I have been using a number of tools to test my websites, web pages and web designs for several years now.  I keep a long list of these tools in my bookmarks in my browser.

For about a year now I have been meaning to organize these bookmarks and write up an article to share the list and the tools with other web designers, programmers, web masters and or bloggers.  I just never got around to it.

Fortunately, on the internet no great idea remains unique for very long.

Aviva Directory put together a list of 31 website tools that happens to include all of the tools on my goto list plus a half dozen more that I wish I had had a year ago.

Accessibility

In particular they have an excellent section of tools listed covering accessibility.  In the United States website accessibility has not been a major concern.  However, in the United Kingdom its actually the law.

I have a number of readers and visitors from the UK and upgrading and improving my sites to comply with accessibilty requirements is one of my major goals for 2007.

Not only is it good for SEO and good for compliance, but its good for your readers.  I don’t think any website owner or bloggers wakes up and thinks to themselves, “I’d like to make my site less accessible today.”

Browser Simulators

I’ve used a number of browser simulators over the years but I also really liked the concept of Browsershots, which takes snapshots of your website rendered on several different browsers.

Missing Tools

The article definitely covers its bases, but I’d probably also throw in some type of keyword density tool.  I’m always looking for a better tool in this regard, but I do regularly use a tool from SearchEnginePromotionHelp.com (yeah its a long domain name, but that doesn’t bother me if the tools work).

Page Popularity for Site: 19% [?]

Working from home, I constantly keep all the right tools for the job close.  One of the most important things to have is the right cables.

The right monitor cables, the right network cables, the right USB cable, synchronization able, power cable, adapter, converters and more.

There are times when I need a 20 foot monitor cable and other times when I have to rotate through multiple usb devices.  When I am working on a podcast or video podcast production the need for the right cables for the job grows infinitely more.

The great thing about working from home is that you don’t have to worry about a purchase authorization from a manager that doesn’t understand and you do not have to worry about office pilferage.  Plus, you don’t have to schlepp cables back and forth to the office.  You can keep everything right there on hand.

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After working in a high rise for a number of years, I grew very accustomed to eating very very well while at the office.  Working from home, I’ve initially devolved back to a simpler maturity of my pallette something akin to my military or college days where the microwave ruled my diet.

Later I had to learn how to improve my cooking abilities.  This probably started with simple things like buying a pizza stone, a simple attempt to move from frozen pizza to something better.

Using this as a foundation I then channelled my passion for technology and found other areas where we could upgrade our cookware to enable me to at least perceive a greater cooking capability.

This possibly pseudo cooking confidence ultimately gave me the thing I needed to experiment with . . . the key ingredient to cooking, the ingredients.

With all that time I save from commuting I have more time to make myself a decent breakfast or lunch or dinner, rarely all three in a single day.  The final result is that I have learned to bring some of the good from those great 4 and 5 star restaraunts home.

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After telecommuting from home for almost 18 months now and after part time telecommuting for 5 years before that I have learned over and over again how to work almost anywhere in the house.

A laptop gives you a lot of freedom to work, but you have to utilize a little creativity to make sure that you are productive working anywhere.  Sometimes our home furniture does not enable the most productive setting or for that matter the most ergonomic setup to enable you to work for a long stretch of time without succumbing to fatigue, hitting ‘hybernate’ on the laptop and crashing on your couch.

So as you get setup don’t default and put your laptop on your lap.  Find a small table of the right height to enable you to work comfortably and safely.  Don’t rely on the finger pad if you are used to using a mouse.  Find a way to setup a mouse to work wherever you are.

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Too much time behind the computer will burn anyone out.   Sometimes the computer can draw you in with one small issue after the next until before you know it you have spent an entire day performing what is essentially light but necessary maintenance on your computer.

Repeat this day in and day out and your productivity starts to sag.  Sometime, you almost need to run your computer until it actually breaks as opposed to letting your computer run you with multiple little complaints.

All those minor computer complaints take their toll over time and there’s really only one good way tofix yourself.  STEP AWAY from the machine, take a vacation, go hiking go on a few cruises to the tropics anything, but don’t let your computer run you into the ground with the little problems.

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