User:Dave/Web Hack Notes (Non-Wiki)

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HELP FROM AROUND THE WEB

These notes began as an archive of resources listed on the humans.txt file for a particular website. The domain for that site was since hijacked by a domain squatter, but the resources listed here have proved useful for other web projects. The idea is to expand this page with other helpful resources for building simple web sites.

Web Design Tips & Resources

Web Tools Weekly
http://webtoolsweekly.com/
Web Tools Weekly is a front-end development and web design newsletter with a focus on tools.
Webdesigner Depot
http://www.webdesignerdepot.com/
Our goal is to share the latest and greatest findings, tips, and techniques for web designers and developers.

SEO, SEM, Search Engine Responsiveness

Screaming Frog SEO Spider Tool
http://www.screamingfrog.co.uk/seo-spider/
The Screaming Frog SEO Spider is a small desktop program you can install locally on your PC, Mac or Linux machine which spiders websites’ links, images, CSS, script and apps from an SEO perspective. It fetches key onsite elements for SEO, presents them in tabs by type and allows you to filter for common SEO issues, or slice and dice the data how you see fit by exporting into Excel. You can view, analyse and filter the crawl data as it’s gathered and updated continuously in the program’s user interface.

Static File Websites

An Introduction to Static Site Generators
http://davidwalsh.name/introduction-static-site-generators
This is a fantastic introduction in helping folks understand the advantages of static sites, particularly when there's no compelling advantage for maintaining the site on a dynamic architecture.
What is a Static Website?
http://nilclass.com/courses/what-is-a-static-website/
What is a Static Website? Static websites are popular because they are super efficient, extremely fast and usually free to host. Blogs, resumes, marketing websites, landing pages, and documentation are all good candidates for static websites. Follow along as we visually walk-through the differences and benefits between a static vs dynamic website.
Why You Should Build Your Website Using Static .html Files?
http://ryanhayes.net/why-you-should-build-your-website-using-static-html-files/
Why would anyone want a static .html site with the options we have today in CMS products? Why would you go seemingly backwards to the old days of .html?
- Performance
- Security
- HTML is portable!
StaticGen: Top Open-Source Static Site Generators
https://www.staticgen.com/
An incredible list of 100 static site generators. Included the generator's ranking (how many stars it was "awarded" by users), language (Ruby, Python, JavaScript, etc.), templates (Liquid, MarkDown, EJS, Swig, etc.) and license (MIT, Apache, GPL, etc.).
Static Site Generators
https://staticsitegenerators.net/
"The definitive listing of Static Site Generators"
Implementing a static website in Google App Engine
http://www.enkisoftware.com/devlogpost-20130823-1-Implementing_a_static_website_in_Google_App_Engine.html
Jekyll-Bootstrap
http://jekyllbootstrap.com/
Jekyll-Bootstrap is a full blog scaffold for Jekyll based blogs. Jekyll Generates Static Websites! To understand the differences and benefits of static vs dynamic websites, follow this quick visual tutorial.

Static File Website Hosting Hacks

Also See: Git & Website Publishing
Cheap or Free Static Website Hosting
http://alignedleft.com/resources/cheap-web-hosting

Static Website Tools

Staticman - Static sites with superpowers.
https://staticman.net/
Staticman handles user-generated content for you and transforms it into data files that sit in your GitHub repository, along with the rest of your content.

Version Control Systems

Git

Git --everything-is-local
http://git-scm.com/
Git is a free and open source distributed version control system designed to handle everything from small to very large projects with speed and efficiency.

Learn Git; GitHub

Pro Git (book) by Scott Chacon is available to read online for free.

http://git-scm.com/book
The entire Pro Git book, written by Scott Chacon and published by Apress, is available here. All content is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike 3.0 license.
git - the simple guide
just a simple guide for getting started with git. no deep shit ;)
http://rogerdudler.github.io/git-guide/
GitHub For Beginners (Part 1)
Don't Get Scared, Get Started: http://readwrite.com/2013/09/30/understanding-github-a-journey-for-beginners-part-1
GitHub is more than just a programmer's tool. If you want to collaborate on anything, you should give it a try. Part 1 of a two-part look at getting started with GitHub.
GitHub For Beginners (Part 2)
Commit, Push And Go: http://readwrite.com/2013/10/02/github-for-beginners-part-2
Now that we know the concepts behind GitHub and Git, it's time to have fun. Part 2 of our two-part series.

Git & Website Publishing

GitHub Pages - Websites for you and your projects.
https://pages.github.com/
Hosted directly from your GitHub repository. Just edit, push, and your changes are live.
Using GitHub Pages To Host Your Website
http://blog.teamtreehouse.com/using-github-pages-to-host-your-website
This is an awesome tutorial explaining how to "commit" your web site's files from your computer to your GitHub repository. Makes hosting on GitHub super simple!
GIT to deploy website (in 5 steps)
http://www.bitbonsai.com/git-deploy-website-5steps/
How I moved my websites to Dropbox and GitHub
http://alexcican.com/post/guide-hosting-website-dropbox-github/
Using Git to manage a web site
http://toroid.org/ams/git-website-howto
A step-by-step tutorial from a website that is doing what the tutorial instructs.
Git for Web Publishing
http://philkates.com/2009/08/git-as-a-web-publishing-tool/
Features instructions for updating Git on DreamHost.

#git, #github

CMS & Blog Platforms

Drupal

Drupal Commons
http://drupal.org/project/commons
Drupal Commons is a ready-to-use solution for building either internal or external communities. It provides a complete social business software solution for organizations.
A Drupal Developer’s Setup on Windows
http://mikekeran.com/drupal-developer-setup-windows
Back up your site using the command line
https://drupal.org/upgrade/backing-your-site-command-line
Upgrading from previous versions
https://drupal.org/upgrade
Upgrading Drupal using a Patch File
https://drupal.org/comment/1545852#comment-1545852

Drupal Modules

(Used on the new ATA.org Drupal 7 installation.)
Top 25 Drupal 7 Modules
http://www.axzm.com/top-25-drupal-7-modules
Backup and Migrate
https://drupal.org/project/backup_migrate
Display Suite Bootstrap Layouts
https://drupal.org/project/ds_bootstrap_layouts
Bootstrap - Photo Gallery
https://drupal.org/project/bootstrap_gallery
Context
https://www.drupal.org/project/context
Context allows you to manage contextual conditions and reactions for different portions of your site. For instance, you can group several "Beans" (blocks) into a particular Context if you want to consistently place the group on several nodes throughout the site.

