAX in all its menus so it makes it very fast to find what you’re looking for.

Modx 2

A strong community

It already has an archive of useful modules and components that you can install right into the system. Saving you lots of time and money. I’m looking forward to adding some of my own components to their library.

What I don’t like about it so far

It’s very heavy on the database

The fact that you add all your HTML and PHP code right into the CMS means it all gets stored in the database. Which can cause some serious security and performance issues. I read somewhere that you can choose to have your HTML files stored on the server instead of the database but I haven’t tried that yet.

Version 2 is still in beta!

Modx 2 hasn’t been released yet! Right now it’s still in beta and there are some features that haven’t been built yet. It’s a fine CMS though and you can still create websites with it.

The documentation could be better

I’ve been having a hard time using their documentation. The articles could be easier to find and a little more thorough. I would really like to see some in-depth tutorials because I think that would be the easiest way to learn how to use it.

Maybe I’m just impatient. . .

My consensus?

Modx is perfect for those who are looking for a solid CMS for small to medium websites. The learning curve isn’t too steep compared to some other systems. It only took me about 3 to 4 hours to build a working website.

There’s more to come

I’ve actually only just started working with Modx so there’s still a lot of learning to do. I’ll keep writing some articles about this system in the future and maybe even a tutorial or two so stay tuned .

What are your thoughts?

Have you used Modx? What do you think? Is there another CMS that you would recommend?

Further Reading

Modx Homepage
Goodbye Joomla, Hello Modx…

In a nutshell, frameworks provide a layer of abstraction that sits on top of the native php code. This layer of abstraction comes in the forms of classes and methods that the developer can use to build their applications.

The advantages of frameworks

Decreases development time

A framework packages common functions into convenient classes and methods that make it easy for the developer to perform common functions quickly. For example, let’s say the developer needs to parse out XML. They can use an XML parsing class that then gets stored in a library. From now on, they can use that XML class on all their other projects and won’t need to rewrite any code.

Increased Security

A good PHP framework will have security features built in that are implemented transparently (without the input of the developer). For example, a framework can check input values from a form field before it gets inserted into the database.

Easier to maintain

It’s much easier to maintain a framework because all of the elements are organized into separate parts that are arranged by context. You won’t have to hunt throughout your code to find out why your dates aren’t being parsed correctly, you simply go to your date classes and find the bug.

Multiple developers benefit from a framework because they each share an identical picture of the entire system in their head. They automatically follow a set of rules and regulations that are enforced by the system itself. So that if either of them deviate from the system, the program simply won’t work.

Highly extensible

Good frameworks break up each feature into independent parts which can be inserted and removed at a whim, this makes it easy for developers to expand the system through plug ins and modules.

Large community behind it

Mature frameworks usually have a large community of enthusiastic and passionate developers who are ready to answer and ask questions. This is invaluable for resolving bugs and addressing specific problems.

The disadvantages of frameworks

Increased overhead

The more files you include the more work the server has to do in order to run the system. Some frameworks can be pretty large and it’s not uncommon to see it using hundreds if not thousands of files.

Fortunately, most frameworks come with a caching system that dramatically reduces the impact on the server.

For most small to medium size sites frameworks typically do a good job at keeping a low footprint.

Large learning curve

Frameworks can take a long time to learn. Especially for those who are unfamiliar with object oriented programming. It can take from a few days to a few weeks to learn a framework enough to be considered competant.

The internals are hidden from the developer

Frameworks do such a good job at hiding the php behind the framework that it’s easy to bypass learning PHP completely. This can be detrimental if you’re trying to learn php so I wouldn’t advise you to start learning a framework until you already have a firm hand on php and have some knowledge of object oriented programming.

Less flexibility

Your options are reduced substantially when you start using a framework. With a framework you are usually limited to one or two ways of doing something. For example, you may be required to return data as an object instead of an array. This is actually a blessing in disguise. By limiting the way you work you start to create a sense of “sameness” across the system that makes it much easier to know what’s going on at a glance.

Build your own framework

For those who are new to object oriented programming or PHP frameworks I recommend you build your own. It will give you a clearer idea how frameworks and some of the things that you have to take into consideration, such as security, url parsing, file structure etc.

You will learn a lot and be better prepared to start working with some of the mature frameworks that are available on the web.

Download a framework

There are a lot of quality frameworks available on the web but I’ve chosen four of my favorites for your consideration.

