Every web designer has a set of tools to make development easier, and I am no different. I thought I'd share my list of necessary tools. This is by no means an exhaustive list, but I couldn't imagine doing anything without these.

• 10. Javascript Beautifier

  This tool is an utter godsend when it comes to html or javascript code that ends up cluttered or mashed together (TinyMCE, I'm looking at you). Try it out!

• 9. Joomla

  Joomla is, in my opinion, the mother of all content management systems. Setting up a Joomla site is so great compared to anything else, and clients usually love it.

• 8. Eclipse

  I learned HTML using notepad.exe a long time ago, and have always had a bit of disdain for editing environments. I think FrontPage left a rotten taste in my mouth, as I still spend a lot of time in a simple text editor (though no longer with notepad.exe - I use Notepad2 in Windows, gedit or vim in Linux). Eclipse, however, does its best to stay out of the way while still proving useful. Eclipse has become my primary editor for developing Adobe Flash content, mostly due to native support of Adobe Flex for Linux. Since I started using it, I've pretty much stayed and now use it for most of my coding.

• 7. Yslow

  After the coding's done, finishing a site generally entails debugging and optimization. Yslow, a great plugin for the great Firefox extension Firebug, details areas of the site that can be optimized to load a lot faster.

• 6. JavaScript Frameworks

  JavaScript can be an utter pain. Every browser seems to have it's own little nuances which make writing JavaScript a chore. Frameworks like jQuery and Mootools handle all these for you, thus making JavaScript fun once again!

• 5. W3C Validators

  Invalid code can cause some pretty bizarre errors to occur on a site. It's always a good idea to check your code to see if it follows the standards. An error here or there for browser compatibility is understandable sometimes, but unended html tags or typos in CSS can sometimes be a real pain to figure out.

• 4. SSH

  I love SSH. Managing a site is painful without it. SSH usually brings with it all the utilities of a Linux command line, like sed, grep, awk and many, many more. Also, the encrypted connection is a definite plus as far as security goes.

• 3. Firebug

  The mother of all web debuggers, Firebug is a Firefox extension that allows you to do all kinds of live manipulations to your site's DOM, and is a treasure trove of information. The console is the best way to debug JavaScript code, especially when modifications are needed on a live site.

• 2. Web Developer Toolbar

  Another Firefox extension, the Web Developer Toolbar has a whole bunch of great functions for debugging sites. I list it here mainly because I find the "Display Element Information" tool as the fastest, most efficient method of getting information about a DOM node. It's form tools are awesome as well.

• 1. Firefox

  Honestly, Firefox is without a doubt the best browser to develop web sites with. With all the extensions for development, adherence to web standards, and rising market share, Firefox is, in my opinion, the only logical choice. I develop in Firefox, test with a couple different WebKit browsers, and hack together fixes for Internet Explorer.