The Only Five Web Development Tools You Need

I use a lot of different software in my job, but there are five software tools in particular that I can do nearly all of my Web development with. The best part is they are allcompletely free applications. You can download and install everything you need to be up and coding in under 30 minutes.

We all use different languages and technologies, but most of these tools are useful for any developer.  I do server-side development in PHP/MySQL, design & markup with XHTML/HTML/CSS, client-side scripting in JavaScript, with some XML/JSON and other miscellaneous items thrown in - pretty similar to what most Web developers out there are using.

Here’s the basic Web developer’s software arsenal that I rely on to get up and running in a short time, pretty much anywhere. These are all completely free apps!

Thanks to Sean for courteously noting that HTML-Kit and PuTTY are for Windows only.

1. Code Editor: HTML-Kit (free version)
2. FTP Client: Filezilla
3. SSH Client: PuTTY
4. Browser: Firefox + Web developer toolbar
5. Graphics: GIMP

I often find myself just using HTML-Kit editor instead of (the much more expensive) Zend IDE. Set up your FTP servers in the explorer sidebar and manage code on hundreds of sites in one place.

Photoshop is actually my default graphics editor, and it’s been a while since I used good old GIMP. However if Photoshop isn’t available, GIMP is a graphics powerhouse when you get used to the interface.

I’d love to know what tools are in your standard arsenal!