Some Free Tools to Speed up Web Development

photo via flickr (credit)

It won’t give you 100% freedom to design anything you like, but it can speed up your design process greatly and free up your hands to do the coding you really want.

Suggestions:

Best CSS Color-wheel Samples

photo via flickr (credit)

Most popular:

Adobe Kuler is widely considered to be the best color palette selector out there, as it also lets you share color palettes other users have created. Sign in, click create, and you’ll have options including “complementary” that give you a good starting point if you have one color in mind.

Others in alphabetical order:

Free Online Books, Tools, Software on CSS

A variety of online books on CSS throng the canvas of free download websites, and assists readers to gain more knowledge on CSS basics.

Following is a list of free CSS books:

  1. JustSTyle CSS Editor 1.1 – This book describes a list of tools required for creating and editing Cascade Style Sheets. Written entirely in Java(TM) with a Swing GUI, JustSTyle works on different platforms, such as OS/2, Linux, Mac OS, Windows and others.
  2. CSS Tab Designer 2.0.0 – this is unique and easy to use software that helps you to design CSS-based lists and tabs visually and without any special requirement of programming language.
  3. AdrianSoft Ebook Builder Standard Edition 2.4 – This free e-book introduces AdrianSoft eBook Builder that further creates professional e-book, e-presentation, e-brochure, photo album, offline websites and many more
  4. Rapid CSS Editor 2006 7.3 – this free book allows quick reading, teaches you easy creation and smooth editing of cascading style sheets of any complexity. You can write your own style sheets and HTML code manually or let the program conduct it for you. In each of these cases, it is easy because of various helpful features like Inspector and Auto Complete.
  5. StyleSpread 2.3 – This free e-book is no-compromise CSS editor powered to make professionals work faster and smoother. This book guarantees you a substantial productivity increase, regardless of what CSS editing tools, that you are using currently.
  6. Appointment Book 2.1.1 – This is a free appointment book software with SMS Messenger.
  7. Style Studio 3.0 – a free book on powerful HTML/CSS Editot with full support to W3C CSS standards, validator, IntelliSense, smart preview, many wizards, CSS indent, CSS link/@import. 200+options, instant syntax coloring and MS Office 2000/XP UI!
  8. Cascading Style Sheets by Example by Steve Callihan -Aimed at the beginner to intermediate style sheet writer, this book assists to teach CSS from the ground level. The reader is taught as to what are style sheets and how to use them effectively? It also teaches you other CSS specifications through reference information and a horde of CSS articles/tutorials.
  9. Cascading Stylesheet 2 by Eric Meyer – this book explains the basic concepts of cascading style sheets before examining some of the highly powerful techniques available to the web developer. This book helps you to understand style sheets so that you can impart a quick and consistent look, so very essential for “branding” a site. Apart from this, the book also covers how to set up style sheets for printing and audio browsers. This book is highly effective as it allows you to understand what your targeted audience wants to do with your style sheets.

If you are looking for a good CSS book, the above-mentioned books are simply great as it help you learn all the CSS details and intricacies.

Best online CSS book

One of the best online CSS book is “Sams teach yourself CSS in 24 hours” by Kynn Bartlett. It provides a quick and easy introduction to creating professional web sites with Cascading Style Sheets (CSS). While browser support of CSS has enhanced dramatically with the latest introduction of versions 6 of Internet Explorer, AOL clients and Netscape. The author is a three-time President, active instructor in HTML Writers Guild and board member. This book acts as a prerequisite bridge between HTML coding and higher-level programming technologies like XHTML, Java, JavaScript and Flash. The foremost step of every successful web designer toward professional and stable web designing is their ability to learn to apply CSS. This book allows every reader with high dimensions of learning. One of the prerequisites for learning higher languages like Java and Flash, JavaScript, CSS is gaining increasing support among major browsers like Internet Explorer, Netscape, and new comers like Opera, Mozilla and NeoPlanet.

