12 Tools And Sites I Use To Run My Web-Design Business
Tweet Running your own business can be quite a challenge sometimes! But fortunately for us there are some cool folks out there who create tools and sites to help get things done better and faster. I’m often asked what tools and sites I use and why, so here it is! Note that many of the tools on this list are for the Mac.
Event Box
I started using Event Box just a couple months ago and have to say it’s great! In fact it’s more than great! You see, I’m online quite a bit for work and I read a ton of RSS feeds, well Event Box helps me keep track of those feeds and also check on Twitter, Facebook and Flickr. Definitely a great tool that helps me be more productive and up to date with what’s going on in the design community!
Adobe Creative Suite
Well, this one is a no-brainer, I don’t think Adobe needs any introduction. I use mostly FireWorks, Photoshop and Illustrator. Oh and yes I think FireWorks is a bit under-rated, I use it all the time and it does what I need and more. Most of what I do is web-related, and FW and PS will usually do the trick! :)
WordPress
A lot of the sites I build run on WordPress. Why? Cause I think it’s a very flexible platform and the support you get from the community is awesome! I don’t see WordPress as a ‘blogging only’ platform, it’s so much more than that!
Text Wrangler
Simply put, Text Wrangler is my favorite text editor! I use it to write markup, css, etc… as well as a regular text editor (though I’ll sometimes use Text Edit)
Evernote
Evernote allows you to easily capture information in any environment using whatever device or platform you find most convenient, and makes this information accessible and searchable at any time, from anywhere. – What Is Evernote
Need I say more? Definitely one cool tool I use quite often!
iStockPhoto
Whether I need an image to insert in a blog post or I need something like an icon or a specific image for a website, I often turn to iStockPhoto! The images are reasonably priced and they sometimes offer extended licenses, which is nice.
Flickr
Flickr is great not only for finding images for blog posts and articles (kinda like iStockPhoto, except many images are free to use – just make sure you check the Creative Commons license before using them) but also for networking with designers and photographers. I have a pro account and it’s worth every penny!
Launch Bar
Launch Bar is a great alternative to the famous QuickSilver. I know many Mac users swear by QuickSilver, but for some reason I’m sticking to Launch Bar. Maybe it’s cause I like the (very simple) interface better.
Parallels
When you design websites you need to be able to check your coded designs in different browsers (ah IE6!). Of course you can run BootCamp on OS X and install Windows, but you need to reboot when you want to go on Windows. Nah! I prefer using Parallels and run Windows ‘inside’ OS X. What a time-saver!
Pixel Mator
Pixel Mator is a really nice alternative to Photoshop! Of course you can do more with Photoshop than you can with Pixel Mator, but why fire up PS when all you wanna do is resize/crop or tweak an image real quick? And there’s a huge price difference between the two :)
MAMP Pro
MAMP is one kick-ass piece of software! When I left for a 1 month tour with my band in September 08, I knew internet access would be limited and I needed something to run MySQL, PHP and Apache locally. MAMP Pro is a must-have tool if you need a local developing environment.
FreshBooks
Freshbooks is what I use to track my time and send invoices to my clients. They make it real easy to keep track of everything related to invoicing. I’ve been using them for a almost a year and will definitely keep using them for a long time! Also, the iPhone/iPod touch app rocks!
Your Turn To Talk
So there you have it, my list of the tools and sites I use the most! Now I guess it’s your turn! Mind sharing your favorite tools with the rest of us? What do you use for invoicing, development, design, etc…? See ya in the comments! :)
About the author:
Jon Phillips is a designer, developer, typography lover and musician. He is also the founder of SpyreStudios.
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January 3rd, 2009
A few other tools I use to run my business and website are:
1. Coda.app (panic.com/coda)
2. Mint (haveamint.com)
3. Things.app
4. Action Method (actionmethod.com) – I recently started using this tool, and it’s been awesome. I even bought one of the paper products for myself and my partner.
January 3rd, 2009
Hey Michael! Thanks for the comment!
I used Coda a bit, and it’s a great tool! (not exactly sure why I don’t use it anymore though) I also signed up to Action Method, I haven’t had time to have a good look around yet, but from what I’ve seen it looks very promising – probably should be on my list, I just have to go ahead and use it :)
January 3rd, 2009
Nice tools! I think i will start using EventBox, sounds very productive to me.
I would also add “Are My Sites Up” that was just launched yesterday to this amazing online apps.