Block Modules

Bean
https://www.drupal.org/project/bean
Bean is an acronym that stands for Block Entities Aren't Nodes.
MultiBlock
https://www.drupal.org/project/multiblock
Drupal's block module is limited by the fact that a block can only have one instance. Each block has a 1:1 relationship with its region, weight, visibility (and other) settings. This means that it is impossible to have blocks in multiple regions or to have blocks that have different settings on different pages. MultiBlock module solves this problem by allowing you to create multiple Block Instances of already existing blocks.
Block Group
https://www.drupal.org/project/blockgroup
Tutorial: Drupal Tutorial : Block Groups And Bootstrap | WDTutorials.com

Drupal Themes

Bamboo
https://drupal.org/project/bamboo
Bootstrap
https://drupal.org/project/bootstrap
Bootstrap Barrio
https://drupal.org/project/bootstrap_barrio
Bootstrap Barrio is a sub-theme of the Bootstrap Theme, adding 1, 2 or 3 columns with configurable widths.

Drupal Theme Tutorials

Bootstrap sub-theming "how to"
https://drupal.org/node/1978010
How to Use Bootswatch Themes in Drupal 7
http://webwash.net/tutorials/how-use-bootswatch-themes-drupal-7
Creating a sub-theme
https://drupal.org/node/225125
How to Customize a Contributed Drupal Theme
http://radarearth.com/content/how-customize-contributed-drupal-theme

Drupal Wikis

Commons Wikis
http://drupal.org/project/commons_wikis
Provide the wiki functionality for Drupal Commons distribution.

See other wiki-like features for Drupal here:

http://portlandwiki.org/User:WikiMaster/Projects#Drupal_Related

Drupal - Drush

A Beginner's Guide to Drush, the Drupal Shell
https://www.digitalocean.com/community/articles/a-beginner-s-guide-to-drush-the-drupal-shell
Drush.org
A command line shell and scripting interface for Drupal.: http://drush.ws/
Upgrade Drupal easily with Drush
https://drupal.org/comment/1593136#comment-1593136
Updating Drupal Core with Drush
http://brockboland.com/2010/08/updating-drupal-core-drush/
Install Drush on Dreamhost VPS
http://www.pru8.com/install-drush-on-dreamhost-vps
Drush commands reference
https://groups.drupal.org/drush/commands

WordPress

WordPress Back-Up

BlogVault "The Ultimate WordPress Backup Service"
https://blogvault.net/
Premium service with prices ranging from $9/month for one blog.
WPBackItUp Backup & Restore
https://wordpress.org/plugins/wp-backitup/
Installed on http://sofiaangelina.com/ and http://lifemotion.com/.

WordPress Guides

Creating a Static Front Page
http://codex.wordpress.org/Creating_a_Static_Front_Page
Enable and Disable Comments
http://en.support.wordpress.com/enable-disable-comments/
How to Show WordPress Pages on Your Homepage
http://premium.wpmudev.org/blog/how-to-show-wordpress-pages-on-your-homepage/
Docs to WordPress
https://wordpress.org/plugins/docs-to-wordpress/changelog/
Easily move posts from Google Docs to WordPress.
WordPress plugin: include custom fields in a post
http://pp19dd.com/wordpress-plugin-include-custom-field/
This handy site also contains links to a number of other useful tips 'n' tools, including CSV batch zipcode Lookup tool, Four things I wish someone had told me about wikis (WikiMedia) and more.
WordPress Rockers: How To’s
http://wprockers.com/how-tos
wordpress tips | tips & advice on wordpress.com blogs
http://wpbtips.wordpress.com/

WordPress Multisite

The Beginner's Guide to WordPress Multisite
http://mashable.com/2012/07/26/beginner-guide-wordpress-multisite/

WordPress Photo Galleries

Twitter Bootstrap Galleries
http://wordpress.org/plugins/twitter-bootstrap-galleries/
Wraps the content of a WordPress media gallery in a Twitter's Bootstrap grid.
NextGEN Gallery
http://www.nextgen-gallery.com/
NextGEN Gallery Shortcodes
http://www.nextgen-gallery.com/nextgen-gallery-shortcodes/

WordPress Shortcodes

Shortcode API
http://codex.wordpress.org/Shortcode_API
WordPress Page Design: Shortcodes v Page Templates
http://www.sitepoint.com/wordpress-page-design-shortcodes-v-page-templates/
Getting Started with WordPress Shortcodes (+Examples)
http://speckyboy.com/2011/07/18/getting-started-with-wordpress-shortcodes-examples/

Wordpress & Social Media

Top 10 Social Media Plugins for WordPress
http://smallbiztrends.com/2014/03/social-media-plugins-for-wordpress.html
WordPress Instagram Plugins - Instagram Picture
http://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/website/wordpress-plugins/instagram-picture-plugin-for-wordpress
Instagram Picture
Shortcode function example (English): http://tb-webtec.de/2013/10/instagram-picture-shortcode-function-example-english/

WordPress Themes

WordPress Child Themes
http://codex.wordpress.org/Child_Themes
How to remove Proudly powered by WordPress from Twenty Eleven theme?
http://wprockers.com/how-to-remove-proudly-powered-by-wordpress-from-twenty-eleven-theme-1120.html
Replace/Remove Default Header Image Twenty Eleven Theme
http://wpti.ps/functions/replace-remove-header-image-twenty-eleven-theme/

Flat File CMS Scripts

Monstra
http://monstra.org/
Monstra is a modern and lightweight Content Management System. It is Easy to install, upgrade and use.
Morfy
http://morfy.monstra.org/
Morfy is a simple, fast and light-weighted file-based Content Management System. Making the Web easy.
Pico
http://picocms.org/
A stupidly simple & blazing fast, flat file CMS. Making the web easy.
razorCMS
http://www.razorcms.co.uk/
File Based Content Management System - The file based CMS that allows you to build a website without the need for an SQL database, storing everything in flat files.

