Adobe Dreamweaver CS3

I use Dreamweaver for all of my coding needs. I use it to write (X)HTML, CSS, PHP, and JavaScript for my sites. There are many free options available to do what I need, like HTML-Kit, but I'm hooked on the code editor in Dreamweaver. I don't ever use the visual design aspect of Dreamweaver, so I don't actually use everything that Dreamweaver offers. Maybe I'll choose a free option next time instead of upgrading to CS4. For now though, I love what Dreamweaver has to offer and highly recommend it to anyone looking for an editor they are willing to pay for.

Adobe Photoshop CS3

I use Photoshop for everything graphics. i have been using it for a long time now and you just can't beat it. There are some other programs out there that offer great features like GIMP, but for me it just doesn't compare. Photoshop is easy to use, easy to understand, and offers an amazing number of features that can be used to create incredibly unique images. Beyond the basics, there are a ton of tutorials available to get the most out of what Photoshop can do. If you want to use Photoshop, but can't drop that much money into it, you can try Photoshop Elements which is a watered down version that includes most of the core functionality needed, as well as the new free online Photoshop Express.

WordPress

I use WordPress to publish this blog and although I'm not able to publish a new post everyday, I am writing drafts and working on posts everyday. I love WordPress because of all the available plugins, themes, as well as the updates to security and features. This is a huge time-saver. I am able to manage the whole blog from an easy administration module of the blog. Maintainance is also really easy because it requires very little coding in the backend; most things can be done with a plugin. Of all the available blog systems, WordPress is my favorite and I plan to stick with it.

FileZilla

I use FileZilla as my main FTP client. To be honest it isn't my favorite though. I used SmartFTP for as long as I can remember, but as of recent I have been using FileZilla because SmartFTP is no longer free. I have thought about purchasing the new SmartFTP, but haven't yet because FileZilla is growing on me. FileZilla is fast, easy and although not the greatest looking, it works very well all the time. If you are looking for free FTP clients, check out the 5 Best Free FTP Program, which includes FileZilla.

phpMyAdmin

I use phpMyAdmin for managing all of my MySQL databases. I have been using this tool for as long as I have been using MySQL and have yet to consider a new option. There are other tools out there, but this one has so many great features. I love the import/export options, the ability to create, insert, delete, and update rows visually, and view query output in a nice table form. Although writing SQL isn't that hard after a few times, it is nice to be able to just click the red X and delete a row or update multiple rows without having to write and update statement for each. I find that some things are a little slow to load and I wish there was some Ajax worked in to speed things up. Hopefully that is on the way in a future release, but even without it, I love this tool.

dotProject

I use dotProject to manage my tasks and projects, both big and small. There are some other options out there for managing tasks like Remember The Milk, but I found myself using dotProejct for the little things because I had already been in the habit of going to dotProject on a regular basis to check and update my progress. There are a number of great features that keep me hooked on dotProject. There is a Gantt chart, a number of prebuilt reports for tracking projects or tasks or people, and an easy to use interface. I have been very pleased with this app and will continue to use it and recommend it.

Google

This one is a no-brainer. I use Google dozens of times a day. Any time I need to find something out, I look to Google to recommend some answers. Thankfully there are websites out there that offer a plethera of information that I refer to time and time again, but Google is there to help me continue to learn new things. I often look for code examples, web standards, tutorials, news, and so much more related to web development and web design. This one does't need much explanation, so I will stop here.

Contribute: What's in your development/design toolbox? Please share in the comments what you find helpful enough to use everyday (or at least close to everyday).

For those of you who use WordPress as your blogging platform, you can understand the need for support forums and help documentation for troubleshooting problems that occur. Hosting your own blog requires you to take care of any issues that may arise. Even if you don't host your own blog and use WordPress.com to host it for you, there are still situations that require a certain level of support.

Starting yesterday, Aug 2, WordPress.com now offers support 24-7. Previously, support was available during the day from 9am - 4pm PDT, and then 24 hours a day 5 days a week, but that has just changed. They recognized the need for fast support at any time and have expanded to meet this need. "The time has come for help without delay. We hereby announce 24-7 support on WordPress.com" (WordPress.com Blog). They will try to get back to you within 24 hours, if not sooner, and are working hard to provide quality support in an efficient manner.

I'm pretty excited to here this news. I don't host my blog through WordPress.com, although I do use WordPress. However, I think this is a great step that they have taken to reach out and provide extra support needed by their users. Hosting your blog on WordPress.com is free, with a few upgrades available at a cost, and yet they still upped their support level to 24-7. I think that is pretty impressive and says a good deal about their business practices. Kudos to you, wordpress.com!

The Problem

Here is a quick tip on how to fix an all too common error when using WordPress on a shared host. I have been using WordPress for a while now, and I was comfortable with how it works and operates, until yesterday. When trying to edit a post I received a "403 - you are forbidden to access post.php" error. I was obviously worried and frantic to get it working again so I could continue writing posts. After some searching on the Internet I found what I thought may be a solution.