CakePHP

This is one of the most popular frameworks and it encourages a rather strict implementation which is great for teams of web developers and beginners. If you’re just getting your feet wet and want to try out a powerful framework with a strong community then I would recommend this one.

http://www.cakephp.org

CodeIgnighter

This is my personal favorite, It is similar to CakePHP but is more flexbile, I based my own framework off of this one (with some of my own changes).

http://codeigniter.com/

Zend Framework

This is developed by the people behind PHP. It is very comprehensive and takes a different approach than PHP Igniter or CakePHP in that it provides the pieces for you to work with but you are responsible for getting them to work together.

http://framework.zend.com/

PEAR

PEAR is more of a repository than a framework but it’s worth adding to the list because all the code adheres to strict rules and can be integrated together.

http://pear.php.net/

What are your thoughts?

Do you use a framework? If so what do you use?

If you’ve used Wordpress then you are probably already very familiar with this plugin. I added this plug in to the list anyway however because it’s so useful at eliminating spam from your comments. And using a system like Wordpress as your blog will undoubtedly attract a lot of spammers. So make sure that this plug in is enabled and configured!

Download Askimet plug in
Home Page

WP Super Cache

WordPress can be quite resource hog, especially if your blog starts to become popular. I use this excellent plugin to lighten the load on the server. It essentially generates static html versions of your posts and saves them to the server and then returns those instead of querying the database and parsing text. This is a must have if you’re going to be displaying code or breaking up your posts into different pages.

Download WP Super Cache plug in
Home Page

Syntax Highlighter Evolved

Speaking of code, this plugin does an amazing job of displaying source code (perfect for programming tutorials). What’s different about this plug in is that it takes the task of parsing the text away from the server and onto the browser itself by using JavaScript instead of PHP. This results in a faster website with less overhead.

Download Syntax Highlighter Evolved plug in
Home Page

Multi-Page Toolkit

On occasion I’ll write an extremely long post. One that simply isn’t econimical to have on one page. Therefore I prefer to break it up into different sections. This makes it really easy to do this. All I need to do is write one line of code and it breaks my content into separate pages. It couldn’t really be any easier if it tried.

Download Multi-Page Toolkit plug in
Home Page

All in One SEO Pack

Wordpress does a decent job of choosing the right keywords and description for the meta tags but if you want more control then this plug in is perfect for you! It allows you to add whatever titile, meta description or keywords that you like, that way you can fine tune your search keywords and get the most out of your keywords.

Download All in One SEO Pack plug in
Home Page

Google XML Sitemaps

If you’re familiar with sitemaps you’ll know that they are a great way to keep google updated about the status of your site. Unfortunately, you typically need to update your XML sitemap and submit it to Google every time your site gets updated. This can be a real pain in the butt so the fine people at arnebrachhold.de have created this elegant solution. Every time you update or submit a new post it will notify Google of your changes and you don’t have to worry about it anymore!

Download Google XML Sitemaps plug in
Home Page

WP No Category Base

I don’t know about you but I don’t like how Wordpress organizes its posts by default. Plus when you want to view by category it adds the “category” word to the URL so it would something like http://www.bolducpress.com/category/design/. This plug in removes the category all together and makes your url look like this http://www.bolducpress.com/design/. Much better if you ask me!

Download WP No Category Base plug in
Home Page

Redirection

This handles any 301 redirects or 404 errors, it’s nice because it will create a log of your 404 errors, it has full regular expression support and doesn’t require .htaccess!

Download Redirection plug in
Home Page

The good people over at indiangeek.net have created a great table that describes every expectation for each level of competency. It ranges from beginner to expert and is a great way to help guide yourself if you’re not sure where to begin or where to go next.

There is so much that is involved in being a developer that goes beyond just programming. I like this because it acknowledges this and breaks everything down into five different categories.

Taking a look at this table I realized that I was very strong is some areas and very weak in others. How about you?

Check out the Programmer Competency Matrix!

Ok so this week I’m going to be a little self indulgent and write about the place where I work and the equipment that I use every day.

I don’t like to have too much stuff in my room

While I’m working I like to keep everything clean because if there is too much clutter it gets very hard for me to concentrate . That’s why I always clean a little bit every friday so that my office is ready for me on Monday.

I also don’t like to pack in too much stuff because that can also be distracting, I want everything to be conveniently located and easily accessible.

Choosing a good desk is important

Yes, that’s right. . I’m using a glass table for my computer. I bought it a few years ago at Office Depot, marked down from $100 to $80. The keyboard tray slides in and out which gives me a lot more room for my notebook and tablet.

