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20 Websites That Made Me A Better Web Developer

sixrevisions.com — As a web developer, if you ’re to be successful, you have to have a constant yearning for learning new things. Here's 20 websites that have broadened my knowledge, expanded my skill set, and improved the quality and efficiency of my web development projects.

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  • anderzole, on 03/10/2008, -9/+22good list
    • faceless105, on 03/10/2008, -1/+12looking at those sites, the majority of them make you a better designer, not a developer
    • Zuggy, on 03/10/2008, -0/+31) there are a few pages that make you a better developer
      2) Looking web developer jobs they want both development and design. Not all but quite a few
  • JonnyCasino, on 03/10/2008, -3/+12I've used 2 of the sites you've listed and since I read your article I've added 4 more on my favorites. great post!
  • faizaa, on 03/10/2008, -10/+3nice!
  • ganeshaspeaks, on 03/10/2008, -16/+2ok, this is a blog in wordpress?
  • Aidenf77, on 03/10/2008, -1/+77That list looks much like the contents of my bookmarks!
    In case anyone's interested, here are some useful tools:

    http://www.prototypejs.org/
    http://script.aculo.us/
    http://www.fckeditor.net/

    If you're a Firefox user, check out these awesome Add-ons:

    Firebug: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/184 ...
    ColorZilla: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/271
    MeasureIt: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/539
    IE Tab: addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/1419

    As for that last one... as I've always said, build it in Firefox, and put the fires out in IE. IE Tab is a handy tool for quickly switching and checking your work on the fly. I can't wait until the day arrives when IE 6 ceases to be relevant in terms of web development. For anybody who says that day has already arrived... well, you must not have that many clients.
    • vibrokatana, on 03/10/2008, -0/+2Also take a look at adobe's spry. It is a bit simpler in that it only takes in certain datasets but it can cut hours of work for certain types of applications (ie rendering data as a table w/ sort or filtering). For the most part you don't even need to know javascript so web designers can use it freely without needing programming experience.
    • brad112, on 03/10/2008, -0/+10Wow. I feel dumb. I have been pasting screen shots into photoshop to get color values all this time, now you tell me there is ColorZilla. Thanks for the tip!
    • phatalbert, on 03/10/2008, -0/+15And don't forget the Web Developer Toolbar
      • drakenlot, on 03/10/2008, -2/+2That's the IE equivalent right? That thing sucks monkey ass.
        • drakenlot, on 03/10/2008, -1/+4Ok, I'm an idiot, I realized which one he's talking about after my 2 mins were up. The FF one is great in addition to Firebug, etc.

          I stand by my earlier statement though, IE's Toolbar (whatever it's called) is absolute *****, on top of having a fee involved.
      • betobeto, on 03/11/2008, -0/+1Web Developer Toolbar + Firebug = Total development awesomeness
        (both are Firefox add-ons, in case someone doesn't know)

    • 01001001, on 03/11/2008, -2/+0C'mon dude...how could you NOT mention Fireshot on that list??? https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/564 ...
    • TenebrousX, on 03/11/2008, -0/+1The only problem with fckeditor is that it doesn't work in Opera. I prefer to use TinyMCE, a great LGPL-licensed WYSIWYG
      • aaroncampbell, on 03/11/2008, -0/+1It works fine in Opera for me, and on their site they claim Opera is supported.
  • guillebravo6, on 03/10/2008, -1/+3Great list iggube! I browsed through all those site and they have some great designs. I'm looking forward to your future Digg Posts.
  • Dan11023, on 03/10/2008, -8/+37Dugg for Digg
    • theaceoffire, on 03/10/2008, -0/+2Although Digg is a wonderful resource for gaining knowledge, it should not be considered an example of fine web developing.
      It is one of the most JavaScript heavy web pages that I am addicted to, and freezes the browser in Linux.
      • Smegzor, on 03/10/2008, -0/+1Only two things freeze my firefox on ubuntu reading Digg; loading a LOT of comments, and a bug in some flash player used by firefox. Neither problem happens all the time. Comments display eventually and its my fault for wanting ALL comments displayed, and the flash tool can be terminated.
      • Atomic1fire, on 03/11/2008, -0/+2digglite.com
  • mal1964, on 03/10/2008, -2/+2 "Here’s a collection of online resources that’s helped me in improving my development and design abilities, as well as tools and assets that has increased my efficiency and productivity when web developing.
    I’ll keep adding to this list, and if you feel like I left something out or would like to share a link that isn’t included, feel free to shoot me a message. Someday, when the list is long enough, I’ll actually try to sort these in some logical fashion and write up brief annotations along with the links."