Lightweight CMS Scripts

Bolt CMS - Sophisticated, Lightweight and Simple
https://bolt.cm/
Bolt is an open source Content Management Tool, which strives to be as simple and straightforward as possible. It is quick to set up, easy to configure, uses elegant templates, and above all: It’s a joy to use.
By default, Bolt is configured to use an SQLite database. You can configure the database, if you want to change this to MySQL or PostgreSQL.
CMS Made Simple
http://www.cmsmadesimple.org/
phpSQLiteCMS
http://phpsqlitecms.net/
phpSQLiteCMS is a simple and lightweight open source web content management system (CMS) based on PHP and SQLite.
SiteCake - Simple, drag and drop CMS for fast editing
http://sitecake.com/
SiteCake is an open source PHP CMS application which allows a site admin to edit a website while browsing it. Once logged in, everything becomes editable. While in edit mode, SiteCake displays a "content editing bar" with options for inserting HTML elements like headers, lists, images, videos and other stuff like Google Maps or a slideshow.[1] SiteCake is a true WYSIWYG. There is no separate admin section, you can click any page element and edit it in-place.[2]
Zimplit
http://www.zimplit.com/index.html

Google Sheets as CMS

There are several advantages to using Google Sheets as a CMS database for your website:
- Easily edit the data from Google Sheets.
- Accessing the sheet from any device.
- Sharing the sheet with other people.
- Backups & version history.
- Flexibility to grow & reduce the database by adding new columns on the go.
Learn how to build a “Content Management System” (CMS) for an online blog using Google Sheets, Google Forms, and Google Apps Script.
Generic Blog (Example)
- Google Drive CMS (Summary on HeadlessCMS.)
- GitHub: max-barry/google-drive-cms (No longer maintained.) It still works well, but I don't have the free time to support it.
- Article: How I used Google Drive and Firebase to give my static site a CMS | Max Barry | May 14, 2016
  • gDoc.js | Latest commit 3b27a83 on Dec 1, 2016 (as of 12:27, 17 November 2019 (PST)).
Use Google Spreadsheets as your CMS! Create a Google Spreadsheet containing all the information you will need for your site. Demo Page
Why not just use a Google spreadsheet as the CMS for your website? With Meteor and the Google Spreadsheet API this is pretty simple to do.
A (Code)PEN BY Adam Quinlan

Use Google Sheets as a Database

Using Google Sheets as a Database
Google Sheets provides us with an already familiar interface to create, edit, and view all our data in columns. We can search, order, and even do bulk operations. Also, Google provides an API to use these sheets in a programmatic way.
- codecentric/example-google-sheet-as-database
If you want to rapidly prototype your next web apps, try using Google Spreadsheets as your data backend.
- Demo: giladaya/get-sheet-done


CSS Grids & Frameworks

Bootstrap CSS

Bootstrap > CSS
http://getbootstrap.com/css/
Bootstrap
http://twitter.github.com/bootstrap/
How to Customize the Default Bootstrap Style, the Right Way
https://bootstrapbay.com/blog/customize-bootstrap/
Create a new file in your Bootstrap CSS folder and call it custom.css. Then in the <head> portion of your website, load your new custom CSS file after the default bootstrap stylesheet.
11 Reasons to Use Twitter Bootstrap
http://www.sitepoint.com/11-reasons-to-use-twitter-bootstrap/
Bootstrap Templates - Free HTML Starter Templates for Bootstrap
http://startbootstrap.com/
Bootstrap Image Gallery
http://blueimp.github.io/Bootstrap-Image-Gallery/
Bootsnipp
http://bootsnipp.com/
Design elements, playground and code snippets for Bootstrap HTML/CSS/JS framework
Bootstrap Contact Form
http://www.mkt.cat/contact.php
How to make a contact form with Bootstrap 3 ? (JQuery/PHP/HTML5/JqBootstrapValidation)
http://myprogrammingblog.com/2013/08/27/how-to-make-a-contact-form-with-bootstrap-3-jqueryphphtml5jqbootstrapvalidation/
How to create a PHP, Bootstrap 3 Contact Form which works with blogger and any other platform

http://tudor-anghelina.blogspot.com/2013/09/how-to-create-php-bootstrap-3-contact.html

5 Bootstrap CSS - Tables - JSFiddle
http://jsfiddle.net/juanmendez/L46FX/

Bootstrap Drag & Drop Tool

LayoutIt! BETA
http://www.layoutit.com
Create your frontend code simple and quickly with Bootstrap using our Drag & Drop Interface Builder.

Others

CSS Wizardry
http://csswizardry.com/
Emastic - css framework
http://code.google.com/p/emastic/
inuit.css
http://csswizardry.com/inuitcss/
Pure
http://purecss.io/
Responsive Grid System
http://www.responsivegridsystem.com/
Sass - Syntactically Awesome Stylesheets
http://sass-lang.com/
Web Experience Toolkit (WET)
http://wet-boew.github.io/wet-boew/index-en.html
Collaborative open source project led by the Government of Canada

Framework Forms

Formalize
http://formalize.me/
Features kudos from leading "industry experts."
Formee
http://formee.org/
Responsive web forms for your CSS grid project.

Tips, Tricks & Reading Material for CSS Grids & Frameworks

Don’t Overthink It Grids
http://css-tricks.com/dont-overthink-it-grids/

Responsive Design

CSS Fluid Image Techniques for Responsive Site Design
http://demosthenes.info/blog/586/CSS-Fluid-Image-Techniques-for-Responsive-Site-Design
“Responsive design” is not a single technology but a set of techniques that allow web pages to serve the needs of both mobile and desktop users.
The core components are:
- CSS @media queries
- Fluid images and video
- JavaScript, often triggered by window.matchMedia
- Server-side solutions
- SVG to create resolution-free images
Responsive Design with CSS3 Media Queries
http://webdesignerwall.com/tutorials/responsive-design-with-css3-media-queries
This tutorial will show you how to create a cross-browser responsive design with HTML5 & CSS3 media queries.
Understanding the viewport meta tag, CSS @viewport and making an automatic link to your app
http://benfrain.com/understanding-the-viewport-meta-tag-and-css-viewport/
Viewport Meta Tag For Non-Responsive Design
http://webdesignerwall.com/tutorials/viewport-meta-tag-for-non-responsive-design
What is Responsive Web Design?
http://coolhomepages.com/What-is-Responsive-Web-Design/blog-782.html

