toolkit

While it's still entirely possible to make a website with nothing but Notepad and a dream, there are many resources out there these days. The problem, of course, is finding the ones that work for you. Not everything I list here will work well for your own workflow, but even if not I hope these resources help ignite your imagination.

Additionally, I've included alternate options where possible, especially if the resource in question requires a one-time or ongoing fee. I am vehemently against subscription software, so the latter is unlikely to be included on this list, but you never know how things might go down the line.

This page is thoroughly inspired by Lethe's magic kit, as well as other pages like this around the web — check out the Meta webring in particular.

I do not use generative AI in any of my websites, either in coding, writing, or design.

Design

• Adobe Photoshop CS4 — Yeah, I still use CS4 of all things; I bought it with a student discount in college. It is creaky and old but I'm comfortable and familiar with it. Before that I'm sure I was using an old copy of Photoshop Elements. I don't know what I'll do when I can't use CS4 anymore...
  • Alternatives: Photopea, etc. I don't have experience with any of these.
• Creative Market — Only rarely will I buy anything here; I have kept up with their weekly releases of free resources for years and have accumulated quite a stash.
• salvaged.nu — The equivalent of the resources folder I've had since the mid-2000s.
• Procreate — If I want to design something with my own hand-drawn elements, I will probably use this instead of Photoshop. One-time fee.
• Subtle Patterns — Exactly what it sounds like.
• Unsplash — Enormous trove of watermark-free stock images. My profile has many curated collections.

Writing

• Scrivener — A writing program that makes it incredibly easy to gather research in the same place as your writing. Though I primarily use this program for its intended purpose of prose writing, I draft all of my websites in Scrivener as well (like this very page). One-time fee plus paid (infrequent) updates, but there is an extensive free trial that only counts the days you use it. The only software I would ever consider subscribing to, because it is that critical to my workflow... but here's hoping it stays as a one-time purchase. It's worth noting that I do most of my writing on my iPad and syncing to desktop is not automatic, but once you get used to having to sync every time you switch devices it's not too bad.
  • Alternatives: At one point I nearly moved all of my site drafts to Obsidian, but I ended up sticking with Scrivener because I didn't want to move that much stuff. That said, I use Obsidian extensively as a digital notebook and do recommend it in that regard; it is incredibly flexible even if you only use a couple of plugins, as I do. (I mostly use it for Final Fantasy XIV notes, if you're curious.)

Coding and Utilities

• Phoenix Code — Community-run successor to Adobe's (freeware) Brackets. Its main feature is that you can preview your code live, which I use whenever I'm designing a new site or layout. That and being able to splitscreen HTML and CSS is nice. (I have all of the AI bullshit turned off, though.)
• Notepad++ — Like if Notepad had actual features. What's most handy about it is that it saves all the files I have open in tabs. Whenever I need to quickly edit a file I use this rather than Phoenix Code.
• Markdown Web Dingus — Converts Markdown to HTML. I write my sites in Markdown, so this is essential.
• WinSCP — FTP program.

Scripts

• Enthusiast — Fanlisting script. Not recommended for new installs as it's a very old script.
• FanUpdate — Powers the update blog. Also not recommended as it's very old.
• PHP Guestbook — Guestbook script. Very customizable... if you take the time to figure out what you're doing, that is. Not for the faint of heart.
• Jem's Mail Form — Contact form script.
• Fancybox — Displays image galleries in a variety of ways.
• Simple Counter — A tiny script by me that I use to code image galleries. Takes a number and some text and duplicates it as many times as you want.
• Code HTML Generator — Another tiny script by me. I use this to generate the HTML for the codes/buttons pages on my fanlistings.

Miscellaneous

• Porkbun — Domain registration. I also used Namecheap for years and recommend either. Don't use GoDaddy.
• Color Blender — When you need a specific hex code between two others.
• Listamatic — I have been using this for inspiration since the mid-2000s.
• Wordmark.it — Previews the fonts on your computer. Used to be free; now requires a subscription to view every font you have. (If you have an alternative, I'm all ears.)

More to be added over time...