This is a collection of tools which may be useful for web designers. The article also includes a small review of each.

The Tools List

This list includes the free programs and tools of which I'm either still using, or have tried in the past. If you have some commercial tool you want listed, I'd might be willing to list and review it for a small fee, or in trade of a license.

HTML Editors

I mostly use notepad in windows, and i increasingly use it to make smaller edits. But there are better text/source-code editors, with more features available.

Notepad++

http://notepad-plus.sourceforge.net/

Notepad++ is a free editor with support for syntax highlighting for a lot of languages, and tabbed editing. I mostly use this when working with larger source codes.

Image and photo editing Software

There is a lot of tools which are commonly used by web designers, to create icons, buttons, backgrounds, and other elements in a web page.

Gimp

www.gimp.org

Gimp is a free editor, with high functionality. Generally this will do everything a web designer needs, you can combine this tool with other tools listed.

Paint.NET

www.getpaint.net

This is another free editor, which is almost as good as Gimp. There is a few missing features such as custom and soft brushes, but this can be easily faked by cleverly using multiple layers. Use it in combination with Gimp.

Sqirlz Water Reflections

Sqirlz Water Reflections

SWR is a free tool to easily add rippling pools of water, rain, and snow. Something which would otherwise be very time-consuming. All Through it can have a few issues, I've used it with success a number of times. Just be careful when creating gif animations for the web, as these can quickly get pretty large.