Favorite Web Development Tools and Resources
Web developers of all levels use online resources to help get the job done right.
When you are coding for the web or anything else, tools that make the job easier and faster are key. These are Scot's Scripts favorite web design tools.
by Scot Ranney
All developers have their go-to tools to make web development life easier. Here's a list of mine.
This list will grow as time goes on. If you have a resource that could be added here, let us know.
Web Utilities
Htaccess Tester: Test htaccess directives before bricking your site.
http://htaccess.madewithlove.be/
Redirect Checker: Gives you low level information on the kinds of redirects a site page is going through.
https://www.redirect-checker.org/index.php
W3 Markup Validator: Great tool to make sure your pages all have legal HTML.
HTML Formatter: Takes messy HTML and fixes it.
https://www.freeformatter.com/html-formatter.html
HTML Tidy: Similar to HTML Formatter. Sometimes you need another tool to do the same job.
Online JSON Parser: Is that an error I see in your json? Json errors can kill javascript and other web apps.
Javascript Beautifier: This also gives you hints about javascript coding errors.
XML Validator
https://codebeautify.org/xmlvalidator
ISO Lists: All the lists you need. Countries, states, timezones, whatever.
https://www.iso.org/obp/ui/#search
Calculators: Sometimes you just need one. Many different kinds of calculators here.
Find Unclosed DIV and other tags:
https://www.aliciaramirez.com/closing-tags-checker/
REG-EX Tester: Useful for htaccess and other situations that need complex regular expressions.
Graphics, Galleries, Design
BX Slider: https://bxslider.com/ The easiest, fastest dev time, lowest overhead pro carousel/slider plugin there is. It just doesn't get easier than this. Supported by The Gallery module.
Unite Gallery: http://unitegallery.net/ Beautiful, full featured, many different galleries, and easy to use. Supported by The Gallery module.
Favicon Generator: I've never had a client who wasn't thrilled with their new favicon (browser tab graphic)
https://realfavicongenerator.net/
Gradient Editor by Color Zilla - create css gradients (like the top header background here.)
https://www.colorzilla.com/gradient-editor/
Color Scheme Generator: Sometimes inspiration needs a kick.
Convert PNG to Base64: Useful for embedding icons in a module.
https://onlinepngtools.com/convert-png-to-base64
Placeholder.com: Easy to use URLs for placeholder graphics.
https://placeholder.com/ - image below: via.placeholder.com/250x65
Windows/OS Utiltiies
Greenshot: My go-to screenshot generator. I like this because it's super easy to use and has an editor that I can use for arrows, text, circles, etc...
SEO
Google Rich Results Test: Make sure your pages have the data they need.
https://search.google.com/test/rich-results
SEO One Click: The absolute best browser extension for quickly checking a web page meta and microdata.
Schema.org is the definitive guide to microdata and includes json/ld examples for almost all situations.
Resources
W3 Schools is where we learn how to code. HTML, CSS, JS, and everything else.
Stack Overflow: Any coding related question answered. Most questions have already been answered.
https://stackoverflow.com/questions
PHP Sandbox: Just in case you need to get some PHP working
https://sandbox.onlinephpfunctions.com/
Dummy Text (lorem ipsum) generator. Great for filler text when creating a mockup.
https://www.blindtextgenerator.com/lorem-ipsum
Security
Project Honeypot: Find out if an IP is a spammer or worse.
https://www.projecthoneypot.org/
Miva Merchant
Check out Miva Merchant if you are looking for a flexible, powerful, top shelf ecommerce platform.
The best resource for Mivascript functions and related information:
Shadows Style Guide and other documentation:
https://docs.miva.com/readytheme-shadows/#overview-style-guide
Miva Merchant API Functions: Use these in store pages and modules. Page Template code functions. Not all functions are here, sometimes you need to look in the LSK.
https://docs.miva.com/api-functions
Module API reference guide: Want to make miva modules or need info a particular feature? Here's the file. Note that it hasn't been updated for Miva 10 as of Jan 2021.
https://www.miva.com/pdf/MM_Module_API_Ref_Guide_v45.pdf
Miva Merchat Limited Source Kit (LSK) contains source code to about 80% of Miva Merchant. Invaluable if you are learning module and miva script coding in general.
https://apps.miva.com/miva-merchant-limited-source-kit.html
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