Tools

Note that this list is pretty Mac-centric, but I’m sure you can find Windows alternatives with some clever Googling.

Mandatory apps:

• Sublime Text 3 – the best text editor ever
• Chrome – preferred browser
• Transmit – for FTP
• MAMP – a server for your local computer (this will make sense later!)

Recommended apps:

• Spectacle – move windows around with keyboard shortcuts
• Sip – the cutest color picker
• Pocket – for bookmarking links
• Evernote – for notes
• Panda – very pretty Chrome home page with feeds from Designer News and Dribbble
• Alfred – for quickly opening applications on your computer
• Little Ipsum – Latin text generator
• 1Password – password management ($60 but totally worth it)

Subscribe to these:

• Sidebar.io  – daily email list with excellent design and dev links, it’s awesome
• CSS Weekly – weekly list of CSS and front-end dev resources, articles, and tips
• Smashing Newsletter – monthly a roundup of Smashing Mag. articles and much more!
• Lara’s Newsletter – if you want to! I announce workshops and send out helpful links every now and then.

Sites to follow:

• A List Apart – THE web design publication
• CSS-Tricks – trips and tricks for writing CSS and other front-end. Very well written tutorials and code snippets
• Smashing Magazine – fantastic magazine with tutorials, viewpoints, you name it!
• Lara’s Delicious Feed – basically my compilation of various findings from the rest of this list

Book recommendations:

• Build Your Own Website – Comic guide to HTML, CSS, and WordPress (by my friend Nate Cooper!)
• HTML & CSS – beautiful book and a great guide
• A Book Apart – buy all of them!

Free web design stuff:

• The Stocks – collection of free stock photo websites
• Subtle Patterns –  Lots of pretty and …wait for it… subtle patterns for backgrounds and whatnot.
• Icomoon – icons!
• Unheap – collection of jQuery plugins
• Adobe Kuler – nice color scheme designer
• Design Patters on CodePen – nice copy/paste bits of code for common elements .

Link dumps:

• Jessica Hische Resources – she’s so awesome
• webdesign repo – oh my word, so many links!
• Web Design Subreddit
• Designer News – pretty much the go-to for the latest and greatest

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