My Aeron Chair is a dream come true

I had known about the Aeron chair ever since I wrote my article Tools of the Trade: Hardware. And ever since then I really wanted one. Unfortunately, the price tag was a bit more than I wanted to pay ($1,200 a pop) but I eventually found one on ebay for half off and quickly jumped on the deal. I’ve already noticed an improvement in my performance and I don’t feel as tired at the end of the day.

Dual monitors were one of the best investments I ever made

Dual monitors are probably one of the most effective ways to improve your performance for the least amount of money. I’m using a 22inch and a 19inch and I love them both.

Get a good keyboard that is comfortable

My brother bought this for me one Christmas. Before, I was using a crappy little dell keyboard that came with my first computer (which I bought more than 6 years ago). This keyboard has customizable buttons and a comfortable wrist pad which is easier on the hands.

I love my wireless mouse

I was getting fed up with my mouse chord constantly getting stuck in the keyboard tray so I bought this Logitech MX Revolution mouse ($60). I don’t have to worry about changing batteries and it’s ergonomically designed for my hand.

I use a tablet whenever I do design or illustrative work

The mouse just doesn’t cut it when I’m trying to draw or design an interface. The wacom tablet makes it much easier by harnessing your natural ability to use a stylus. In the picture below you’re looking at an Intuous 3, Wacom has since released an Intuous 4, which I really want.

Don’t underestimate the value of pen and paper

My notebook and pens are one of the most useful tools that I own. I constantly need to jot down ideas and organize my thoughts, I’m simply not smart enough to keep it all in my head.

I use a filing cabinet to organize and archive all my notes

I keep an archive of all my old notes tucked away neatly in this filing cabinet. Every once in a while I will go through and discard papers that I’ll never need again.

I use my iPod Touch to organize my tasks

It took me a long time to decide whether I should get an iPod Touch or not. Well, obviously I bought the device and I never had any doubts since. I also purchased a great task management app called “Things” for $10 which was worth every penney.

Every night, I back up everything onto my external hard drive.

I use this 500GB Western Digital external hard drive to store all my crucial files. It was about $100 at Circuit City about a year ago and it’s been working great since.

The printer that was

This printer right now has no ink in it, and I can’t even remember the last time it did. After I graduated college I no longer found the need to print papers (who would have thought?). No doubt, I will need to print something eventually and when I do I’ll pony up the $50 for more ink.

note: I didn’t intentionally make this photo grainy, it kind of just showed up like that and I ran with it.

Books, books and more books

I love to read books and articles about web design, I can’t get enough, it’s turned into a real problem. . .

What do you use?

What kind of equipment do you use on a daily basis?

When you go with a hosting solution you have two options, either dedicated or shared hosting.

Shared Hosting

Shared hosting means that more than one domain is being hosted per server. This allows the service to be cheaper but you will also suffer a performance hit because it’s takes more processing power and memory to handle the traffic from multiple sites.
Plans cost from $50 to $200 a year so if you’re just starting out and you don’t expect to have a lot of traffic right away then this is the ideal solution for you.

Dedicated Hosting

In dedicated hosting, your hosting provider will dedicate an entire server to your website. This is the most effective way to handle large volumes of traffic. However, it’s also the most expensive, with typical plans being hundreds of dollars a month.
This would be a good option if you are part of a larger organization and a majority of your business will be conducted online.

Up-time

Most hosts promise 99% up-time, but you have to take this with a grain of salt because technology isn’t perfect, it gets old and needs repairs or replacing. Check online and see what people are saying, if you find a lot of complaints about their reliability then you might want to reconsider that host.

Also, not all servers are the same. A few years ago my website would keep on going down at least once or twice a week. I called up the host and it turns out that that server was being repaired. I asked them to move it to another server, which they promptly did and I haven’t had a problem since. So if the host typically has high praise then ask them about the technology their using.

Good Customer Support

Make sure they have great customer support! If you can, make sure they speak your native language with little or no accent. The accent gets even worse over the phone, and in a business environment, communication is crucial.

This is an easy one to try too. Before you buy their hosting service, give them a call and ask a question about their service. This will give you a good idea of how they handle customers.

The Control Panel

There are a lot of things you are are going to want to do with your host. Such as ad email addresses, change passwords, look up system configurations etc. You shouldn’t have to call up customer support to do these common tasks. So make sure that they have a powerful control panel that makes it easy for you.

cPanel Pro is a popular control panel today. If your host uses this software then you will have a lot of control.

Price

Be wary of hosts who offer prices that seem to be too good to be true, because more often than not. . . they are.