HTML5

The HTML5 Page Structure
HTML5 Quick Tutorial
http://www.coursesweb.net/html/html5-quick-tutorial_t
HTML5 Page Structure
http://css-tricks.com/snippets/html/html5-page-structure/
The HTML5 Page Structure
http://www.basewebmaster.com/html/html5-page-structure.php
HTML5 Page Structure
http://www.severinu.com/html5-page-structure/
HTML5 Doctor, helping you implement HTML5 today
http://html5doctor.com/
HTML 5 Outliner
http://gsnedders.html5.org/outliner/
Document Outlines
http://html5doctor.com/outlines/
Sections and Outlines of an HTML5 Document
https://developer.mozilla.org/en/Sections_and_Outlines_of_an_HTML5_document
HTML5 And The Document Outlining Algorithm
http://coding.smashingmagazine.com/2011/08/16/html5-and-the-document-outlining-algorithm/
Fragment identifier (Wikipedia)
Examples
In URIs for MIME text/html pages such as http://www.example.org/foo.html#bar the fragment refers to the element with id="bar".

HTML5 Elements

HTML element reference
https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/HTML/Element
Mozilla Developer Network
HTML 5: Is it <br>, <br/>, or <br />?
http://stackoverflow.com/questions/1946426/html-5-is-it-br-br-or-br

CSS3

CSS Techniques – Absolute Horizontal And Vertical Centering In CSS
http://www.css-jquery-design.com/2013/12/css-techniques-absolute-horizontal-and-vertical-centering-in-css/
Multiple Columns Layout (Magazine-alike) With CSS3
http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/css3-multi-columns/
Using CSS multi-column layouts
https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/Guide/CSS/Using_multi-column_layouts
3D CSS Text
http://www.3dcsstext.com/
overflow-x, overflow-y tests
http://www.brunildo.org/test/Overflowxy2.html
W3C CSS3 working draft: The 'overflow-x' and 'overflow-y' properties.

Also see CSS Layout Tricks.

PHP

different title, keyword and description in every page's
http://stackoverflow.com/questions/5818750/different-title-keyword-and-description-in-every-pages

PHP Classes

The php5 object oriented web design howto > Functions and classes > A page class
http://fun-tech.se/php_tutorial/part03/index.php
What is the function __construct used for?
http://stackoverflow.com/questions/455910/what-is-the-function-construct-used-for

PHP Includes

Custom Page Titles with PHP Includes
http://girlswhogeek.com/tutorials/2006/custom-page-titles-with-php-includes
How to automatically include your header, navigation, and footer on every page
http://www.apaddedcell.com/how-automatically-include-your-header-navigation-and-footer-every-page
Using the PHP Include Function to Template Faster
http://buildinternet.com/2009/12/using-the-php-include-function-to-template-faster/
WebDeveloper.com > Server-Side Development > PHP > php include question - bad practice?
http://www.webdeveloper.com/forum/showthread.php?t=241934
Flawed tips but useful in working out the basic idea of calling head, footer and other page elements from a single file.
WebDeveloper.com > Server-Side Development > PHP > Page title from include php file??
http://www.webdeveloper.com/forum/showthread.php?t=208744
Case Study--How to Customize a JumpStart
http://www.communitymx.com/content/article.cfm?page=1&cid=80733
(This tutorial is mainly pushing JumpStart web templates, but offers some useful tips on includes placement.


Server Side Includes (SSI)

Do you want to create a static file website with simple HTML files and no database? Do you still want to include the common info bits (menus, footers, site maps, etc.) without having to write them on every web page? If so, SSI can be your friend.

Server Side Includes
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Server_Side_Includes
Includes a table showing lots of great examples.
Apache Tutorial: Introduction to Server Side Includes
http://httpd.apache.org/docs/2.2/howto/ssi.html
Server-side includes provide a means to add dynamic content to existing HTML documents.
How to Setup HTML Server Side Includes SSI on Apache and Nginx
http://www.thegeekstuff.com/2014/07/server-side-includes/
Includes instructions on configuring .htaccess file for SSI.
Apache - Server Side Includes
http://www.zytrax.com/tech/web/ssi.htm
This page describes the functionality offered by, and the use of, Apache Server Side Includes (SSI and XSSI).
How do I conditionally handle undefined SSI variables using Apache?
http://serverfault.com/questions/296272/how-do-i-conditionally-handle-undefined-ssi-variables-using-apache
Describes how to use SSI variable settings to automatically include page title.
Parse shtml as SSI, but also include PHP using .htaccess
http://stackoverflow.com/questions/15713204/parse-shtml-as-ssi-but-also-include-php-using-htaccess
Shows modification to .htaccess file that will also allow php includes to be parsed.
An Introduction to Server Side Includes (SSI)
http://www.georgedillon.com/web/ssi.shtml
SSIs, or Server Side Includes, are a way to tell the server to insert something into a web page before it is sent to the viewer. What is inserted may be the content of a plain text file or it may be the output generated by another program running on the server such as the processing of a form return using a PERL script.
BigNoseBird.Com's Server Side Include Page (SSI)
http://bignosebird.com/ssi.shtml
Includes links to tutorials on Enabling SSI on Your Server, Performance Considerations, The ECHO Directive, The INCLUDE Directive, The EXEC and VIRTUAL Directives, Nested Directives, A Real Back Button, eXtended SSI Directives PART I & eXtended SSI Directives PART II.

SHTML & SSI

What is SHTML?
http://www.computerhope.com/jargon/s/shtml.htm
SHTML is an HTML file that includes server instructions or server side includes and is similar to an ASP file.
What is SHTML
http://stackoverflow.com/questions/519619/what-is-shtml
SHTML is a file extension that lets the web server know the file should be processed as using Server Side Includes (SSI). It's embedded in a standard XML comment, and looks like this:

<!--#include virtual="top.shtml" -->

Menus

Create a centred horizontal navigation
http://csswizardry.com/2011/01/create-a-centred-horizontal-navigation/
Demo: http://csswizardry.com/demos/centred-nav/
Horizontally Centered Menus with no CSS hacks
http://matthewjamestaylor.com/blog/beautiful-css-centered-menus-no-hacks-full-cross-browser-support

Social Media

Moved content to new article: Social Networking Tips.

