Smashing Magazine - we smash you with the information that will make your life easier. really.

By Glen Stansberry

As the mistletoe is hung and egg nog served, friends and family of Web developers around the world are pulling their hair trying to figure out what to get someone who works on the Web for a living. Our loved ones typically have no idea what to get us for Christmas, because for many, our job and online world are very foreign places. Instead of getting the traditional pack of underwear, neck ties or socks, you can give your friends and family a nudge in the right direction with a gift idea from this list.

Please notice that often it’s even a better idea to take a closer look at the blog of a web-developer to find a wish list containing concrete items that a designer, blogger or programmer would like to get for Christmas. It also makes sense to consider the environment of the web-developer — for instance, if you find an Apple logo on the back of his or her car, it is probably not a good idea to spend money on a Windows-application. If possible, pay close attention to the applications, frameworks and tools the web-developer uses. Once you know the environment, you can better find out what is needed and how an untraditional Christmas gift can become a pleasant Christmas surprise.

It’s been said that “It is better to give than to receive,” so let’s help our friends and family give to us by providing an extensive list of tools that we’d love to see under the Christmas tree this year. Feel free to send this list to your relatives if you’d like to get a solid, useful gift for the upcoming holidays!

1. Ergonomic Office Chair

Ergonomic office chairs are a bit of a pricey Christmas gift and may be out of most people’s shopping budget. High-quality chairs as a whole aren’t cheap, but when you take into account how long developers spend sitting in office chairs, they’re a small price to pay for health.

Here are some highly reviewed ergonomic chairs:

• Aeron ergonomic office chair: $674.

  

   

• Freedom Chair by Humanscale: $700.

  

   

• Stealcase Leap: $849.

  

   

• Office Star Deluxe Ergonomic Leather Chair: $270.

  

   

2. Ergonomic Keyboard

Because Web developers usually spend anywhere from 8 to 12 hours per day on the computer (sometimes more!), a comfortable keyboard is an absolute must. However, many developers use whatever keyboard is shipped with their computer, and many times the keyboard isn’t very friendly to extended usage.

Please notice that some web developers prefer to work with laptops instead of desktop PCs which is why it may be reasonable to look for an ergonomic mouse instead. Here are a few of the top ergonomic keyboards:

• Kinesis Advantage
  A little pricey, but one of the best: $299.

  

• Microsoft Natural Hand
  One of the most recommendable ergonomic keyboards: $60.

  

• Tru-Form Pro -Contoured Ergonomic Keyboard
  A highly rated Windows ergonomic keyboard: $80.

  

3. Office Plants

While it may not be high on the list of things a Web worker might want, a plant for the office is an extremely thoughtful gift. Studies have shown that plants make for much more productive work environments, because they improve air quality, control humidity and provide many other benefits. In fact, studies have shown that office spaces with plants actually improve creativity.

Photo by misocrazy

There are any number of household plants that can improve an office space. WikiHow has an excellent article on how to choose a good office plant for your Web developer.

4. Visual Editors

Visual editing applications can speed up the layout process of a website, providing quicker turnaround times. While not all Web developers use visual editors, many do use them to see what’s going on with their code.

Dreamweaver is a robust Web authoring tool for both Mac and Windows users. It’s far and away the most popular of the Web editors. $399.

Coda is a beautiful Mac application that combines a powerful text editor, Subversion, CSS, file transfer and terminal all in a single window. The file transfer is done by the Coda makers’ excellent FTP-application Transmit. If you already own Transmit, Coda costs $85, without $99.

You can find more editors worth considering in our reviews CSS Editors reviewed, WYSIWIG-Editors reviewed and Source code editors reviewed.

5. Advanced Text Editor

Text editors are lifelines for Web developers. Lots of time can be saved with text editors that have extended functionality. Auto-completion, language formatting and a slew of other features would be helpful when laying out a theme or programming Web functionality.

