Web Design Software

Mac Software

Best of Breed

• Coda

  The single best tool for web development on the Mac. A text (and CSS) editor with syntax coloring, a feature called "Clips" that lets you drop in often-used bits of code, a built-in Terminal and FTP client, built-in preview (using Webkit), by-site organization, and some (not very helpful) books to keep you up to speed on HTML, CSS, Javascript, and PHP.
  Costs $79.
  

CSS Editors

• CSSEdit

  Disclaimer: You may see strange window-positioning issues. Alternatively, that may just be my install.

  What Coda does for the entire web development process, CSSEdit does for CSS. Edit CSS as text or in a visual editor, override existing stylesheets, and view elements of a webpage and the styles that apply to them from within the built-in Webkit-based browser. Also, it's damn pretty.
  Costs $29.95.
  

• Style Master

  Dunno much about this app except that Jon Hicks designed the icon. You should know that; it will make Harris happy. Aside from that, it seems to do what CSSEdit does (but doesn't look as pretty) and possibly some of what Dreamweaver does (which may mean it's cheating). Remember about Jon Hicks, though.
  Costs $59.99.
  

FTP Clients

• Cyberduck

  A free and open source SFTP client. Integrates well with OS X technologies and many of the text editors listed below. On the other hand, it is a one-pane client and is sometimes very buggy. On the gripping hand, it's...
  FREE.
  

• Fetch

  The shareware SFTP client that Oberlin College uses internally. Conveniently, Oberlin College students can get it for free by clicking on that link and using the login "steam" (no quotes) and the password "engine" (again, no quotes). Don't share those around, or we don't get it for free anymore. It is a one-pane client like Cyberduck, but while it's working your mouse cursor turns into a cute little running dog. That's gotta count for something.
  Free or $25.
  

• Flow

  Still in closed beta. Unfortunately, because it looks like a different take on FTP. Once released, it will include a built-in, live text editor with syntax coloring and some other really cool features, in addition to being really pretty. Still a one-pane client, though. If it follows the price curve of the other payware listed here, it will probably cost about...
  $25-35.
  

• Forklift

  A fast, attractive two-pane SFTP client and file manager- in other words, it can replace the Finder if you're comfortable playing around with that. The new Leopard-only 1.5 beta is the big news; the old 1.2 version is kind of anemic, although some people swear by it. The beta is free, but 1.5 will cost the same as the 1.2 branch when it's released:
  $29.95.
  

• MacFusion

  Probably not for you unless you know what the FUSE project is; on the other had, MacFusion lets you mount your (S)FTP account as if it were a hard drive so you can see it in the Finder and work with it as if it were on your computer, so it might be worth learning about. This and Forklift tie as my personal favorites.
  FREE.
  

• Transmit

  The current reigning champion in the Mac FTP ring, Transmit is made by the same people who wrote Coda. A good, solid, two-pane SFTP client, if not as pretty as Forklift. This is Harris's favorite.
  $29.95.
  

Text Editors

• BBEdit

  Code folding, syntax coloring, clippings for frequently used text, built-in FTP client, and command-line access are some of the things that have combined to make BBEdit one of the big two text editors for the Mac, along with TextMate.
  Costs $49 (educational license).
  

• SKEdit

  Code folding, syntax coloring, built-in FTP client; lacks the features of BBEdit and TextMate and the free-ness of Smultron and Taco HTML Edit.
  Costs $34.95.
  

• Smultron

  Tag completion, syntax coloring, command-line access, clippings for frequently used text, full-screen and split-screen editing, built-in HTML, XHTML, and CSS templates, and the ability to play with the source code (it's open source) if you swing that way make this by far the best free text editor for the Mac. The downsides are that recent versions are Leopard-only and that the default icons are ugly as hell; luckily, old versions are still available for Tiger users, and there's a set of replacement icons out there if you look hard enough. This is my personal favorite.
  FREE.
  

• SubEthaEdit

  The big deal about SubEthaEdit is apparently that it's really good for collaborating with others on the same project- you can all edit the same document at the same time. That said, if that doesn't sound like something you're likely to do, Smultron, SKEdit or one of the Big Two might suit you better, especially since SubEthaEdit costs nearly as much as BBEdit- the price you're about to see is in Euros.
  €29.
  

• Taco HTML Edit

  Uh, yeah. Free. Syntax coloring, live preview, code clips, and "insertion wizards". It's got most of the same features as all the others, plus you can make the windows translucent or transparent. It still just feels clunky to me, though. Also, its icon is a taco. And it's closed-source.
  Free.
  

• TextEdit

  It comes with OS X. It lacks even basic syntax coloring capability. And yet you will find yourself using it. Go figure. Oh, and it's technically open-source.
  "Free."
  

• TextMate

  See the entry for BBEdit. Right. It's like that, only better, from what I can tell.
  Costs $50.15 (with educational discount).
  

• TextWrangler

  A free and somewhat wussified version of BBEdit. TextWrangler is a perfectly capable text editor in its own right, except that- wait for it- it lacks HTML support. Uh, never mind.
  Free.
  

• Xcode

  Apple's offering in the software and web development field. Using this to develop websites is sort of like cutting down a tree with a lightsaber. It's certainly doable, and maybe easier than using other tools, but it's not really what it's meant for. You'll need to get a free Apple Developer Connection account (your existing iTunes or Apple Store account is easily convertible) to download Xcode, and the download is 1.1 GB.
  "Free."
  

