Windows Freeware

The Best Free Software for Windows

No shareware, no nagware, no adware. Reviewed constantly. Categorized conveniently.

This page is updated regularly. Last update: September 27, 2005.

Free Website Analysis Tools

Firefox Firefox with
Web Developer Extension Web Developer Extension

It sounds obvious, but you need a browser to look at your site. Firefox, everygeek's favorite browser, is the natural choice. The DOM inspector and the JavaScript console make Firefox a must-have for every web developer.

Make sure you install the Web Developer Extensions. There are a batch of handy tools to analyze and review your pages such as resizing the browser (to test out what your site will look at on different monitors). You can also preview and test different CSS styles. Included are tools to submit your pages to the various validation services to make sure your code is standards-compliant.

http://www.mozilla.org/products/firefox/

http://chrispederick.com/work/webdeveloper/

Internet Explorer Internet Explorer with
EasyRead EasyRead

You can't ignore the 800 pound gorilla. You MUST review your site in IE. You never know what Internet Explorer quirk will trip you up. Your site can be fully standards-compliant but still have some rendering oddity in Microsoft's little darling. Make sure you test it out with EasyRead, a tool to magnify the page, allowing you to get a good idea what your site will look like on low-res monitors.

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/

http://www.iconico.com/easyRead/

Opera Opera

Make sure you test things out in Opera as well. Opera has a few neat features that will help out a web developer too. You can see what your site would look like in a text-based browser like Links or on a web-enabled phone. Opera can also zoom-in pages, just like IE's EasyRead. Very handy.

http://opera.com/

Free Web Log Analyzer

Web Log Expert LIte Web Log Expert Lite

The best of the client-side free web log analyzers. It can retrieve files either locally or from your server via FTP. It supports all major log types and comes with a variety of reports for all your logging needs.

http://weblogexpert.com/

Free Web Accessibility Verifier

A-Prompt A-Prompt

Check your pages to make sure they are accessible to people with disabilities. A-Prompt checks pages for compliance, makes changes if possible, and assists you with manual repairs.

http://aprompt.snow.utoronto.ca/index.html

Free Window Resizer

WindowSize

A simple tool that allows you to resize any window to a specified size. Perfect for previewing your pages from the eyes of the low-rez viewer.

http://www.markuswelz.de/freeware/index.html#WindowSize

Free Link Checker

Xenu's Link Sleuth Xenu's Link Sleuth

Make sure your links are valid with this excellent link checker. Supports both internal and external links, ftp links, redirected URL's and orphan files. Runs up to 100 parallel threads for extremely fast operation.

http://home.snafu.de/tilman/xenulink.html