January 3rd, 2009
Thanks for a great list.
A software tool I can’t do without is DEVONthink Pro. It’s a hold-everything, do-everything relational database that I use to catch all those floating ideas, write almost everything, and keep up with my life. Highly recommended.
January 3rd, 2009
I’m not familiar with EventBox, I’ll have to check it out.
January 3rd, 2009
I haven’t heard of EventBox before, going to look at that one now. :)
The tool I probably use the most is Todoist.com. It’s my favorite to-do list app and I use it to keep track of just about everything.
January 3rd, 2009
Rad list. Event Box seems like a cool program, but I can never get it to work on my computer. I also remember it use to be free. It now costs some buckaroos.
January 3rd, 2009
yojimbo (http://www.barebones.com/products/Yojimbo/) is awesome. I thank everyday the guys who made it ^__^
I also discovered Things, that seems great
January 3rd, 2009
Thanks for sharing!
It’s all nice but you should have mentioned in the title that you are a mac-user.
January 3rd, 2009
For a free/open source web-based invoicing alternative check out Simple Invoices – http://www.simpleinvoices.org
it doesnt do everything – just invoicing
Cheers
Justin
- Simple Invoices
January 4th, 2009
Have you taken a look at “Little Snapper” (http://www.realmacsoftware.com/littlesnapper/) I use it to take a screenshot of a whole web page (even below the fold).
Question: While you note that you use Adobe Creative Suite, do you use Dreamweaver? IS Dreamweaver still relevant? Does anybody else out there still use Dreamweaver?
I am currently teaching myself CS4 Fireworks and it seems that, in conjunction with WordPress.org, Dreamweaver may not be necessary.
Thoughts?
January 5th, 2009
What a great list! I hadn’t heard of EventBox either, but it sounds great! I’ll have to check it out…
I’d also like to add that for those of you using Freshbooks, IAC-EZ is an application that you can use with Freshbooks to help you manage your books easily and affordably. Feel free to check it out at http://www.iacez.com!!
January 7th, 2009
Timothy, I still use Dreamweaver for doing WordPress Templates. I know there are other tools out there, but I’ve just been using Dreamweaver for forever, and I don’t much like change. :-) So, if you are like me, then yes it is relevant. Although, there are plenty of other tools out there, some free, that will probably suffice.
January 11th, 2009
Interesting list…
I use Zenbe for managing and checking multiple email accounts (currently 6) online from a single interface when I’m out of the office or on holiday.
I’ve just recently started using CurdBee for sending and managing invoices. You can send and receive payments through PayPal and/or Google Checkout – giving clients the option to choose which method they prefer.
I also use Aptana Studio for XHTML/CSS/PHP/Javascript coding. I moved away from Dreamweaver because it didn’t work with the way I code anymore. The price difference was also a factor (hundreds of $ verses open source/free).
Aptana is also available for Win/Linux/Mac, so I can use a combination of it and Dropbox (to keep my files synced) to work and test between my Windows and Linux boxes.
January 12th, 2009
Thanks for your list.
I looked at Evernote… but it’s actually not so evident to me why I think I’d still be using this application in 6 months. Can you tell me in which way this app is improving your web life? Thanks.
January 14th, 2009
These are soooo cool, thanks for sharing.
January 14th, 2009
Another invoicing option is Time59 (www.time59.com). It’s targeted at solo professionals and is a great solution if you don’t need (or want to pay for) the multi-user capability of Freshbooks. Bottom line: If you are solo and bill by the hour it is definitely worth a look. The first 30 days are free.
January 16th, 2009
I second DEVONthink Pro – indispensable! We also use Freshbooks which is a great estimate/invoice/time tracking app. Tip: Create project invoices in advance and you don’t have to worry about forgetting one (it happens).
January 16th, 2009
Great list. A few more that I can’t live without are TextMate for coding, Transmit for ftp, DropBox, ActionMethod, and Linotype FontExplorer.
January 22nd, 2009
I 100% agree with you on the WordPress front, I am new to the design / build / animation (and in general – computer related scene!) but using wordpress I created my first site, and i couldn;t be happier! There are alot of great sites here for me to check out too! Thanks!
February 11th, 2009
Forget Parallels and VMWare. What you want is Sun’s VirtualBox (http://www.virtualbox.org). Take a look at the following post, http://www.10voltmedia.com/blo.....omment-218
I’ve used both Parellels and VMWare, VirtualBox is a better solution, IMO.