You should expect to pay at least $50 a year for a limited package and around $100 a year for a typical package.

Also keep an eye out for hosts who charge much more than that. If they charge $300 to $400 a year for shared hosting they should have a good reason. Perhaps it’s limited sharing and they don’t put a lot of sites on their servers or they will do the setup and other kinds of technical support.

Hosting Capabilities

What kind of features do you need for your website? If you need a database make sure that the host offers one. A lot of the cheaper hosts won’t support MySQL, or they will only support one and you have to pay for more.

Here are some of the features you should look for.

• FTP Support
• Apache
• E-Mail accounts
• Mailing Lists
• Subdomains
• Parked and Addon Domains
• PHP Support
• MySQL Databases
• PHPMyAdmin
• Perl
• Ruby on Rails
• Python
• Traffic Statistics
• Account Management

Look up reviews

If you’re still not sure about a particular host, then do a search on the web for reviews. Every website has to be hosted somewhere so there are a lot of people with opinions about hosts. Just do a simple google search and you will find plenty of information about the host.

cnet offers great reviews about hosts and presents them in a neat table for comparison.

Further Reading

• Choosing a hosting company
• CNET Web Hosting Reviews
• CPanel Home Page

Use a statistics package to see which browsers are used most on your site.

Use a statistics package such as Google Analytics to get an idea of which browsers your audience is using. This information provides a broader context on how your website is being used. So for example, if your website breaks in IE6 but that’s only 1% of you audience then it’s not the end of the world.

Since this is a web design blog, it's not surprising that most of my visitors use Firefox.

The most popular browsers

If you don’t have access to a statistics package then you should prioritize your testing as follows.

• Internet Explorer 6
• Internet Explorer 7
• Internet Explorer 8
• Firefox 3.5
• Chrome
• Safari
• Opera

This isn’t as hard as it may look because if you build your website in Firefox it will probably work in Safari, Chrome, Opera and Internet Explorer 8. The ones you want to pay extra attention to are IE7 and especially IE6.

There are several ways you can test multiple browsers.

Use two PCs and one Mac

This is the most thorough and reliable way to test your websites. If you’re working with a team then this is even more useful.

Here is how you might configure your computers.

On PC A

• Windows XP
• Internet Explorer 6
• Firefox 3.5
• Safari

On PC B

• Windows Vista
• Internet Explorer 8 (Comes with IE7 mode)
• Firefox 3.5
• Chrome
• Safari
• Opera

On Mac

• Safari
• Firefox

Dual Boot

If you’re a freelancer, one way around purchasing two PCs is to dual boot your pc. Install Windows XP on one partition and then install Windows Vista on another. Then boot up a partition as you need.

There are ways to install Mac OS on a PC but it’s a lot of work, and frankly, a bit risky. If you’re up for the challenge then by all means go for it. But if you’d rather go the safe route then I’d suggest you just buy the mac.

Use Emulators

There are emulators out there that will help you run different browsers (specificially IE6) on computers that already have IE7 or IE8 installed.

Emulators have a few drawbacks however, they are notoriously slow and there is no guarantee that they will run exaclty like a fresh install of the real software.

I’ve only been able to get the emulators to work on Windows XP but there might be some solutions out there for Windows Vista.

Use an online service

There are some free and paid services that will take screen shots of your website in an array of different browsers. There are advantages and disadvantages to this, the one major one being that you can’t test the browser in real time. On the other hand, it’s a good quick way to see if there are any obvious flaws that should be addressed.

• Browsershots – A free service though it takes about half an hour for it to capture and upload the photos.
• BrowserCam – This is a paid service. I’ve never used it but I’ve heard good things.

Adobe BrowserLab

Adobe will soon release a very promising service called BrowserLab. It lets you load your website into multiple browsers at the same time. On top of that it lets you look at them side by side. It’s a closed Beta right now and when it’s released it will be a paid service. So it will be interesting to see what develops.

Further Reading

Effectively Testing Your Browser on Multiple Browsers

How to Check Your Website with Multiple Browsers on a Single Machine

Adobe BrowserLab

Free PC / Intel i86 Emulators, Virtualizers and Virtual Machines

How to dual-boot Vista with XP (with XP installed first)

Which one should I use?

Use FckEditor when. . .

You’re looking for something that works and you’re not interested in clean source code or using some of the advanced features.

Use TinyMCE when. . .

You’re interested in clean source code, plugin and theme development and you want a more streamlined experience.