Character Encoding

Character Entity Reference Chart
http://dev.w3.org/html5/html-author/charref
HTML Codes Table—Characters and symbols
http://www.ascii.cl/htmlcodes.htm
Character-Code.com
http://character-code.com/

Online Encoding Tools

Convert special characters to HTML
http://www.unicodetools.com/unicode/convert-to-html.php
HTML Encoder / Decoder
http://www.web2generators.com/html/entities
HTML encoder
http://web.forret.com/tools/html.asp
HTML Character Entity Converter
http://code.cside.com/3rdpage/us/entity/converter.html
HTML 4.01 Entities
http://www.texaswebdevelopers.com/examples/xmlentities/xml_entities.asp

Character Encoding Help Resources & How-Tos

PHP -- Convert special characters to HTML character codes
http://stackoverflow.com/questions/3882567/php-convert-special-characters-to-html-character-codes
Converting special characters to HTML entities between code tags
http://matthewjamestaylor.com/blog/convert-special-characters-to-html-entities-between-code-tags
The Road to HTML 5
character encoding: http://blog.whatwg.org/the-road-to-html-5-character-encoding
Curling Quotes in HTML, SGML, and XML
http://www.dwheeler.com/essays/quotes-in-html.html
HTML Symbol Entities Reference
http://www.w3schools.com/tags/ref_symbols.asp

.htaccess

Htaccess is a very ancient configuration file that controls the Web Server running your website, and is one of the most powerful configuration files you will ever come across.[3]

.htaccess Tricks & Tutorials

Htaccess - THE Ultimate .htaccess Guide
http://www.askapache.com/htaccess/htaccess.html
The Ultimate Guide to .htaccess Files
http://code.tutsplus.com/tutorials/the-ultimate-guide-to-htaccess-files--net-4757
The Definitive Guide to htaccess Techniques
Do’s and Don’ts: http://www.noupe.com/php/htaccess-techniques.html
Comprehensive guide to .htaccess
http://www.javascriptkit.com/howto/htaccess.shtml
Stupid htaccess Tricks
http://perishablepress.com/press/2006/01/10/stupid-htaccess-tricks/

.htaccess 301 Redirects

The Ultimate How-To Guide on 301 Redirects
http://www.internetmarketingninjas.com/blog/search-engine-optimization/301-redirects/
.htaccess 301 redirect from old domain to new domain while structure of pages and url are same
http://stackoverflow.com/questions/13001173/htaccess-301-redirect-from-old-domain-to-new-domain-while-structure-of-pages-an
.htaccess rewrite to redirect root URL to subdirectory
http://stackoverflow.com/questions/990392/htaccess-rewrite-to-redirect-root-url-to-subdirectory

.htaccess Tools

.htaccess Editor
http://www.htaccesseditor.com/en.shtml
Easily create .htaccess file with this handy online .htaccess creation tool.
MediaWiki ShortURL Builder
http://shorturls.redwerks.org/
.htaccess redirect
http://www.htaccessredirect.net/
Free .htaccess Redirect Generator

Prettier URLs Through .htaccess

One way to clean up the URL on each of your site's web pages is to hide its file extension (.php, .html, etc.).

Instead of: https://www.example.org/about-us.html
You get: https://www.example.org/about-us

You can also append a trailing forward slash, just like many of the major CMSs do.[4]

Instead of: https://www.example.org/about-us
You get: https://www.example.org/about-us/
Removing file extension via .htaccess
http://eisabainyo.net/weblog/2007/08/19/removing-file-extension-via-htaccess/
Hide file extensions, add trailing slash with .htaccess
http://code.adonline.id.au/hide-file-extensions-add-trailing-slash/
How to remove .php, .html, .htm extensions with .htaccess
http://alexcican.com/post/how-to-remove-php-html-htm-extensions-with-htaccess/
Includes instructions on adding a trailing forward slash.

Images & Image Handling

The figure & figcaption elements
http://html5doctor.com/the-figure-figcaption-elements/
Good explanation for incorporating the <figure> & <figcaption> HTML5 elements in images, drawings and other graphical assets.

Tools & Tricks

Aspect Ratio Calculator
http://andrew.hedges.name/experiments/aspect_ratio/
Bulk Resize Photos
http://bulkresizephotos.com/
Image Size Calculator
http://auctionrepair.com/pixels.html
Converts inches to pixels & pixels to inches.
Perfect Full Page Background Image
http://css-tricks.com/perfect-full-page-background-image/
Absolute Center (Vertical & Horizontal) an Image
http://css-tricks.com/snippets/css/absolute-center-vertical-horizontal-an-image/
Favicons
http://iconhandbook.co.uk/reference/examples/favicons/

Free Images

Pixabay
http://pixabay.com/
Free high quality images you can use anywhere.
OPENICONIC
https://useiconic.com/open/
An open source icon set with 223 marks in SVG, webfont and raster formats. Lots of great little icons.

Online Image Editors

Photo editor online - Pixlr.com edit image
http://pixlr.com/
Autotracer.org
http://www.autotracer.org/
Converts your raster images to vector graphics. Free online raster images vectorizer. No registration, no email necessary.

