A running list of tools, resources, and sites I actually use. Updated periodically. No affiliate links, no sponsored placements – just stuff that works.
Useful Links & Resources
Web Design & Development Tools
AI Tools
- ChatGPT – AI assistant for writing, research, and problem solving
- Claude – AI assistant, strong on writing and long-form work
- Perplexity – AI-powered search with cited sources
- Google Gemini – Google’s AI assistant, integrated with Search
Performance & SEO
- GTmetrix – website performance and speed testing
- Pingdom – website speed test from multiple locations
- PageSpeed Insights – Google’s Core Web Vitals testing tool
- Google Search Console – monitor search performance and indexing
- MX Toolbox – MX records, DNS, and email deliverability testing
- BuiltWith – see what technology any website is running
- Schema Markup Validator – test structured data and schema markup
- Rich Results Test – test if page support Rich Text snippets
- Open Graph Tester – test if page has OG image and text
Design & Color
- Canva – quick design tool for non-designers
- Paletton – color scheme designer
- CSS Gradient – CSS gradient generator
- Cool Backgrounds – background texture and gradient generator
- ColorFavs – extract color schemes from images
- Material Palette – Material Design color palette generator
- WhatTheFont – identify fonts from images
Fonts & Icons
- Google Fonts – free web fonts
- Flaticon – free icons in multiple formats
- Iconfinder – search free and paid icons
- unDraw – free open-source illustrations
Stock Photos & Images
- YFDev placeholder – generate dimension-based placeholder graphics
- YFDev background generator – generate geometric background graphics
- Unsplash – free high-resolution stock photos
- Pexels – free stock photos and videos
- Pixabay – free images, illustrations, and vectors
- Freepik – free vectors, photos, and PSD files
- StockSnap – curated free stock photography
- Shutterstock – premium stock photography
- Upscale.media – AI image upscaler
Developer Tools
- CSS-Tricks – CSS guides, tutorials, and reference
- W3Schools – HTML, CSS, JS reference and tutorials
- HTML Entities – character entity reference
- Why No Padlock – mixed content and SSL issue detector
- AbuseIPDB – IP reputation and abuse reporting database
- Wireframe.cc – simple browser-based wireframing tool
- Quackit Table Editor – simple HTML table generator
Utilities & Productivity
- Wayback Machine – browse archived versions of any website
- WeTransfer – send large files for free
- Privnote – self-destructing notes for sensitive info
- Trello – kanban-style project management
- AlternativeTo – find alternatives to any software
- QR Code Generator – free QR code creator
- Scr.im – protect your email address from spam scrapers
- Egg Timer – simple browser-based countdown timer
- Zoho Assist – remote desktop and screen sharing for client support
- Emojipedia – emoji reference and search
- Screenshot Guru – capture full-page screenshots of any URL
Content & Copy
- YFDev Color Extractor – extract color palettes from any image
- Lorem Ipsum – standard placeholder text generator
- Social Media Image Sizes – current image dimensions for every platform
- Privacy Policy Generator – generate basic privacy policy and terms