Web Design Tools?

[robot180]

(This is a real tip!)

If you think that validating your code is time consuming, try the Firefox web designers toolbar plugin. It has a lot of very useful features for web designers. One menu allows you to easily validate your html, css, WAI standards, and a few others. I use it all the time. All you have to do is click the menu, click the type of validation, and it pops up in a new tab, or new window if you want.

I think everyone should validate code, especially when it is that easy. I suggest validating it constantly while coding for two reasons. The first is that if you wait until you are done and find out that there are tons of mistakes, you may give up fixing them. The second is that I found that after making a few websites while constantly validating them, you start to write more valid code by default. Now, I can write code and never get errors.

The only problem I run into is when I copy and paste text to post on the site and it has appostraphies in it ('). That produces an error in the html validation. I always have to go back and fix that.

[Mike]

Originally Posted by robot180

The only problem I run into is when I copy and paste text to post on the site and it has appostraphies in it ('). That produces an error in the html validation. I always have to go back and fix that.

To people that are having the same problem, use this table as reference.

Another reference: CSS Properties to JavaScript references

[Ryan M.]

Originally Posted by Mike

Another reference: CSS Properties to JavaScript references

Hey! Now that's useful... now I just have to learn JS.

[robot180]

I thought about that problem that I just mentioned. Does anyone have an idea of how I could have the php convert any apostraphies into the code for an apostraphy? The text is inputed directly into the code and uploaded using ftp. Is there a way that when a page is downloaded, the php could first check for html entities and convert them into the code for the entity?

[Ryan M.]

Originally Posted by robot180

I thought about that problem that I just mentioned. Does anyone have an idea of how I could have the php convert any apostraphies into the code for an apostraphy? The text is inputed directly into the code and uploaded using ftp. Is there a way that when a page is downloaded, the php could first check for html entities and convert them into the code for the entity?

I'm not sure exactly how you want it applied, but htmlspecialchars might help you.

[sanddrag]

I would also like to suggest the idea of a CMS. It is an easy way to quickly make a very good looking and well organized site. I too would not recommend PHP-Nuke but Mambo and also e107 look really good. You can check them all out and do a demo of the admin interface too at http://www.opensourcecms.com/

If you are looking to do some coding/customizing but don't want to make a whole site, you can go with a CMS and then make your own plugins, themes, images, etc for it.

[Mike]

Originally Posted by Ryan M.

I'm not sure exactly how you want it applied, but htmlspecialchars might help you.

In addition, if you want the text to be executed as HTML when you view it, check out htmlspecialchars_decode Only works in PHP5.

[robot180]

Originally Posted by Ryan M.

I'm not sure exactly how you want it applied, but htmlspecialchars might help you.

Ok. I will use the htmlentities function instead. Thanks for pointing that out. What I will do is write a program where I can paste text into a box and hit a button that converts everything. Then, I will copy and paste it again into the code. It is an extra step, but it is easier then going through hundreds of lines of text to find them. lol (I'm lazy)

[roboticsguy1988]

Originally Posted by robot180

Ok. I will use the htmlentities function instead. Thanks for pointing that out. What I will do is write a program where I can paste text into a box and hit a button that converts everything. Then, I will copy and paste it again into the code. It is an extra step, but it is easier then going through hundreds of lines of text to find them. lol (I'm lazy)

Eh, we all our lazy at some point. Like me, instead of making a whole website purely out of code, i use a CMS, << now thats lazy, even though i modify the code a lot.