The Background

It is normal practice for hosts to utilize strict security measures and lock down their servers. In a lot of cases they use the mod_security restrictions with extremely high filters. This causes a problem with access rights when using Apache's mod_rewrite. The mod_rewrite versions of posts for WordPress are so much cooler than the default addresses ("?p=22"); therefore, most installations end up using mod_rewrite.

The Solution

Fortunately, the solution is incredibly easy to implement. All you have to do is add the 2 lines of code, located below, to the mod_rewrite section of your .htaccess file. The first 2 lines should be the following:
SecFilterEngine Off
SecFilterScanPOST Off

I hope this helps save a lot of time for anyone with this problem. This is a problem with an easy solution, fixable in just minutes!

As a follow up to my earlier post on how to create your own wordpress widget, I have compiled a list of wordpress plugins that everyone should have. You don't necessarily have to use them all the time; however, they should be installed and ready to go. The list is in no particular order.

1. WP Google Analytics - Easily integrate your Google Analytics code into your wordpress blog and start gaining insights into your traffic.
2. FeedBurner FeedSmith - Easily redirect all your feed traffic to your feedburner account.
3. WP-Polls - Add polls to your sidebar or any post with this easy to use poll plugin.
4. WP-PostRatings - Allow readers to vote on and rate your posts. Easy to use and integrate ajax implementation.
5. WP-PostViews - Track and display how many times your post has been viewed.
6. Sociable - Allow readers to add your post to the major social networks in the click of a button.
7. Google Sitemaps Generator - Recommended for serious bloggers. This plugin generates sitemaps to Google's specifications for better SEO.
8. CForms - Great contact form; easily allows visitors to contact you through a form instead of an email address.
9. Search-Highlighter - Seeing my search keyword highlighted in a post makes my life a lot easier.
10. All in One SEO Pack - This is the most advanced plugin on the list. It helps get your SEO rankings higher, but may take a little tweaking.

[poll id="4"]

What plugins do you use and find helpful? Let us know in the comments.

If you are reading this post, you are familiar with a wordpress widget because you can see multiple widgets displayed in the right hand sidebar of this theme. The Archives, Recent Posts, Blogroll, and Links are all wordpress widgets. If you are asking yourself, "why create a wordpress widget?" here is a short answer:

This blog, like many others, is run using wordpress (wordpress was downloaded 3,816,965 times in 2007 alone). WordPress has become increasingly popular thanks to the incredible features, themes, and plugins offered, both by wordpress.org, as well as third party developers, such as:. The administrative end of wordpress is very easy to use and at the same time very powerful. The blog has all the necessary features necessary to run a successful blog, as well as the ability to add onto the large set of tools included with the download and installation of a wordpress blog. One of the best features of wordpress in my opinion, is the ability to create plugins and widgets that suit your needs. Once the plugin or widget has been successfully created, implementation is even easier. So now that we have covered a little background information, let's get started!

Steps

1. Create a php file and put it in the "wp-content/plugins" directory in your wordpress installation path.
2. The first information in the widget file is required to be there. Each line needs to be there and is fairly self-explanatory. These lines tell the wordpress plugins manager what the plugin is, who made it, what version it is currently in, and the links to provide support and updates. It looks like this:

/*

Plugin Name: Test Widget

Plugin URI: http://smseserver.com/blog/

Description: This is my first custom created widget.

Version: 1.0

Author: Scott Spear

Author URI: http://smseserver.com/blog/

*/

3. Create the function to initialize the widget. The widget_test_init() function checks if you can register custom widgets and then loads the actual widget function, in this case named "widget_test()". The last line actually registers the new widget by calling the register_sidebar_widget() function.

function widget_test_init() {

if (!function_exists('register_sidebar_widget')) {

return;

}

function widget_test() {

echo 'This is the test widget.';

}

register_sidebar_widget(array('Test Widget', TestWidget'), 'widget_test');

}

4. After the widget is registered to the sidebar, the very last line will call the add_action() function to load the widget and show it in widget control in the admin section of your blog. The function looks like this:

add_action('plugins_loaded', 'widget_test_init');

The final php file would look like this:

<?

/*

Plugin Name: Test Widget

Plugin URI: http://smseserver.com/blog/

Description: This is my first custom created widget.

Version: 1.0

Author: Scott Spear

Author URI: http://smseserver.com/blog/

*/

function widget_test_init() {

if (!function_exists('register_sidebar_widget')) {

return;

}

function widget_test() {

echo 'This is the test widget.';

}

register_sidebar_widget(array('Test Widget', TestWidget'), 'widget_test');

}

add_action('plugins_loaded', 'widget_test_init');

?>