GIMP

GIMP Extensions Pack for Windows
http://registry.gimp.org/node/27656
Extensions Sources
Handy Tweaks To Make GIMP Replace Photoshop
http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2009/04/03/8-handy-tweaks-to-make-gimp-replace-photoshop/
Gimp Tutorial – How to make an image background transparent
http://mbrsolution.com/tutorial/gimp-tutorial-how-to-make-an-image-background-transparent.php
This tutorial is a bit easier to follow than the one shown below.
How to make a transparent background/selection on an image using GIMP
http://geekswithblogs.net/timh/archive/2006/03/20/72797.aspx
Replacing a Foreground with The GIMP
http://gimpguru.org/tutorials/replaceforeground/
Convert a simple image to a vector graphic using GIMP and Inkscape
http://imgur.com/gallery/xL0Ba

Inkscape

Inkscape tutorial: Tracing
http://inkscape.org/doc/tracing/tutorial-tracing.html
Increase Image Resolution
Convert Raster Images to Vector: http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/convert-images-to-svg-format-with-inkscape/
Rich EPS file editing with Inkscape
https://lindsaybradford.wordpress.com/2012/04/05/rich-eps-file-editing-with-inkscape/

Text Tricks

Blinking Text

How to make blinking/flashing text with css3?
http://stackoverflow.com/questions/16344354/how-to-make-blinking-flashing-text-with-css3
How to make text blink on website? [duplicate]
http://stackoverflow.com/questions/20270096/how-to-make-text-blink-on-website

3rd Party File Hosting & Document Publishing

Also See: Office Productivity Hacks: Cloud Storage & File Sharing Platforms

The basic idea is to host images, PDFs and other large files on a publicly available directory, like Dropbox, Flickr, Picasa, HiDrive, etc. Alternatively, you can set up a Dropbox-like directory using an open source tool like SparkleShare (see below).

Drop Your Dropbox and SparkleShare Instead!
http://www.linuxjournal.com/content/drop-your-dropbox-and-sparkleshare-instead
SparkleShare
http://sparkleshare.org/
"Setting up your own host to work with SparkleShare is relatively easy." (An open source option for creating your own Dropbox-like service.)
BitTorrent’s Secure Dropbox Alternative Goes Public
http://torrentfreak.com/bittorrents-secure-dropbox-alternative-goes-public-130423/
BitTorrent Sync (available from BitTorrent Labs) is free of charge and allows people to securely sync folders to multiple devices using the BitTorrent protocol.

Quick Document Publishing

Need to create a publicly accessible web page as quickly as possible? Publishthis.email turns the contents of an email into a publicly accessible site as quickly as you can write it."[5]
  1. Write an email with the content for your page
  2. Send it to page@publishthis.email
  3. We'll reply with a link to your new page
Try it! Free. No account or sign-up required.

External Image Hosting

Google Docs, Google Drive, Google Sites

Open-Mic.jpg
Attempted to link to an image hosted on Google Docs (image shown above). Sharing set to "public." Google's URI scheme looks a bit odd (seems to mask the file name and file type). The problematic part (in terms of linking to these images from a web site) is that Google appears to change the URI itself at least once a day.

Two Days; Two URIs

Image Placeholder Service

lorempixel - Placeholder images for every case.
http://lorempixel.com/
Placeholder Images for every case. Webdesign or Print. Just put a custom url in your html and you receive a proper placeholder picture.
Example:

150.jpg
<img src="http://lorempixel.com/350/150">
(To get a random picture of 350 x 150 pixels.)

PLACEHOLD.IT - A quick and simple image placeholder service.
http://placehold.it
Example:

350x150.gif
<img src="http://placehold.it/350x150">
(To get a grey box sized at 350 x 150 pixels.)

Color

Color Names Supported by All Browsers
http://www.w3schools.com/html/html_colornames.asp

Links

Jump Links, Internal Anchors

Internal Links
http://www.yourhtmlsource.com/text/internallinks.html
Instead of having to resort to the arduous task of scrolling down long pages, you can make your readers very happy by offering them page jumps as an alternative mode of transport around your site. As people have become lazier, page jumps have risen in popularity, so to avoid having your site unliked by the youth of today, implement these simple navigational aids.

Relative & Absolute Links

Why relative URLs should be forbidden for web developers
https://yoast.com/relative-urls-issues/
Relative URLs stink. They really do. All sorts of SEO problems on the web are caused by the use of relative URLs in links, canonicals and more.

Footnotes & Endnotes

Javascript Endnotes
http://library.uwinnipeg.ca/people/dobson/portfolio/endnotes/index.html
“JavaScript Endnotes” allow a web author to create an HTML document containing endnotes which are dynamically renumbered as new notes are added, in a similar manner to the <NOTE> tag supported in many WIKI applications.
Accessible footnotes with HTML and CSS
http://www.likewowonline.net/web/dev/accessible-footnotes.html
Footnotes
http://ignorethecode.net/blog/2010/04/20/footnotes/
Handling footnotes and references in HTML
http://www.2ality.com/2011/12/footnotes.html
This post examines what options one has for handling footnotes and references in HTML. It then presents a library that helps you with handling them.
JavaScript-enhanced footnotes and references
http://rauschma.github.com/html_demos/footnotes.html

Links To Google & Gmail Resources

Link To Specific Gmail Message

All Email Messages in Gmail Have a Permanent Web Address
http://www.labnol.org/internet/gmail-emails-have-permanent-web-address/6811/
Do you know that it is possible to bookmark individual email messages of Gmail just like you would bookmark any regular web page. (Links to your Gmail messages will only resolve if you're logged into your Google account when you click on the link.)

How To Link To Specific Google Books Page

Example

Find the base URL to the Google Book you want to link to. Add the page number just after the book ID like in the example highlighted below.

http://books.google.com/books?id=zLrKGGxBKjAC&pg=PA135
UPDATE: The link shown above no longer links directly to the specific page it once did (135), but resolves to a onepage format instead.
CAUTION: Google apparently changes its URI structure without warning. For example, the link to the book / page shown above was formerly written like the one shown below (which now only resolves to the book's main Google Books description page).
http://books.google.com/books?id=8f2y0F2wzLoC&pg=P135

Also See: Linking to individual titles on Google Books

How To Link To Google Calendar Event

Is it possible to link to specific date on a public Google Calendar?
http://webapps.stackexchange.com/questions/3431/is-it-possible-to-link-to-specific-date-on-a-public-google-calendar

URI Formats - (Change the yyyymmdd setting shown in the examples to the specific date you want to link to.)

Link to a date on your private calendar:?(must update)

Link to an event on a your public calendar:
https://calendar.google.com/calendar/embed?src={your_calendar_id}&mode=day&dates=20160506/20160506&ctz=America/Los_Angeles

(Obviously, update date range and time zone accordingly.)

