Sunday, November 23, 2008

Web Design Toolbox: 130+ New Tools to Make You a Better and Faster Designer



 
 

Sent to you by Hemi via Google Reader:

 
 

via Mashable! by Cameron Chapman on 11/5/08

Last year we did a post on 50+ tools for Web design. A lot has changed in the past year, and there are tons of new tools available to designers. Whether you're just starting out and need a drag-and-drop builder or you've been coding for years and need tools to help you be more efficient, there's something on this list for you. Here are over 130 tools to make you a better and faster designer. Feel free to add more in the comments.

Beginner Resources

YAML Builder - Easy to use YAML (Yet Another Multicolumn Layout) XHTML/CSS site layout builder.

Sky CSS Tool - JavaScript CSS authoring app.

The Box Office - CSS formatting tool for wrapping text around images.

CSSTXT - Online CSS text style generator.

izzyMenu.com - Free CSS menu builder.

pForm - HTML form builder.

Roxer - Drag and drop website creator.

Wirenode - Create your own mobile websites.

doodlekit - Online website builder and CMS that includes a form builder, PayPal shopping cart, interchangeable layouts & graphics, and a built in stock photo/image repository. Has both paid and free plans.

dotemplate - Template site that allows you to customize templates before downloading them.

templatr - Online tool for creating website templates.

Agency of Record - A website design and hosting platform for creative professionals.

Typechart - Browse different typefaces and styles and grab the CSS of the ones you want.

CSS Type Set - Create custom CSS type styles with this tool.

CSSType - Experiment with Web safe typography and then get the CSS for it.

CSS Builder - Generate stylesheets on the fly and then copy the code for your site.

Firdamatic - A free tool to create tableless 2- or 3-column blog designs.

PsycHo - A blog template creator.

folionow - Easily and affordably create websites for yourself or others.

CSStxt - Create custom CSS text styles.

Viviti - Easy to use website builder.

ComfyPage - Easy to use, free website builder that lets you customize a template and add as many pages as you want.

LetsEat.at - Free website builder and hosting for restaurants that includes customizable menus, daily specials, printable coupons, and more.

webon - Free, ad-free website builder that lets you have a blog, photo album, video gallery and more.

infogami - Create a website with one-click editing, customizable templates, and more.

edicy - Create a website and publish it on your own domain.

Jimdo - Create your own website with as many pages as you want and integrate images, video and more.

Webnode - Create a personal or business website for free with drag and drop technology, tagging, and free hosting.


iompi - E-commerce website builder.

easysite.com - Website creator that includes photos, videos, blogs, and includes free telephone support.

myfamily.com - Free family website creator with unlimited storage space.

MomentVille - Free wedding website builder.

SeeYouThen! - A wedding website creator that includes a high-res photo exchange, private messaging, guest profiles, and more.

GoHoster - Another free website builder that includes a subdomain.

BlinkWeb - Free website builder with drag and drop functionality and e-commerce options.

Macrocasa - Website builder for the real estate industry that includes an agent messaging system and client management features.

Pixie - A free, open-source website creator that includes an intuitive interface and easy installation.

Squarespace - A powerful website creator that includes XHTML validation, WYSIWYG editing, a blogging platform and more.

NicEdit - Cross-platform content editor that lets you edit the content of your website right in your browser.

WordPress Theme Generator - Create your own completely custom WordPress theme with this online tool.

Resources for More Advanced Users and Professionals

CSS Superdouche - Strip unneeded content and redundant calls from your CSS, reducing its size and complexity.

Code Beautifier - Format and optimize your CSS code.

CSSFly - In-browser editing of (X)HTML and CSS.

CSS Drive CSS Compressor - Decrease your CSS file size and loading speed with this tool.

Clean CSS - Another CSS optimization tool for reducing your CSS file size.

EM Calculator - Converts your pixel-based sizes to em units for more scalable and accessible CSS design.

CSS Redundancy Checker - Eliminate unused CSS selectors automatically as well as check for redundancy in your CSS files.

GrayBit - Accessibility testing tool that displays a full-color Web page in grayscale.

ProtoShare - Create a clickable website prototype and get feedback, ideas and suggestions from your team members.

Most Sliced - A directory of image slicing services that includes reviews and ratings from users.

Inserit - A code-free CMS for Web designers.

LightCMS - A CMS for Web designers that lets you create websites your clients can manage themselves.

clickbooq - A website creation and portfolio management tool.

jumpchart - Website planning app that lets you export clean CSS/XHTML.

inblogit - A blogging tool for Web designers that can be integrated into any website design.

Reflect - A website platform and hosting service for Web designers that lets them and their clients create and manage websites.

Carbonmade - An online portfolio site for designers with free and paid plans.

ThemesPress - Automatically convert your template files into WordPress themes.


Feng GUI - Generates heatmaps for your website by simulating human vision during the first five seconds of viewing your website.

Text Generator - Generates lorem ipsum-like text.

webvanta - Free business website builder and hosting aimed at providing design professionals a quicker way to build websites.

Tuplix - Easy to use website authoring tool that works for new or existing websites.

