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Take a peek inside our tool box.
It's the start of a new year and so that's a pretty good time to talk to newbies who are just starting out in this industry about the tools that they will need. Of course, everyone who comes into this industry thinks that all they need is a HTML editor but that really is only the start of the tools that you will need if you want to succeed here.

Over the years Steve and I have collected quite a range of handy tools that we regularly use in our day to day work. Some are quite well-known while other, very useful tools, hardly rate a mention anywhere but we would not be where we are today without them.

HTML editors
Let's start off with the very basics and there is no more basic tool in this industry than a HTML editor. Of course, we would recommend that you learn the fundamentals of coding by hand before you move on to an editor but few people listen to that advice anymore so we'll skip that bit - but if you're serious about succeeding then do learn the fundamentals of coding with Notepad.

These days we use Dreamweaver for just about everything but it's an expensive piece of software and if you're just starting out you will want something that is more likely to fit a modest budget.

A few years ago we always recommended that newbies avoid FrontPage but a lot of the problems that program had back then have been dealt with and today it's quite possible to turn out quality pages with FrontPage. On top of that you really can't beat the price.

If you would prefer not to use a Microsoft product then a trip to downloads.com will turn up any number of cheap HTML editors and if you come across one called Arachnid then be sure to check it out. We used it quite often a few years ago but it doesn't seem to be available any longer.

Graphics
If a good HTML editor is the basic tool for Webmasters then the very next tool you will need is a good image manipulation program. It's amazing just how many webmasters still force the size of their images using HTML. You can always tell when someone does that because the images are blurred and thumbnails look dreadful and it sends the wrong message to the people you are trying to sell your product too.

So you need to reduce the physical size and the file size of your images before you call them up on your web pages. To do that you need some good software and the best is Photoshop but, once again, it's very expensive. For those on a tight budget there is nothing better than Ifranview. It's free, it's easy to use and you can find it by doing a search for it in Google.

Super JPG is also an ideal for working with images and it's another freebie. Unfortunately the business that produced Super JPG has faded away but there are still a few places left on the Net where you can download it.

Other programs
Sooner or later you're going to need to take a screenshot. Of course, you can always print screen but there is a neat little freebie that allows you to choose the exact spot on the screen you want to grab before you actually grab it. MWSnap is really simple to use and you can find it at mirekw.com.

Sometimes you will need to know the code for a particular color that you might see on a website or even in an image and there is a tool that lets you instantly identify that color without the need to view source or use some graphic software. The tool is called Pixie and you can find it at nattyware.com - and it's free.

Sooner or later you will realize that filling in all those submission forms by hand is a total pain in the ass. About the same time you will also learn that the people who require you to fill in those forms when you're submitting a site do not like the idea of you using an automatic submitter. The answer to that is either Roboform or Typeitin. I use Roboform and Steve uses Typeitin so I guess which one you use comes down to a personal choice.

Firefox is also a very valuable tool. Yes, I know it's a browser and I know that most people that we will be selling to use Internet Explorer but if you don't have Firefox in your toolbox you really are missing out. Personally I don't like using Firefox but that browser has so many wonderful extensions that can help you in so many different ways that you'd be crazy not to use it.

The Google Toolbar is very handy too. Make sure that you have the PageRank option enabled along with the page information and highlighting tool too. Google Alerts is another handy tool to use; it can keep you up to date on happenings within the industry, within your local area or any other area of interest and the information is delivered right to your inbox.

So there are a few tools that you will find useful as you develop your online business. We have many other tools in our toolbox but those ones I've mentioned above are the basics that you will need to really get started.