Linux Software

Disclaimer: Only GUI programs are listed here, as it is assumed that command line fiends can find their own software, and are probably using emacs anyway. All of these projects ought to be available in the repositories for your distro, assuming your distro supports both Gnome and KDE. They are definitely in the Ubuntu repositories, but check out the links if you want to learn more about them before installing them or packages aren't provided by your distro.

CSS Editors

• cssed

  Supports syntax coloring and validation for CSS, some HTML, Javascript, shell scripts, and several other languages. Also, looks pretty attractive, as far as GTK apps go.
  Free.
  

FTP Clients

• Filezilla

  Free SFTP client, originally for Windows but ported to Linux and OS X. You can tell, too, because it looks like someone hit it with an ugly stick. A lot. Seriously, though, it works; if you want something that looks the same (even on OS X... *headdesk*) and works the same on all platforms, Filezilla may be your best option.
  Free.
  

• GFTP

  Disclaimer: You may see some weird issues under Ubuntu 8.04. On the other hand, that may just be my install.

  A GTK-based SFTP client. Looks decent, works well. None of the Linux client hold a candle to Forklift or Transmit on the Mac, though. This is still my personal favorite FTP client on Linux.
  Free.
  

• KFTPgrabber

  If you're a KDE user, you may want to give this a try; I'm a Gnome-lover myself, so I've never tried this. It's probably decent, though.
  Free.
  

Text Editors

• Bluefish

  According to their website, Bluefish is a lean, mean, code-editing machine. Apparently it can also open at least 3500 documents at once, so if you like big numbers, this may be the editor for you. My only experience with it was an ugly-lookin' Mac port; ugly or no, it still did what it was supposed to do (syntax coloring, yada yada yada), so I can get behind it.
  Free.
  

• gedit

  Syntax coloring. Support for HTML, CSS, and PHP. Comes with the Gnome desktop, although it is sometimes cunningly hidden as "Text Editor" in the menus. This is actually my personal choice; for simple editing it does what needs doing.
  Free.
  

• gphpedit

  Syntax coloring. Support for HTML, CSS, and PHP. Beyond that, I know almost nothing except that it's GTK-based. Could be good.
  Free.
  

• Quanta

  A KDE-based editor; part of their marketing pitch goes like this: 'When you are using Quanta and realize you would like to do something and you want to ask "Can I do this?" you can expect the answer will not only be yes, but it will probably be even cooler than you hoped for.' They proclaim extensibility as one of their main features. YMMV.
  Free.
  

• SciTE

  Cross-platform for Windows and Linux; syntax-coloring, code-folding, tabs, lots of languages, and all the rest. At least one Windows-using member of our class uses SciTE exclusively. Uses GTK+.
  Free.
  

• SCREEM

  Broken link checking, HTML pasting from Epiphany, inline tagging, intelligent tag-closing, and templates are some of the features of this program, above and beyond syntax-coloring and the other standard features. Looks really good on a webpage, anyway; can't vouch for it in active use, though.
  Free.
  

Windows Software

CSS Editors

• Style Master

  Dunno much about this app except that Jon Hicks designed the icon. You should know that; it will make Harris happy. Aside from that, it seems to do what CSSEdit does (but doesn't look as pretty) and possibly some of what Dreamweaver does (which may mean it's cheating). Remember about Jon Hicks, though.
  Costs $59.99.
  

FTP Clients

• Filezilla

  Cross-platform SFTP client originally designed for Windows. It does what it's supposed to do. And it's free. What more do you want?
  Free.
  

Text Editors

• Crimson Editor

  Syntax-coloring for HTML and a built-in FTP client. Not sure there's a whole lot else to recommend it, but I've heard some people swear by it.
  Free.
  

• Notepad

  As the website notes, Notepad is compatible with all versions of HTML and CSS, it has an extremely simple user interface, and a very small resource footprint. It is also identical across all versions of Windows since 2.0, and comes preinstalled on your computer.
  Free.
  

• Notepad++

  A rather good SciTE-based Windows-only text editor with syntax-editing and code-folding that a lot of people swear by.
  Free.
  

• SciTE

  Cross-platform for Windows and Linux; syntax-coloring, code-folding, tabs, lots of languages, and all the rest. At least one Windows-using member of our class uses SciTE exclusively. Uses GTK+.
  Free.
  

• TopStyle

  This looks like the closest thing to Coda for Windows. Along with the standard text-editing features, it offers HTML-->XHTML upgrading, live CSS previewing, and a number of other features. If you're willing to spend money, you should probably look into this. Failing that, you might want to check out the Lite version, which apparently only handles CSS.
  $79.95.
  

Cross-Platform Software

Bookmarklets

• Design

  Design is a suite of web-design and development assistive tools which can be utilised on any web-page. Encompassing utilities for grid layout, measurement and alignment, Design is a uniquely powerful JavaScript bookmarklet. (Yeah, I just stole their advertising copy; so sue me.)
  Free.
  

• Xray

  XRAY is a bookmarklet that's useful for seeing the box model for any element on any web page.
  Free.
  

Firefox Add-ons

• FireFTP

  If you don't like using a different FTP client on each platform, FireFTP may be for you; it's an FTP client that works entirely within Firefox, so you can use it on any platform that Firefox runs on.
  Free.
  

• FireBug

  In theory, FireBug is a fantastic web developer's extension for Firefox; in practice, it conflicted with some of my other extensions, so I can't personally recommend it. It's supposed to be good, though.
  Free.
  

• Web Developer Toolbar

  By default, Firefox can display the source for a given page with colored syntax. With this extension, it can also turn off any or all CSS for a given page and do any number of other handy web developer-ish things.
  Free.