Whether you are a freelance web designer, or have a position with a company, having some help never hurt. There are tons of apps on the web that can help web designers learn new techniques, design, and coding. Using these apps you will be able create a stunning web design without a problem.
jsFiddle
jsFiddle is an online HTML, CSS, and JavaScript editor that quickly and easily checks your code to see if there are any bugs in it. The developers of jsFiddle also have a blog that you can easily post to. You can show other people your problem to get help, or show them how you fixed a bug in your code in case someone is having the same problem. The app has everything that you need in one window. You can simply type or paste in your HTML, Java, or CSS code into the corresponding boxes and click “run”. Once you run the program you can instantly see your creation in the bottom right box. This app lets you quickly and easily see if there are any mistakes with your code before making your design live.
Subtle Patterns
Subtle Patterns is web app that has different background patterns and designs that you can download for use on your site. You can quickly search through the different patterns and if you see a pattern that you would like, you can test it by clicking on the image and changing the background of the current page. Once you find one that you like, you can easily download the design so you can use it on your website. The designs and patterns are free and can be edited in Photoshop if you would like to customize it for your site. Subtle Patterns also has “snacks” which include a Safari Extension, WordPress Plugins, and even iPhone Wallpapers.
Google Web Fonts
Google Web Fonts offers free, open source fonts. As you search through different font styles you can view them as words, sentences, paragraphs, or posters. The app lets you search using key words, and you can apply different filters and sort them in different ways. When you find a font that you like you can add it to your collection and download it. If you don’t want to download the font, you can click “quick-use” to apply the font to your site without downloading. Since they are open source fonts, you can easily change them to match your needs. Google’s free web font app can help your create a website with any look and feel that you want.
Adobe Browser Lab
Adobe Browser Lab lets you see your website in different browsers and operating systems. The system is very user friendly and easy to navigate. You can paste in the URL for the site you would like to test and then see it in different web browsers like Internet explorer or FireFox. You can view them one at a time, side-by-side, or use the onion view (layered on top of each other). The app is also compatible with Dreamweaver letting you edit and view your designs across different browsers with a click of a button. Older versions of Dreamweaver also let you view pages through Device Central, which allows you to see how your site looks on a laptop versus an iPhone or iPad.
Wirify
Wirify lets you get the design inspiration you need from any website by removing the content and showing you the layout and frame of the any webpage. Without the content on the page you can easily see how different websites flow to be more user friendly. This app can help you model your site from layouts of successful sites. If you choose to get the Wirify Pro app, which is available using Wirify Credits, you can export wire frames to be edited in different programs like Visio and OmniGraffle. Being able to see a pages design without worrying about the content can help you design a more user friendly and easy flowing website.