• Textmate
  An advanced text editor for Mac: $52.

  

   

• UltraEdit
  Popular professional Windows text editing application that boasts over 2 million users worldwide: $50.

  

   

• BBEdit
  Another powerful text editor for Mac users: $125.

  

   

• E Text Editor
  The Windows equivalent of Textmate: $34.95.

  

   

Please notice: if a web-developer uses Notepad++, a robust freeware editor for Windows users, he or she will be very unlikely to switch to one of the above mentioned applications.

6. CSS Editor

CSS editors are very specific visual editors that pay attention only to CSS. They’re quite handy to have around for debugging code and quickly setting up website designs.

• Style Master
  A robust CSS editor for both Mac and Windows users: $60.

  

   

• CSSEdit
  The Mac-only CSS editor that won the prestigious 2007 Apple Design Award for Best Development Tool: $39.

  

   

7. Subversion Client

Subversion is an excellent way for developers to work on shared code without having to worry about spoiling someone else’s updates. Subversion is also quite handy when it comes to backing up data and keeping versions of local files, which can be especially useful for designers wanting to store revisions of their work.

The only downside to subversion is the learning curve. It can be quite tricky learning how to create, manipulate and sync your repositories. But a subversion client can make the learning curve much smaller with tools for streamlining your workflow, making updates, reverting to previous revisions and using diff to compare versions all within a client on your computer, no terminal necessary. Here are some of the best subversion clients:

• Versions
  A Mac-only subversion client that also interfaces with Beanstalk, a subversion host: €39.00 (approximately $52).

  

   

• Tortoise SVN
  A freeware SVN utility for Windows. If a web-developer doesn’t know about SVN yet, he’ll never forget you if you’ll point him to it.

  

   

8. Hosted Versioning Subscription

What better complement to a nice subversion client than a subscription to a versioning service to remotely house your repository?

If you’re using Subversion, then Beanstalk is an excellent SVN hosting service. Beanstalk offers a free account as well as higher levels of service with more repositories, users and storage, starting at $15 per month.

If you’re using Git, then GitHub is a popular online Git repository. It has a free plan if you’re running an open-source project, giving you up to 100 MB of space, otherwise GitHub offers monthly subscription plans starting at $7 per month.

9. Creative Coffee Mugs

It’s a safe assumption that many designers and Web developers drink coffee or tea. Coffee mugs make great stocking stuffers, because they’re typically not that expensive, and it’s guaranteed they’ll be used. Web Urbanist has an excellent roundup of interesting coffee mugs that you can give as gifts this holiday season.

10. Backup Software

There is nothing more valuable to developers and designers than daily backups of their hard drive. Losing a hard drive is a Web worker’s worst nightmare, and any tool that can ensure it doesn’t happen is greatly appreciated.

• Mozy
  Mozy is a simple solution that runs in the background and backs up the hard drive at set intervals. Both Windows and Mac users can enjoy this service for free if they’re backing up less than 2 GB of data. Otherwise, a $5 per month subscription is required.

  

   

• Jungle Disk
  Jungle Disk uses your Amazon S3 account to regularly back up your hard drive on Amazon’s servers. Available for Windows, Linux and Mac users for $20.

  

   

• Syncback
  If you’re a Windows user, you can save money with the freeware utility Syncback, which schedules backups to an external hard drive. Lifehacker has an excellent tutorial on how to do this.

   

11. Browsershots

Browsershots is an incredible resource that every developer should have. Browsershots takes a screenshot of any Web page and allows you to test layouts across many different browser types and operating systems. Developers can see how their layout looks in IE on Windows, Firefox on Linux, and almost any other combination they can think of.

Browsershots offers a priority service that gives paying members immediate screenshot processing (which can otherwise take hours if many screenshots are requested).