FolioSnap - Website portfolio builder for creative professionals.

Frontfriend - CMS for designers that lets them build forms and templates and then lets their clients fill in their own information.

Graphics, Page Elements and Design Tools

ScrnShots - Host, share and tag your screenshots.

flickrSLiDR - Create and embed a flickr slideshow on your website or blog.

websnapr 2.0 - Online tool for capturing thumbnail of websites.

StyleIgnite - Design snippets (CSS, HTML, and more) for contact forms, layouts, and more that you can use on your sites.

BgPatterns - Background pattern creation tool with live preview.

The Effect Generator - Create animated slideshows, buttons, and more with this tool.

The Color Wizard - Submit a color and this tool will bring back matching colors.

ColorJack - A color scheme gallery that also explores color theory.

My cool button - Web 2.0 button creator.

[ws] Color Scheme Generator 2 - An easy to use color scheme creator.

Cornershop - Get the CSS and images to put rounded corners on your website.

CSSround - Another tool to create rounded corners on your website.

Color Hunter - A color palette creation tool that lets you pull color palettes from images.

Web Graphics Maker - A free tool to create backgrounds, lines and bullets for your website.

As Button Generator - Free Web button creator.

Picreflect - A free tool to create reflections for your photos.

Bradicon! - Create icons from any image.

TabCreatr - Create CSS tabbed navigation for your site.

List-u-Like CSS Generator - A tool to create list-based navigation bars.

text2PNG.com - Convert text headers and navigation to PNG files.

IconsPedia - Free, huge collection of icons.

Genfavicon - A free favicon generator.

QuickRibbon.com - Create custom ribbons with or without links for your site.

Glassy Buttons - Create custom glassy style buttons.

Website Ribbon Generator - Create free ribbons for your site with or without hyperlinks.

4096 Color Wheel - A color scheme generator that shows you Web-safe, Web-smart and unsafe colors.

Web 2.0 Free Logo Generator - Create your own custom Web 2.0 logo.

colordb - Another color palette generator, though this one is much more in depth than most.

colorcombos.com - A huge library of color combinations.

ColorToy 2.0 - A Flash-based color palette generator.

Accessibility Color Wheel - Check the readability of your background and text color combinations. This tool will tell you if there is enough contrast between the two.

Artypapers Buttons - Customize buttons and collect them on your website.

freshbadge - Create Web 2.0 badges for your site.

Favicon Generator Tool - Free favicon creator from Dagon Design.

Favicon Generator - Another free favicon generator.

favicon maker v1 - A free, basic favicon creator that lets you create a favicon from scratch or an existing image.

Stripe Designer - Create background stripes for your website.

Favicon Tool - A free and easy to use favicon generator.

Favicon Generator & Gallery - Create your own favicon or browse those created by others.

Web Script Lab Favicon Generator - Another free favicon generator.

Ajax Loading GIF Generator - Easy to use loading gif generator.

Loader Generator - A tool to create loading spinners.

Gradient Image Maker - A free tool to create image gradients.

Rainmaker - Tag cloud creator.

favicon.cc - Another free favicon creator.

FavIcon from Pics - Create a favicon from an image.

TagCrowd - A free tag cloud creator.

ConvertIcon - Converts ICO to PNG and vice versa.

My Timelines - Create AJAX timelines for your blog or website.

Cymbolism - A color tool that includes information on what emotions and words are associated with different colors.

Color Palette Generator - A tool that creates a color palette based on an image you upload.

Wordle - Create word or tag clouds from any text.

Screedbot - Create animated scrolling text.

Badged.net - Create badges and add them to your website.

Form Style Generator - Create your own CSS-styled Web forms.

reflectionmaker.com - Creates image reflections.

blogsticker - A social sticker directory.

Instant Eyedropper - Grab the color code of any color on the Web with a single mouse click.

Inspiration, Collaboration and Other Resources

FullSingle - A gallery of really awesome single-page websites.

We Love WP - A showcase of WordPress powered websites (not just blogs).

One Page Love - Another showcase of great one-page websites.

Screenalicio.us - A Web design gallery with more than 10,000 screenshots.

CSS Mania - A gallery of almost 12,000 CSS website designs.

The Best Designs - A huge showcase of Web designs and designers.

Pattern Tap - Design gallery of different website elements (headers, 404 pages, and the like).

eduStyle - A Web design gallery specifically featuring academic websites.

finalcrit.com - Free portfolio site for designers.

Should Redesign? - Get feedback on whether or not a redesign is needed for your site.

Designflavr - Design galleries for all sorts of artwork, including Flash and CSS websites.

View - Showcase of website that can be sorted by color or other criteria.

InspirationKing - A searchable gallery of websites for inspiration.

DesignerSource - A website design gallery that is browsable by topic or color.

BestWebGallery - Tagged website design showcase.

StyleVault - Another Web design gallery that lets you rate designs.

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Related Articles at Mashable | All That's New on the Web:

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10 Most Beautiful Social Networks
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FormSpring Releases Version 2.0
Tube Toolbox Automates YouTube Features


 
 

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