I prefer TinyMCE

As a developer I use TinyMCE because it has great documentation and the learning curve isn’t as steep as FckEditor.

The only advantage that FckEditor has over TinyMCE is the Image/File uploader and the Installation Connectors. However, I was able to solve these problems by finding a great Image uploader plugin and creating my own installation connector.

Image uploader for TinyMCE

Image Manager – After testing nearly a dozen different plugins this is easily the best image upload plugin that I’ve found. (Though the original is in Russian they have an English version.)

My PHP Installation Connector

TinyMCE PHP Installation Connector – This makes it easy to setup TinyMCE using PHP. (There are setup instructions in the source code).

CKEditor is looking very promising

The latest version of FckEditor, now called CKEditor, is looking very promising. It’s already faster than FckEditor and seems more stable.

However, I took a peak at the source code and it was a bit more complex than I would have liked.

It’s still early though so we’ll see what develops.

What are you thoughts?

Do you have any plugins that you recommend? Do you prefer TinyMCE or FckEditor? Please share any thoughts in my comments!

Further Reading

FckEditor vs. TinyMCE

If you’re a designer then a Wacom Tablet is a must! A tablet helps you escape the technical details of using a mouse by harnessing your natural ability to use a stylus. Your mind makes a switch that helps get the creative juices flowing.

I use a 6x8 inch Intuous 3. I find anything larger than that takes up too much space.

Dual Monitors

This was one of the best investments I ever made. By putting my code in one monitor and Firefox in the other I literally increase my production by 50%.

Dual monitors also helps me keep my train of thought. I can’t tell you how many times I was switching programs and forgot what I was going to do.

External Hard Drive

You’ve got to save your precious work some where! I like to have a external hard drive where I can store all my critical files, work or any other miscellaneous files.

I would recommend getting at least 500 gigabytes or if you can afford it, a terabyte.

I own a Western Digital 500GB My Book, it only cost me $100 at Circuit City (when they were still around) and it was worth every penny.

A good keyboard and mouse

Oh man this is a big one. You’ve got to get the best keyboard and mouse that you can. Now this doesn’t mean you need to spend $300+ but it does mean you need to find the one that’s right for you. I’m a big fan of Logitech so I own a Logitech Wave keyboard ($50) and a Logitech MX Revolution mouse ($100). They both have great features that makes my work easier and more fun. For example, my keyboard has customizable buttons that makes it a snap for me to open Eclipse and Firefox.

A good chair

If you do this job you’re going to be sitting down a lot! Get a good chair! It will save you a lot of back ache and will speed up productivity. The saying is, “your chair should be the best seat in the house.” and it’s true.

Some good chairs to check out are the Aeron Chairs by Herman Miller, and the Leap Chair by Steelcase. The Chairs can run you around $800 but the good is news that expense will quickly pay for itself with the increase in productivity.

A good desk

For a long time I had my computer set up on an old table that was bought for $5 and refinished. It was OK but my productivity really suffered because I didn’t have a lot of space for writing and I had NO space for an extra monitor. So eventually I decided to buy an actual computer desk and I’m so glad I did. It gives me space for my 22 and 19 inch monitors and also saves space for my Wacom tablet and notebook (which I always have on my desk.)

The fact of the matter is, if you’re going to do this professionally then you HAVE to own a good desk. You don’t have to spend a lot of money either, I bought a Malibu Glass computer desk for $80.

A computer

If you’re reading this you probably already have one, but is it really the computer that you need? Granted it doesn’t have to be a high powered work station, but it should still be pretty beefy.

For example my computer has the following specs:

• Processor: 2.13 GHz, Intel Core 2 Duo
• RAM: 4 GB Kingston RAM
• Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce 8800GT

Expect to spend at least $800 on the core components (Tower, Motherboard, Processor, etc) and if you can, build it yourself.

Lots of RAM

Get as much RAM as you can afford! I’ve got 4 gigs and that’s barely enough. If you are not familiar with it, RAM makes it easier for you to run multiple applications at once.

For example, I’m frequently running Windows Vista, Adobe Photoshop, Eclipse, Itunes, CuteFTP, Firefox (with 10+ tabs open), Trillian (IM program) and WAMP. RAM let’s me do all of this with ease.

RAM prices vary dramatically, when I bought my first gigabyte it was $130 per chip. Now (nearly two years later) it’s $25 per chip. You don’t have to get the best RAM, find some that go with your motherboard and are within your price range.

A Microphone

I have a headset which I like because I don’t have to lean forward or worry about my juxtaposition with the microphone. However, it really depends on personal preference. Fortunately you can get these cheap. I bought my headset for $20 four years ago at Best Buy and it’s still going strong.