    * mootool’s docs
    * World Wide Web Consortium pages
    * 456 Berea Street’s article on Efficient CSS with shorthand properties
    * I Love Jack Daniel’s Cheat Sheets
    * Chris Pederick’s Web Developer extension for Mozilla Firefox
    * Open Source Living
    * Digg.com’s programming and design sections
    * PSDTuts - Spoonfed Photoshop Tutorials
    * Creative Commons Search
    * Stu Nicolls’ CSSplay - Experiments with Cascading Style Sheets
    * Why’s (Poignant) Guide to Ruby - excellent tutorial on the Ruby language if you’re contemplating on using Ruby On Rails
    * Drupal’s Search page
  • dbulli, on 03/10/2008, -1/+5really nice list ... and great to see mootools getting play ... i really love it !
  • mikehill33, on 03/10/2008, -4/+6Excellent article. Links to all sites, no blog spam.

    10/10
  • Shaman760, on 03/10/2008, -1/+19Not to pick, but howzabout setting the left margin padding to about 20px?
    • ticktock4, on 03/10/2008, -0/+6Funny, I thought the same thing. And don't design your sites to require a browser than is 1020px wide.
    • VentureDude, on 03/12/2008, -0/+0Your right but I'd go just a bit wider than that.
  • kiiwii, on 03/10/2008, -0/+50Number one should be myspace.

    To learn what NOT to do.
    • form3hide, on 03/10/2008, -1/+2myspace sure did make 'tom' well off... perhaps it wasnt the best developed site out there, but it did bring 'tom' lots of money

      lesson learned? the average user doesnt care about standards, only your geek friends do
      • Justizzle, on 03/10/2008, -1/+2Lesson learned: average users don't care about how you do "it", as long as "it" gets done.
        "It" meaning "creating a web application" here. I've had clients ask me for features on their site before, which I foolishly tried to talk them out of (trust me, I only try and talk people out of ideas when they're REALLY bad), but they wouldn't have it. Myspace is a place for young people to talk to each other (and pedophiles to find victims...), it works for them and that's all they want.
        That said, being a web developer myself, I wouldn't be caught dead there, so in retrospect, I agree with you, I'm just adding some extra stuff.
    • lordbuddylove, on 03/10/2008, -0/+4Yes, don't develop one of the world's most successful social networking sites (/facepalm). Development extends beyond coding into WHAT you're building. Obviously MySpace is a huge success in that area. Oh yeah, and I hate MySpace.
    • MrFisty, on 03/10/2008, -0/+1Yeah, I bet the creators of MySpace are kicking themselves for coming up with that one.
  • floppyparty, on 03/10/2008, -1/+2www.thescripts.com seems to have information about everything.
  • xlar54, on 03/10/2008, -9/+2Dugg for Digg
    • drakenlot, on 03/10/2008, -1/+1Aww, so close, but not fast enough.
  • sdm011, on 03/10/2008, -3/+2The headline makes me want to be very critical of his work. Too bad the site won't load. My suggestion is to add to the list some information on caching.
  • rowjimmy, on 03/10/2008, -2/+4from the article, "Drupal restored my faith in open-source applications."
    WTF? has this guy never looked at any actual open source project (like say anything on CPAN or a good majority of gnu/linux applications?) other than some web-app jackassery that wasn't really a project but was simply GPL'd because the creator used a bunch of GPL stuff in it? The coding-standards and level of professionality in the vast majority of open source projects i've tweaked, hacked, or worked on is miles above the proprietary apps i've worked on
    • Matt2k, on 03/10/2008, -0/+2I've seen some pretty good open source coding. To be fair, I haven't seen much proprietary coding good or bad.
      I've also seen a lot of complete filth put out as web scripting.
      • rowjimmy, on 03/12/2008, -0/+0the vast majority of web apps i have seen (not ones i or anybody i work with have written, but other peoples work in general) are absolute ***** because these people don't know how to program in terms of architecture - they simply combine hack after hack after hack using hack after hack after hack - what you get in the end /might/ just work but try changing a single thing and watch the whole tower of clipped and stripped cards come a'crashing down. on more than one occasion i've given up and reverse-engineered an entire php app into perl because the original application was so aesthetically (and architecturally - there is a huge link between the two in computer application design) revolting i couldn't cope.
    • HigherLogic, on 03/10/2008, -0/+2Drupal is the only thing I didn't expect to see on that list, there are many other choices out there, and Drupal isn't one of them.
  • kcornwell, on 03/10/2008, -2/+7http://www.idiotproofwebsite.com

