Top 5(ish) Geeky tools for a web developer

Lists of useful items seems to be a long running trend on blog posts and here at GeekyCreative we thought it was about time that we threw our two penneth in.

So, we compiled a list of out top 5(ish) FREE tools for all you Geeky web developers out there. Hopefully our next blog will we the top 5(ish) Creative tools for budding designers.

Without an further to do and in no particular order:

jQuery (http://jquery.com/)

They say - jQuery is a fast and concise JavaScript Library that simplifies HTML document traversing, event handling, animating, and Ajax interactions for rapid web development. jQuery is designed to change the way that you write JavaScript.

We say - Wow. There isn't much that you can't do with jQuery... animation, AJAX, client side validation, advanced CSS... the list goes on. Quite simply we love it.

Web Developer Toolbar (http://chrispederick.com/work/web-developer/)

They say - The Web Developer extension adds a menu and a toolbar to the browser with various web developer tools. It is designed for Firefox, Flock and Seamonkey, and will run on any platform that these browsers support including Windows, Mac OS X and Linux.

We say - Here at GeekyCreative we run this extension in Firefox and find it simply unbelievable! Nothing comes close to matching the functionality here. Highlight image paths, outline CSS elements, advanced source view, window resizing and much much more. An old tool but one of our most valuable.

Firebug (http://getfirebug.com/)

They say -

• Inspect HTML and modify style and layout in real-time
• Use the most advanced JavaScript debugger available for any browser
• Accurately analyze network usage and performance
• Extend Firebug and add features to make Firebug even more powerful
• Get the information you need to get it done with Firebug.

We say - If you aren't already using this then why not? We couldn't get by without this little gem. Just for it's AJAX debugging function alone it should be a mainstay of every developers toolkit.

Keepass (http://keepass.info/)

They say - KeePass is a free open source password manager, which helps you to manage your passwords in a secure way. You can put all your passwords in one database, which is locked with one master key or a key file. So you only have to remember one single master password or select the key file to unlock the whole database.

We say - If you have half as many usernames and passwords as us then you need Keepass. We would be in a right mess without it.

Visual Studio Express (http://www.microsoft.com/express/)

They say - Microsoft Visual Studio Express and SQL Server Express are free tools that empower you to quickly get started learning and building Web, Windows, and Database applications.

We say - This one might be a touch controversial, but here at GeekyCreative we are C# .net developers and too date we have found nothing better than Visual Studio for putting together .net websites.

Google Analytics (http://www.google.com/intl/en_uk/analytics/index.html)

They say - Google Analytics is the enterprise-class web analytics solution that gives you rich insights into your website traffic and marketing effectiveness. Powerful, flexible and easy-to-use features now let you see and analyze your traffic data in an entirely new way. With Google Analytics, you're more prepared to write better-targeted ads, strengthen your marketing initiatives and create higher converting websites.

We say - Web site tracking doesn't get better than this. Stunning functionality that, if you combine with AdWords, keeps track of ALL the activity to and from your website. This tool has so much functionality we are still getting to grips with some of the features despite having it installed in over 100 developments.

And there you have it... our top 5(ish) tools for Geeky website developers. We could of added more and I am sure you people out there will disagree with some of our choices, but, it's only our opinion. We use these tools every day and simply could not see ourselves doing this job without them.