Paper, Pencil and a Three Ring Binder

Believe it or not, this is one of your most useful tools. I always have paper and a pencil on hand to jot down notes and ideas. Frequently, I’ll have an idea that I can’t work on immediately, so I write it down and come back to it later.

It’s great for clients

It’s also a great thing to have when you’re having a meeting with a client. If you meet face to face and you pull out your notebook it communicates all the right things.

It’s great for solving problems

I can’t tell you how many times I was trying to figure out a way to do something but I just couldn’t wrap my head around it. As soon as I took out my notebook and started writing it out it became clear and I was able to get back to work.

If you’re not going to get anything else, get this! It will cost you maybe $5 so there isn’t any excuse.

Related Posts

Tools of the Trade: Software

Below I’ve listed what I consider to be the most essential software that every web developer (or designer) should own. This is an open discussion though so please feel free to submit your own suggestions below.

Pure Text Editor

Every web developer MUST own a pure text editor, there’s no choice. Personally, I prefer Eclipse, it’s a free, open-source, pure text editor that is powerful but not bloated. It’s based on the Java platform which I was reluctant to install, but I tried it anyway and I’m happy I did!

Notice that I didn’t mention Dreamweaver? The reason for this is that I simply don’t use it. You don’t have to own those expensive programs to do good work. Most of the people I know who do coding don’t use those programs either. Just something to keep in mind.

Eclipse comes in multiple flavors.

Get the PHP Version

Image Manipulation Software

This is a no-brainer, if you’re doing web design or development and you don’t have a copy of Photoshop or any other equivalent program you have to get one. I love Photoshop but that can get pretty expensive, new versions are around $700.

If you can’t afford Photoshop there are also free alternatives, most notably Gimp. It’s a free open source application that has a lot of the same capabilities.

Acrobat

Another program by Adobe. I use this when I send my client invoices and proposals. Nothing communicates professionalism better than a fresh PDF document in your email. It also protects your documents so that clients (or anyone else) can’t modify the contents of an invoice or proposal.

If you can’t afford it there are other applications that will write to PDFs but I’ve found owning the program just makes it much easier.

FTP Client

Every web developer needs an FTP client. If you’re looking for a free version I highly recommend FileZilla however if you’re willing to spend a little bit of money then I would suggest you try CuteFTP, It’s got an easy interface and makes it a breeze to manage your files.

Web Browser

You should have an array of browsers at your disposal.

“What browser should I use while doing web development?” I get this question a lot and I always say the same thing. . . “It’s up to you.”

Personally, I work in FireFox and then debug it in all standards compliant browsers. When that works then I debug it in non-standards compliant browsers, especially Internet Explorer 7.0 and Internet Explorer 6.0.

Every developer should have at least the following browsers installed.

• Firefox
• Opera
• Safari
• Chrome
• Internet Explorer 8
• Internet Explorer 6 (installed on a separate machine)

Regex Buddy

Regex Buddy is a little known program but it is a gem. If any of you have worked with Regular Expressions then you know how much a pain in the butt they can be. This program actually makes developing Regular Expressions fun. It has a debugger, and an analyzing agent that breaks down the expression into its individual parts. It’s a must have if you’re trying to parse text.

Communication Software

We’ve got to be able to communicate with clients in real time! E-Mails work great but after 100+ e-mails it can turn into a nightmare to keep them all straight. I highly recommend Skype, it’s an online client that let’s you talk over the “telephone” through the internet. The benefits of this are substantial, for example, I have a client in New Zealand and talking over the phone would simply be too expensive. This is a welcome solution.

You can also use An instant messenger program if you don’t have a microphone or don’t like skype. There are the famous ones, AOL Instant Messenger (AIM), MSN Messenger etc but I love Trillian, it lets me have all my accounts in one tidy little program and saves all my sessions in a history so that I can refer back to it when I need.

Zip/Un-Zip Software

You’re going to need to be able to distribute your files quickly and cleanly to clients therefore a WinZip or WinRAR application will be crucial. I like to use WinRAR because I find it easier but either one will work.

Financial Management Software

You’ve got to manage your money some how! It’s easy to lose track of how much you’ve made after you start collecting paychecks and handing out invoices. I prefer Quicken because I’m not a big fan of Microsoft but Microsoft Money is a good program as well, in this case it comes down to personal preference.

Conclusion

I hope this was informative and helpful. If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to post it below or contact me directly.

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