Other Google Link Resources

Google Books API Family: Static Links
https://developers.google.com/books/docs/static-links

Google Account Document Sharing Options

Sharing a Google Doc with a non-Google user
http://www.lynda.com/articles/sharing-a-google-doc-with-a-non-google-user

Security

TLS & SSL

Let’s Encrypt

Let’s Encrypt
https://letsencrypt.org
Let’s Encrypt is a new Certificate Authority: It’s free, automated, and open.
Let’s Encrypt is a new free certificate authority, built on a foundation of cooperation and openness, that lets everyone be up and running with basic server certificates for their domains through a simple one-click process. Major sponsors include the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the Mozilla Foundation, Akamai, and Cisco. On April 9, 2015, the ISRG and the Linux Foundation announced their collaboration.[6]

Let’s Encrypt on DreamHost

“HTTPS Everywhere!”
Let’s Encrypt is at the forefront of an Internet sea change. Firefox and Chromium are both proposing the deprecation of unencrypted HTTP, which means that any user of your website will see a warning unless you have a TLS certificate.

Others

CAcert
http://www.cacert.org
CAcert.org is a community-driven Certificate Authority that issues certificates to the public at large for free. CAcert's goal is to promote awareness and education on computer security through the use of encryption, specifically by providing cryptographic certificates. Any application that supports the Secure Socket Layer Protocol (SSL or TLS) can make use of certificates signed by CAcert. If you want to have free certificates issued to you, join the CAcert Community.
Certbot
https://certbot.eff.org/
An automatic client for enabling HTTPS on your website. Automatically enable HTTPS on your website with EFF's Certbot, deploying Let's Encrypt certificates.
OpenSSL
https://www.openssl.org
The OpenSSL Project is a collaborative effort to develop a robust, commercial-grade, full-featured, and Open Source toolkit implementing the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL v2/v3) and Transport Layer Security (TLS) protocols as well as a full-strength general purpose cryptography library.
StartCom (Provider of StartSSL™.)
https://www.startcom.org
StartSSL™ provides free digital identities called OpenID. StartSSL™ Open Identity eliminates the need for multiple usernames across different websites, simplifying your online experience.

Further Reading

Article features a tutorial for StartCom's StartSSL™.

Web-Based Productivity Apps

Moved content to: http://telecafe.org/smw/Office_Productivity_Hacks#Web-Based_Productivity_Apps

Web Site Builders & Online Designers

Online Website Designers & Builders

The Grid
https://thegrid.io/
Founding Member "Advantages" Include:
- 1 year pre-paid subscription
- Subscription begins v1 release, late Spring 2015
- Locked-in rate of $8/month (regularly $25)
- 7 Sites, custom domains OK
- Pretty much unlimited contributors, storage and bandwidth
- Commerce engine, due late 2015, cost-based fees only
- Grid NFC Token (limited gold edition)
- $96 / yearYearly payment
Webflow
https://webflow.com/
Sign up. Forever free. Join over 200,000 web designers. Create professional, responsive websites. Without any code. Webflow is a professional site builder for designing websites from scratch. You can also start from one of our gorgeous templates.
Website Builders Comparison Chart
http://www.websitebuilderexpert.com/website-builders-comparison-chart/
Compares the following services:
- Squarespace: http://www.squarespace.com/
- Wix: http://www.wix.com/
- Weebly: http://www.weebly.com/
- Jimdo: http://www.jimdo.com/
- GoDaddy: https://www.godaddy.com/hosting/website-builder.aspx
- IM Creator: http://imcreator.com/

Web Server & Hosting

DIY Home Web Server

Set Up a Home Server
http://www.webmonkey.com/2010/02/set_up_a_home_server/
Setting up a home server running an open-source operating system is a popular and useful activity.
How to set up a safe and secure Web server
http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2012/11/how-to-set-up-a-safe-and-secure-web-server/
Learn a lot by doing it yourself instead of going with a hosting company.
Build a Linux Home Web Server For Under $250
http://linuxlookup.com/howto/build_linux_home_web_server_under_250
Amahi Home Server - Making Home Networking Simple
http://www.amahi.org/
Amahi is software that runs on a dedicated PC as a central computer for your home.
See Amahi's Wiki for setting up a home web server: https://wiki.amahi.org/index.php/Hosting_a_website

Dynamic DNS (DDNS)

Also see DreamHost's Dynamic DNS wiki page.

How to Enable Dynamic Service for Your domain name.
http://support.easydns.com/tutorials/DynamicDNS/
Dynamic DNS service is used to keep a domain name pointing to the same computer or server connected to the internet despite the fact that the address (IP address) of the computer keeps changing. This service is useful to anyone who wants to operate a server (web server, mail server, ftp server, irc server etc) connected to the internet with a dynamic IP or to someone who wants to connect to an office computer or server from a remote location with software such as pcAnywhere.
Dynamic DNS with your own domain name (for free!)
http://g18c.wordpress.com/2009/12/04/dynamic-dns-with-your-own-domain-name-for-free/

IP Addresses

Want to buy an Internet IPv4 address? Cheap?
http://www.zdnet.com/article/want-to-buy-an-internet-ipv4-address-cheap/
Companies are beginning to sell IPv4 addresses as the IPv4 address pool finishes drying up.

Web Hosts: Free

The Simplest and Cheapest Free Web Hosting Services
http://lifehacker.com/5530961/the-simplest-and-cheapest-free-web-hosting-services

Web Hosts (Cloud & VPS): Paid

Atlantic.Net

Atlantic.Net
https://www.atlantic.net/
One-Click Applications help simplify your workload. Pricing similar to DigitalOcean.

DigitalOcean

DigitalOcean
https://www.digitalocean.com/
Features 20GB solid-state hard drive (SSD) + 512MB memory for just $5 a month.
Technical FAQ
https://www.digitalocean.com/help/technical/setup/
How To Launch Your Site on a New Ubuntu 12.04 Server with LAMP, SFTP, and DNS
https://www.digitalocean.com/community/articles/how-to-launch-your-site-on-a-new-ubuntu-12-04-server-with-lamp-sftp-and-dns
How To Create Your First DigitalOcean Droplet Virtual Server
https://www.digitalocean.com/community/articles/how-to-create-your-first-digitalocean-droplet-virtual-server
An Introduction to Securing your Linux VPS
https://www.digitalocean.com/community/articles/an-introduction-to-securing-your-linux-vps
Multiple domains on the same droplet
https://www.digitalocean.com/community/questions/multiple-domains-on-the-same-droplet
Guidelines to setup a perfect Digital Ocean VPS
http://www.narga.net/why-moved-digitalocean-guidelines-setup-perfect-vps/
Scroll down about a 3rd of the way to get to list of tutorials.