12. Subscription to libraries or magazines

Knowledge is the gift that keeps on giving. It’s definitely a good idea to give a web-developer subscription to a journal or magazine, or you can also consider a subscription for an online-library. For instance, O’Reilly is an excellent resource for the developer thirsting for knowledge. A Web development industry leader for many years, O’Reilly provides many great resources for those wanting to learn new languages, techniques and other development skills.

For a monthly fee, O’Reilly provides online access to its complete library, with a service called Safari. The Safari Bookshelf plan is $22.99 and restricts access to 10 books per month. The Safari Library plan offers more types of content (video, full downloads) and allows for unlimited access to its books for $42.99 a month.

13. Books, books, books

There are plenty of books out there that a web developer would love to get for Christmas. It would be important to list all of them, but fortunately we and other bloggerse have selected some useful books already. Make sure that you select a gift that really fits to the interests of a person: no, not every web-developer is a huge fan of Swiss design and not every typographer would love to have a book on SEO optimization techniques. Here are some useful lists where you can find useful and interestind web-development related books:

• Usability and Interface Design Books
• 30 Essential Books For Industrial Designers
  Some useful books for web-developers are in the list as well.
• 25 Must Buy, Borrow Or Steal Books For Web Designers
• 40+ Books For Professional Design and Development
• 30 Delightful Graphic Design Books
• Useful Web Design Books
• Powerful Design Books

14. Adobe Creative Suite 4 Web Premium

If you’re feeling really generous this Christmas, then head on over to Adobe and snag the Adobe Creative Suite 4 Web Premium software package. While it is a tad expensive ($1,699), you’ll get 11 Adobe products that can greatly enhance a Web developer’s workflow. Photoshop, Dreamweaver, Illustrator and Fireworks are all included, along with many other programs. This software package is a virtual Swiss army knife for Web developers. If you give it to a Web developer, he will certainly never forget you.

Notice: while there isn’t a comparable set of free tools to match the Creative Suite 4 Web Premium package, Gimp is an open-source image editor that is supported across Linux, Mac and Windows platforms. If a web-developer is a Gimp fan, you may want to search for a useful Gimp-book out there.

15. iPhone Developer Program

Many developers want to get more involved in the iPhone Developer program, which gives developers access to build and distribute iPhone apps through Apple. A standard program developer account costs $99.

An excellent complementary gift to the iPhone Developer program would be the iPhone Developer’s Cookbook: Building Applications with the iPhone SDK, an excellent tutorial that answers questions that the iPhone SDK documentation doesn’t answer.

16. Password Management Software

Nobody likes to remember all of their passwords, least of all Web developers. We may have tens or even hundreds of account, user name and password combinations to remember, many of which are used daily. Software that stores passwords is a perfect gift for any Web developer. There are plenty of software options, both free and paid, that help with password storage on any platform.

• 1Password
  Highly rated Mac software that stores your passwords and syncs data between different browsers and other programs: $39.95.

  

   

• Roboform
  Roboform is another highly rated Windows password client that has won many awards, such as PC Magazine Editor’s Choice and Download.com’s Software of the Year: $29.95.

  

   

• Passpack
  Passpack is an online solution for storing passwords. It offers a free account of up to 100 entries and a pro account for €10 ($13.50).

  Passpack

   

• KeePass
  An open-source password manager for Windows.

  

   

17. Screen Capture Software

Capturing screens is an almost daily routine with Web developers. A picture is worth a thousand words, and this is especially true with development. Many times, it’s easier just to show a screenshot of a buggy Web page than to try to describe what’s wrong. Here are a few screenshot services and software that can speed up this process.

• SnagIt
  Windows-only screen capturing software that quickly captures, edits and shares screenshots: $49.95.

  

   

• Jing
  Jing is the little brother to SnagIt, because they’re both made by TechSmith. Jing quickly takes snapshots and allows simple editing and sharing via many online services. Jing is freeware.

  

   

• Skitch
  Skitch is similar to Jing, except that the software only works for Mac computers. You can snap a screenshot, annotate, edit and upload the screenshot to skitch.com. Skitch is freeware.

