programs
The programs listed below are in regular use by blechtrottel.net and explicitely recommended. Many of them are usual suspects, which are recommended by other websites as well. Some on the other hand are less obvious. It is a personal selection which is not at all complete.
Web
Phase 5 is blechtrottel.net's first choice for designing websites. This editor, which is in German only, offers vast opportunities for configuration and that for every project you define. You can have it work with an external references, use syntax highlighting and even create your own syntax schemes with the integrated editor. You can enhance its functionality with several plugins. All pages by blechtrottel.net are written with this program. It is free for private use.
Our add-ons for phase 5 can be found on a separate page.
FTP-Uploader is the logical supplement to phase 5, to get your pages onto a webserver, as it was written by the same developer. This program too is free for personal use.
VSCodium is for all those who are looking for a development environment that speaks many scripting and programming languages, without collecting data in the background.
Filezilla is probably the most popular FTP program. It is freeware and open source.
WinSCP is another FTP program and offers the interesting feature of being highly scriptable. Repeating tasks can thus easily be automated. Freeware.
Mozilla Firefox not only is the browser that made the development of the WWW not stop at Internet Explorer 6, it also is possibly the only browser that does not play fast and loose with users's data.
Image
IrfanView is a very useful image viewer that belongs into the toolbox of every webmaster. Most standard options for image manipulation are included. Saving files in ico format is no problem. Many plugins leave little to be desired. This program, too, can be controlled by scripts.Freeware.
Gimp is the completely free choice for professional image editing for web and print and is under constant development and improvement. Its many functions require some time to handle them properly. You can find many instructions on the internet.
Inkscape is the first choice for working with images in SVG format and others. It also offers script support. Freeware
@iconsushi is one of the few free programs to work with icon files. It is a good choice for creating favicons.
File
FreeFileSync is an easy to use and fast program for comparing directories and saving files. This freeware is essential for backing up one's work.
Multi Commander is a two-window file manager with many customization options. Freeware.
7-Zip is one of the most popular file packers. There is a version for the commandline, which can be used in scripts. Freeware.
Bulk Rename Utility has an interface that needs some getting used to, but offers powerful options for renaming several files in one go. That comes in handy for photos, for example. A version for use in scripts is also available. This program is free for non-commercial use.