DreamHost

DreamHost VPS Hosting
http://www.dreamhost.com/servers/vps/
DreamHost configuration fixes
- http://wiki.dreamhost.com/DreamHost_PS_Troubleshooting
- http://wiki.dreamhost.com/PS_Optimization
- http://wiki.dreamhost.com/Preventing_hotlinking
- http://wiki.dreamhost.com/XCache
- http://xcache.lighttpd.net/wiki/Introduction
- https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Manual:Robots.txt

Google Cloud Platform

Google Cloud Platform
https://cloud.google.com/
"Build applications and websites, store data, and analyze data on Google’s infrastructure."

Kyup

High-performance cloud servers deployed instantly. Built on innovative Linux containers technology, loved by developers. Simple pay-as-you-go pricing!

Linode

Linode
https://www.linode.com/

VPS.NET

VPS.NET
http://vps.net/
Further Reading
Best Cloud Hosting
http://best-cheap-hosting.com/best-cloud-hosting/

Web Hosting Control Panels

If you set up your own server, it might be helpful to have the assistance of a GUI control panel.

Comparison of web hosting control panels
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_web_hosting_control_panels
The Definitive Thread on Open Source Control Panels/ cPanel Alternatives
Part I: https://www.digitalocean.com/community/questions/the-definitive-thread-on-open-source-control-panels-cpanel-alternatives-part-i
Webmin
http://www.webmin.com/
ZPanel
http://www.zpanelcp.com/
"ZPanel is a free and complete web hosting control panel for Microsoft® Windows™ and POSIX (Linux, UNIX and MacOSX) based servers. ZPanel is written in PHP and uses several open-source (or freely available) software packages to provide a secure, web hosting system."

Tools & Resources

Tool Collections

10 Free and Useful Tools for Web Designers
http://coolhomepages.com/10-Free-and-Useful-Tools-for-Web-Designers/blog-845.html
Some of the tools mentioned include:
- Infinite Slider: https://kinsta.com/infinite-slider/ (A WordPress slider plugin.)
- ImageOptim: https://imageoptim.com/ (Optimize image size for web. Open source.)
- Google Web Designer: http://www.google.com/webdesigner/ (Create engaging, interactive HTML5-based designs and motion graphics that can run on any device.)

Analytics

Piwik - Free (& Open Source) Web Analytics Software
http://piwik.org/

Browser & Mobile Device Testers

Chrome DEVTOOLS Device Mode & Mobile Emulation
https://developer.chrome.com/devtools/docs/device-mode
Device mode brings the insights of mobile testing to your browser tab through the power of mobile emulation.
MobileTest.me
http://mobiletest.me/
Test your websites in smartphone & tablet emulators.

Structured Data

schema.org
http://schema.org/
Search engines including Bing, Google, Yahoo! and Yandex rely on this markup to improve the display of search results, making it easier for people to find the right Web pages. Many sites are generated from structured data, which is often stored in databases. When this data is formatted into HTML, it becomes very difficult to recover the original structured data. Many applications, especially search engines, can benefit greatly from direct access to this structured data. On-page markup enables search engines to understand the information on web pages and provide richer search results in order to make it easier for users to find relevant information on the web. Markup can also enable new tools and applications that make use of the structure.

Miscellaneous Tools

After the Deadline
http://www.afterthedeadline.com/
After the Deadline is a language checker for the web with:
- Contextual Spell Checking
- Advanced Style Checking
- Intelligent Grammar Checking
BuiltWith
http://builtwith.com/
Find out what websites are Built With
Color Hex Color Codes
http://www.color-hex.com/
DIFF CHECKER
https://www.diffchecker.com/
Can't remember exactly what changes you made to that html file? Let DIFF CHECKER come to the rescue.

Another online Diff Checker is: QuickDiff.com: http://www.quickdiff.com/

An Online Tool to do a 'quick and dirty' diff of two text or code fragments.
Hacked Website Cleanup Tools Extension
https://www.whitefirdesign.com/hacked-website-cleanup-tools
HeadJS -- The Only Script In Your <HEAD> -- A tiny script that speeds up, simplifies and modernizes your site.
Load scripts like images. Use HTML5 and CSS3 safely. Target CSS for different screens, paths, states and browsers. Make it the only script in your HEAD. A concise solution to universal issues.
http://headjs.com/
ID Your Body For Greater CSS Control and Specificity
http://css-tricks.com/id-your-body-for-greater-css-control-and-specificity/
if this then that
http://ifttt.com/wtf
Automated triggers for various web and internet related tasks.
Online Email Obfuscator
http://andrew.hedges.name/experiments/obfuscator/
PURL
http://purl.oclc.org/docs/index.html
PURLs (Persistent Uniform Resource Locators) are Web addresses that act as permanent identifiers in the face of a dynamic and changing Web infrastructure.
Text Mechanic™ - Text Manipulation Tools
http://textmechanic.com/
A collection of free, online, browser-based, text manipulation tools.
Use PHP to insert an automatic “last modified” date into web pages
http://code.adonline.id.au/last-modified-date-php/
What Beautiful HTML Code Looks Like
http://css-tricks.com/what-beautiful-html-code-looks-like/
What is humans.txt?
http://humanstxt.org/
When can I use...
http://caniuse.com/
Compatibility tables for support of HTML5, CSS3, SVG and more in desktop and mobile browsers.

Further Reading

Your Web, documented · WebPlatform.org
http://www.webplatform.org/
HTML5 Development Center
Resources and Tools: http://www.sitepoint.com/tag/html5-dev-center/
All The Tools I Used to Rebuild the DMAD Website
http://dmad.com/web-tools
Brief mentions of lots of useful tools, including...
- BootstrapWP Bootstrap theme for WordPress.
- CSS-Tricks
- Yoast WordPress SEO Plugin
- Advanced Custom Fields - Custom fields. Made easy. Use the Advanced Custom Fields plugin to take full control of your edit screens & custom field data.
... and more.

See Also

References