10 tools to help you develop a better blog

10 tools to help you develop a better blog

To blog (or to do anything else for that matter) requires tools. Today I want to list some of the tools I use in helping me develop and maintain my blog. In no particular order, here it is:

Windows Live Writer. In addition to doing what other blog editors are doing, WLW let you preview your post (I mean really show you what it would look like when posted). Its image handling ability is above average in my opinion.
Photobucket. Well, it’s a bucket full of photos. Upload images, and use them in your blog. Good free stuff.

Firebug. Firebug is an add-on for Firefox. Point the mouse to any place in a webpage, Firebug will show you the codes that go with it. You can then change the code and instantly view the effect. A great debugging and learning tool.

Web Developer. Another Firefox add-on for web development. Web Developer will overwhelm you with functions. But for now I only use it for CSS editing. You can save the changes midway, comeback, reload the changes and continue.

w3schools. This is a website, but I consider it a tool too. This is the place you go if you want to learn about HTML and CSS (or any else related to web building). The aspect that I like most here is the ability to try out the code and view the effect instantly, in the same screen.

Code syntax highlighter. Web browsers are smart, you put in codes, they translate them into pictures and display on the monitor. But, but…what if all you want is to just display the codes. Then this is the tool you use. After much searching, I found the one I like. I will write a post on this soon.
 
Color Picker. Found a color you like, but don’t know the hex code for it? Then use this tool. Just click the color and it copies the hex code for you. You can then paste the hex code wherever you want.
 
CoLT. CoLT (COpy Link Text) lets you copy a link easily. It has 3 options -copy only the anchor text, only the link or copy both text and link (in HTML link or text form).
 
Statcounter. A web tracker, providing real-time statistics of your blog’s traffic. I prefer Statcounter to other web trackers because it handles multiple sites with just one account.
 
Google Search. Hmm.…Google, and thou shall find. Enough said.

What tools do you use? Feel free to share them in comments below.