New Developer’s Toolkit

Ok, so you’ve heard of this “internet thing,” and decided you’d give it a try. The problem is you’re new and you just don’t know where to start. Well, you’re in luck, here is a list of tools you will need to become a web developer.

A Browser

This first tool is easy because you’re probably already using one of the big four browsers; Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer or Safari. For web development, I would recommend using either Chrome or Firefox and downloading some browser extensions like Firebug, and using Chrome Developer Tools.

A Code Editor

Ok, if I haven’t lost you yet, let’s have a look at the next step in creating your web masterpiece. You’re going to need a decent text editor to write some good old fashion lines of code. There are lots of options out there to choose from, but my favorites are Sublime Text or Notepad ++ for Windows and TextMate or Coda for Mac.

A Server

Now how does one see your website you wonder? Well, you will need to upload your finished website to a reliable server (web host) or simply just develop your site locally on your own computer. If your going to develop locally, I suggest using WampServer for Windows or Mamp for Macs. These applications are actually a pre-packaged bundle of software that creates a localhost server that runs on Apache, MySQL, and PHP.

Bonus: If you’re just getting into Drupal development, another option is to download the Acquia Stack Installer (aka DAMP) that also comes prepackaged with Drupal!

An FTP Client

To transfer your finished website to a server and show it off to the world, you will need an FTP client. FTP stands for file transfer protocol and will help you transfer all your files from your computer to your remote server. For this, I use FileZilla, a free, open-source FTP client for both Windows and Mac.

Now that you have these tools, it’s time to start practicing your newfound love for web development. Or if your eyes are glazed over, you can just contact Cheeky Monkey Media.