The main key to successful CSS implementation is its understanding of how different browsers use and interpret CSS. This tutorial takes the unique position of teaching the reader how to make smart decisions about how and when to apply CSS, based on browser support and intended effects. In a 24hour-straight forward time, there are hourly lessons and exercises that will help the reader to learn by accomplishing hands-on tasks that can be applied to their own sites at every hour.

Kynn Bartlet has taught thousands of basic principles of good web design through online courses and his participation in W3C technical working groups, Sweb Standards project education FAQ and HTML Writers Guild [president, board member and instructor]. Bartlett is a frequent speaker at conferences and imparts consulting for businesses and government agencies.

Useful CSS Tools

A variety of CSS tools allows you to create wonders with CSS in your website.

Following are some of the best-used tools of CSS:

  • CSS Creator – this tool creates a fluid or fixed width floated column layout, with up to 3 columns, header and footer. Values for it can be specified in pixels, percentages or ems.
  • Firdamatic – this is an online table-less layout generator that allows you to create and customize layouts easily only by completing forms, creating skin for Firdamatic-based layout.
  • Layout-o-Matic – this is a tool that allows you to select a layout table, its width and height, and several other options to the left, and then click on Download or view and pick up the multi-column CSS layout starter kit.
  • CSS Rounded Box Generator – this tool allows to generate HTML and CSS for rounded corner boxes.
  • CSS HTML PHP Website Template Maker – This is a PHP/HTML/CSS template generator that creates a two-column layout with both the header and footer. This PHP/CSS style sheet template generator outputs full featured table less code i.e. tables are NOT used for template with the column layout. The resulting template is a combination of several files i.e. it is a true PHP, HTML, CSS template that makes it absolutely easy to control single or multiple pages in a web site.
  • JotForm – this is a great web based WYSIWYG form builder that acts as a great CSS tools. You can select a form type [Satisfaction Survey, Suggest Website, Job Application, Contact Us, Party RSVP, Submit Product, Membership Registration and Wedding Attendance Reservation and others]. Your new form will be created with all the default fields on the selected form.
  • Type Tester- an online application that helps in comparison of fonts for the screen. The primary role is to make web designers feel at ease. As the new fonts are bundled into the operating system, a list of common fonts will be updated. The code for type tester is XHTML, styled with the finest CSS and driven by JavaScript for manipulating DOM structures. However, typesetters will never work without JavaScript enabled.
  • Em Calculator – this is a small JavaScript tool that helps in making scalable and accessible CSS design. However, it also converts sizes in pixels to relative em units, which are further based on text size.
  • CSS Tab Designer – this is unique and easy to use software that helps you to design CSS based list and tabs visually and without any sound programming knowledge required. With the CSS tab designer, you can quickly design your list visually and choose from a wide variety of styles/colors.
  • Jan 24, 2008 Linkage – Online Validators

    If you would like to check you sites and validated them you can use the online validators below.

    Jan 17, 2008 Linkage – Free WordPress Themes

    Here are some sites that have a big collections of WordPress themes, which you can download for free.

    Jan 14, 2008 Linkage – XHTML/CSS Frameworks

    Here three of the most popular (X)HTML/CSS frameworks for creating modern and flexible floated layouts.

    Jan 12, 2008 Linkage – CSS Based Navigations

    Here are some links with already made up CSS navigations, some of them very cool and slick.

    There are a lot more other methods so just go to Google and search for CSS Navigation.

    Jan 12, 2008 Linkage – Cheat Sheets

    Here is list with cheat sheets for Photoshop, XHTML, CSS, and WordPress that might help you when you get stuck. All cheat sheets are available in PDF format so you can download and print them out.

    Jan 11, 2008 Linkage – Free Fonts

    Some of my favorite sites with FREE fonts. Check them out I’m sure you won’t be disappointed!

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    You've arrived on the "Advanced CSS/HTML Explained" weblog. Here you will find how can you tackle the more difficult topics of Cascading Style Sheets: Floating theory, Forms, Tables, Navigation elements, CSS Positioning. Also you will find lots of Resources, Tutorials, Articles, and Tips, Tricks Tools, and Techniques on CSS.

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