    Brilliant interface, intuitive look and feel, easy to navigate. Definitive example of Web 2.0.
    • kcornwell, on 03/10/2008, -0/+3And Ajax enabled!!!1
      (counter updates)
      • darkane, on 03/11/2008, -0/+1And awstats has already predicted 45 hits for tomorrow!
  • rudy23, on 03/10/2008, -2/+1Worked with Ben hunt of WebDesignFromScratch for a custom project. he did a great job and definitely know his way around design.
  • rebolyte, on 03/10/2008, -1/+2Great list. This may already be known in these circles, but don't forget about the Web Developer toolbar FF extension:
    https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/60
  • mrdeathgod, on 03/10/2008, -1/+2I fell in love with Google Web Toolkit. Standards-compliant, RPC-capable client code written in pure Java and translated to JS, CSS, and HTML.
    http://code.google.com/webtoolkit/

    Plus, there is a plugin for the awesome Ext Javascript library.
    http://code.google.com/p/gwt-ext/
  • stellandfly, on 03/10/2008, -3/+1http://css-galleries.com should be on that list.

    Great article, nonetheless.
  • Fragle1980, on 03/10/2008, -3/+3Awesome List! Figured I'd throw this out there... It has served me well in the past~

    http://www.Flashkit.com
    • serif69, on 03/10/2008, -1/+3Use of Flash automatically makes you a worse web developer.
      • drakenlot, on 03/10/2008, -0/+1No, use of excessive Flash makes you a bad designer, moderation with Flash is key.
  • smackafiyah, on 03/10/2008, -2/+2I've been away from web development for almost 5 years, hopefully these sites are useful for a good quick refresh
  • freakyjay420, on 03/10/2008, -2/+0Excellent list, there's some very good resources in there.
  • Kram123, on 03/10/2008, -1/+2These websites are also very good for web developers:

    http://www.landofcode.com
    http://www.quackit.com
    http://www.tizag.com
    • musters, on 03/10/2008, -0/+2you mean "designers" not "developers" (unless of course you are "developing" in ASP.NET)
    • darkane, on 03/11/2008, -0/+1If you need to reference any of those sites, you're not a web developer. You're a 'website hobbyist'.
  • nrgamble, on 03/10/2008, -2/+4I really agree with Digg being on the list.
    It has shown me with the best way to make my joint Pro Obama/Anonymous website is to develop it on my Mac, whose OS I just upgraded from Ubuntu to Leopard, and have it only render properly in Firefox.
  • creole, on 03/10/2008, -2/+15Mootools but no jQuery?
  • EarlOfLade, on 03/10/2008, -3/+2Here is a real simple test of any web design which has an intention of communicating anything to it's readers:
    - Set video resolution as high as possible, minimum 1280 x 1024
    - Find someone who is not 20/20 and have them read the page
    - Make sure the page scales when zoomed with ctrl +
    - Don't use script fonts for normal text
    - Don't use crazy color schemes like yellow text on red background.

    The OP link seems to fit all these categories and doesn't use useless fluff to obscure the message.
  • livetheriches, on 03/10/2008, -4/+1Wow - - this is just what I was looking for...a great resource for ideas for my web designs! I've already bookmarked it! thanks again, Maria Gudelis (ps - I will then get a much better desgin for a site I'm working on now, http://www.maria-gudelis.com
  • coustoe, on 03/10/2008, -5/+3Obviously this guy is clueless as he doesnt know the difference between Designers and Developers. None of these sites are Developer sites they are all Designer sites, Someone tell me the last time Using CSS qualified you as being a developer?

    If someone came to my office applying for a developer position and listed CSS as a programming language I'd throw his resume in the garbage.

    Next time noob put appropiate WAMP, LAMP, jsp, php, asp.net and web 2.0 api sites in your list Dumbass, dugg down for digg users that don't know the difference between devs and designers and the stupid person who posted this crap and doesnt know himself
    • Matt2k, on 03/10/2008, -1/+1Coustoe is right. Developer in the context of computers has traditionally meant a programmer. Has the definition changed? Maybe a little.