  

   

18. Project Management Software

There are plenty of reasons for Web developers to use project management software: to collaborate with other project members, to organize their workflow and to generally stay on top of all that needs to be done when working on a project. Here are a few of the best project management and task manager software products.

• Basecamp
  Long considered the best project management tool, Basecamp is an excellent online service that tracks projects for many users. Basecamp offers a free basic plan, and extended plans start at $24 per month.

  

   

• Action Method
  Action Method is an excellent project management tool that allows you to add references, discussions and events to any project. Unlike services like Basecamp’s, Action Method allows you create unlimited projects with a paid account of $12 a month.

  

   

• OpenProj
  OpenProj is an open-source project management solution for your desktop. It has been downloaded over 800,000 times since its launch.

  

   

• activeCollab
  activeCollab is another highly rated online project management software package. However, unlike Basecamp, activeCollab allows you to install the software on your own website and server. Plans start at $199 per year.

  

   

19. Idea Capturing Tools

Keeping ideas and thoughts together can be a struggle for developers and designers. Fortunately, there are tools that can capture and store the ideas.

• Evernote
  This tool can be indispensable for capturing ideas anywhere. You can record a voice memo, take a screenshot, clip a Web page or just write a note. Evernote syncs your captured ideas online and locally, and it even has mobile access and an iPhone app. With Evernote, you’ll never let your Web developer lose an idea again. (Evernote even allows people to purchase the premium level plan as a gift.)

  

   

• Jott
  Jott allows you to call a number and record an idea (or “jott”), and then the speech is converted to text. Jott is a free service but has extended plans starting at $39.50 a year.

  

   

• Moleskine – Sometimes the best way to capture a thought is to write it down the old-fashioned way, with pen and paper. A moleskine is an excellent gift for those who prefer the paper method.

  

   

20. Music or movies

Because Web developers spend hours in front of the computer each day, it’s only natural that many will listen to music. Music is a gift that never wears out. Consider an iTunes or Amazon MP3 gift card.

A subscription to a music service is another great gift idea; for a monthly fee, you can listen to as much music as you want. Rhapsody music is a music subscription service that allows you to use (non-iPod) portable music players and your computer to stream any song, album or artist from its vast collection. Plans start at $12.99.

Another great idea is a high performance over-ear headphones that deliver the perfect atmosphere for a creative and enjoyable workflow. Some good examples of professional over-ear headphones are:

• Sennheiser HD-555 Audiophile Headphones
  A comfortable, high-quality headphone system. Price: $98.99.

  

   

• Bose® QuietComfort 2 Acoustic Noise Cancelling Headphones
  This system has a noise reduction and quality sound for travel, work and home. AAA batteries guarantee a 40 hours average life. Price: $269.

  

   

• the recent Consumersearch Headphones Review may provide you with more useful pointers to various headphones.

You may also consider buying a couple of DVDs with movies the web-developer will probably like. In the end, web developers are also people and yes, sometimes we do watch movies.

Summary

To conclude, here is a brief summary of some useful things that would put a smile on a web-developer’s face, make him or her happy and will definitely help to make the life of a web-developer easier:

• ergonomic office chair,
• ergonomic keyboard or mouse,
• creative coffee mugs,
• office plants,
• visual editors, CSS-editors and text-editors,
• Subversion client,
• hosted versioning subscription,
• backup software,
• subscriptions to librarier or magazines (e.g. O’Reilly),
• books, books, books,
• Adobe Creative Suite 4 Web Premium,
• iPhone Developer Program,
• password management software,
• screen capture software,
• project management software,
• idea capturing tools,
• music, movies or headphones,
• even more ideas…

What’s your favourite gift?

What would you like to get as a present for Christmas? Is something missing in the list? And what are you going to give to web developers for this Christmas? Share your thoughts, ideas and opinions in the comments!