February 11th, 2009
Oh, also, Cyberduck is a nice FTP app.
February 27th, 2009
Nice List. Thanks For sharing list.
March 8th, 2009
Thanks for sharing. You always give helpful info on Twitter.
March 8th, 2009
Hello,
http://www.cannybill.com has just launched. Its a web based invoicing and billing solution for businesses but has the added advantage that you can create web based order forms to sell your products and services.
It also links up to live APIs such as Plesk to sell web hosting or Enom and GeoTrust to sell domain names and SSL.s#
Kind Regards,
Wladimir
March 8th, 2009
Actually I use quite a fewer of the sites listed here. But one more website/s I’d like to add in here. Facebook.com and Twitter.com as well.
Cheers to the social networking sites. More people have found more about me.
March 8th, 2009
Great list here. I am curious what you used to create those beautiful screen captures of each of the programs. Do tell.
March 8th, 2009
Great list, thanks!
By the way, did you do much research before choosing to use Freshbooks? I’m trying to decide which invoicing system to use… I’ve had some people recommend FreshBooks and some recommend Cashboard… I don’t know which is best though!
Thanks again :)
March 10th, 2009
Great post as always! I like to use a lot of the ones you mentioned, I also have been using DropBox lately to sync my files as well as share files with clients, good tool to use. Also when it comes to invoicing I have been using Zoho Invoice, seems very similar to freshbooks so if you ever need an alternative I would try that, haven’t had any issues so far :-)
March 13th, 2009
currently, im sticking to Coda, because the project manager looks better and easier. :)
was a dreamweaver freak, but, now Coda owns me! haha. Textmate? the interface is not my choice, and there’s no code suggestions too.
btw, adobe? its a must-have-tool. hehe.
p.s: about to try Launchbar.
April 1st, 2009
Nice list, and you introduced me to some new ones. I would add the Cornerstone SVN Client to your list, which is super nice and easy to use.
April 1st, 2009
Adobe Creative Suite is essential, other than that I don’t use any of these tools.
I use: wamp (since I’m on windoes), Notepad ++, Google Apps, iGoogle with remember the milk in, SlimTimer and Zoho for a CRM.
For invoicing we use a Norwegian software (Mamut) – it’s very good, allthough a bit expensive…
April 5th, 2009
Awesome list! I use most of these tools as well. I also use Transmit for FTP, TextMate for coding (I use it with Transmit a lot to tweak WordPress stylesheets online – cool feature!), I use the Freshbooks dashboard widget, CSSEdit. I also use Screenflow for video tutorials, InstantShot for web tutorials and client documentation, SharedSecrets (for saving all my passwords and login details for all these online apps), and EasyTask for managing client projects (it’s simple, not perfect for the job but it’s good enough so far – open to suggestions though).
I’m checking out LaunchBar now. Quicksilver sounds like a great idea, but I’ve just not been able to get into it. I’ll also check out LittleSnapper, it sounds like it might be really useful to me for web tutorials and WordPress theme development.
April 30th, 2009
Nice post. I love the way you captured those screenshots of the programs that you use. However, as I am on windows. I only got few to add to my list. Anyways nice list John.
May 4th, 2009
Seems like you use a lot of the same software as I do- good stuff! I just wanted to note two things. 1) I am trying out Action Method myself, it seems like a pretty solid resource, and 2) I have a list of “best” Mac OS X Software. I have used everything on this list, but I would highly reccomend Things.app (as mentioned in a previous comment) or The Hit List.app.
Here is my list: blog.jeremybuff.com/best-mac-os-x-leopard-software/
Maybe you’ll find something interesting :)
May 31st, 2009
Useful list of great software. Never tried istockphotos but I use fotolia myself for stock images.
July 2nd, 2009
I’m using MAMP (not Pro) and editing vhosts by hand, saves the money.
July 19th, 2009
Great list! Evernote kicks ass!
August 12th, 2009
Great list!
I have been using Basecamp for project management and ExpressionEngine for a CMS. Cyberduck and Espresso have been a great combo for ftp and code editing.
December 4th, 2009
I’m new to the Web design, blog business but not new to many of these tools. It’s great to see that I can still use many of the tools I’m used to in this new direction I’m headed. Thanks so much for such an outstanding list.
JBII
end transmission…………///
January 24th, 2010
Veey helpful for finding useful tools, thanx a lot…
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