      And although a little more tact would carry the message a bit farther -- what he's saying is that its kind of demoralizing when you've just spent the last three days writing an n-tiered distributed membership provider framework with a robust exception logging infrastructure, to have someone tell you they developed a site with CSS and XHTML strict with an atom feed. Using css-p to design the latest Web2.0alizr.us site is not programming
    • HigherLogic, on 03/10/2008, -0/+4A web developer has to know both frontend and backend, it's not limited to programming and systems. And besides, there's no clear definition it seems. Take me for example. I've been a "developer" for over 10 years. I know LAMP (and JavaScript), but also design (HTML, CSS, graphic and logo design) and have to deal with other areas of web development (marketing, usability, accessibility, SEO). You wouldn't call me a programmer, even though I can do strictly programming. You wouldn't call me a designer, even though I can make a static site with just HTML and CSS. You would call me a web developer though, as I can and do develop entire websites, not just the frontend, and not just the backend.
    • billydisaster, on 03/11/2008, -0/+2Well conversely just because you can code asp doesn't mean you can code CSS. It's still development, just front-end development rather than back-end development. And frankly I'd thank you for throwing my resume in the bin if I was ever misguided enough to apply for a job at your office.
      Why do some people get all superior just cos they know a bit of code? No need to come across as an arse.
  • sfrench, on 03/10/2008, -0/+5If you work in php, and you haven't heard of this... recognize!
    http://xdebug.org/
    • HigherLogic, on 03/10/2008, -0/+2Interesting, never heard of that. I've been quite fond of CodeIgniters profiler though, you familiar with it?
      • sfrench, on 03/10/2008, -0/+1Pretty slick if your using CI, for sure. I hadn't looked at CI in a while, and it looks like they are making a lot of headway with it.
  • slantyeyed, on 03/10/2008, -3/+2what? no http://lynda.com ?
  • bryanricker, on 03/10/2008, -1/+2Webmonkey would be #1 for me.
  • musters, on 03/10/2008, -7/+2web developers aren't real developers/coders. so what are they trying to get better at? making crappy web "apps".

    however, the real web apps are going to exist soon with silverlight, but those will be apps and none of you will know how to code it. sorry for you.
  • WhoDoneIt, on 03/10/2008, -2/+5I graduated from College with a Graphic Design diploma in 99 and have been running my own business for the last 8 years. As a creative right brained thinker my most important lesson in ALL of this is to not be afraid to network and hire freelance individuals that can work with you well. I started off wanting to be the all-in-one guy that could program, code, create CMS, Flash etc.. but soon realized that there isn't time nor do I have the skills to do each one of those well, so I stick to what I do best and that is design. I can focus on the latest tricks, trends, ideas in design and let the left brain thinkers of the world handle the programming, custom javascript, flash programming, CMS etc..

    While I am good with HTML, CSS and can fudge little scripts here and there, I simply don't have the time anymore or desire to learn it all.

    Be apart of a good team and don't pretend you can do it all. There are VERY few individuals out there that can be both as effective in design as they are in programming and coding. It takes a unique skillset to handle both
  • dannydowney, on 03/10/2008, -1/+2Excellent article with great feedback, there's some very good resources in this thread thanks everyone :)
  • salazarmark, on 03/10/2008, -1/+1Now that's a good title, unlike having a MORON call it Top '20 Websites a web developer should know".
  • jsebrech, on 03/10/2008, -2/+1My list:
    - W3.org. Reading and fullly understanding the HTML and CSS specifications is instrumental to the smooth design of web applications.
    - Ajaxian.org. Useful to keep abreast of trends in web development.
    - Designinginterfaces.com. A good grounding in basic UI design and usability, separated from technical details.
  • DieselDaddy, on 03/10/2008, -2/+4I would add http://www.smashingmagazine.com/ as well. Excellent design mag that has a developer slant. Very useful posts on Ajax/CSS and tons of site designs to get you inspired.
  • tibbon, on 03/10/2008, -7/+1Uhh... php sucks. How many security flaws for it come out WEEKLY? Thus, Drupal has issues.
    Don't believe me? Why then doesn't Google use PHP for everything? Oh, because it sucks. Thus they use mainly python.
    Try Plone instead. It's written in Python and uses Zope instead of mySQL. Much more secure.
  • callmeed, on 03/10/2008, -0/+1I wouldn't consider mootools and Drupal "websites" per say ... dugg nonetheless
    • jasonsalas, on 03/10/2008, -1/+1yeah...tools, not web sites. i don't credit MSDN as a major contributing factor, although i browse the online docs for the .NET API when i need to.
  • JohnILM, on 03/11/2008, -0/+2I was always partial to htmlgoodies.com .... got me through my first few contracts.
  • siotha, on 03/11/2008, -0/+0i think you need to view some httt://www.xtrain.com classes to add to your list
  • shibinraj2005, on 03/11/2008, -2/+0good work seeee this also........
    http://free-interviewtips.blogspot.com/
  • esoterick, on 03/11/2008, -0/+1Good ol' Webmonkey
  • ModestoRealtor, on 03/11/2008, -1/+0thanks for pointing me in the right direction.
  • manlykitty, on 03/11/2008, -0/+1recursion error from linking to digg
  • giover187, on 03/11/2008, -0/+0Really good list... thanks for digging it
  • jordanleegauci, on 03/11/2008, -0/+2The best teacher is digg. It's Algorithm is awesome
  • natgem, on 03/11/2008, -0/+1This list is great! There are so many sites out there for web development and it's nice to have a list created by someone who spends night and day researching them. thanks!
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