Helpful tools for webmasters

There are many free tools out there to help you build and check your website. Below we list some of our favourites, but if there is something awesome you use which isn't listed, please let us know about it.

What the icons mean

  • bookmarklet iconBookmarklet
  • Chrome iconChrome extension
  • Firefox iconFirefox add-ons
  • Application iconApplication
  • Web application iconWeb application

Accessibility

Tool How it can help you Try the tool
aXe accessibility testing

Accessibility checker for Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 and Section 508 accessibility.

aXe accessibility testing for Chrome
Colorable contrast checker

Color combination contrast testers against WCAG 2.0.

Colorable contrast checker web application
Color blindness simulator

Simulate different types of colour blindness by simply uploading an image and selecting your view.

Color blindness simulator web application
Colour Contrast Analyser

Helps determine the legibility of text and the contrast of visual elements. Available for Windows and Mac, and in multiple languages.

Colour Contrast Analyser application
Headings Map

Displays a page's heading hierarchy in a side pane.

Headings Map for Firefox
HTML_CodeSniffer

Check the accessibility of a page against different standards and conformance levels with this client-side application.

HTML_CodeSniffer bookmarklet HTML_CodeSniffer web application
NoCoffee vision simulator

Vision problem simulator, including colorblindness, low contrast, low acuity, obstructed visual field, visual snow, glare, ghosting and cataractsm, and nystagmus.

NoCoffee vision simulator for Chrome
NVDA screen reader

NVDA (Non-Visual Desktop Access) is a free screen reader.

NVDA screen reader application
Siteimprove Accessibility Checker

Evaluate any web page for accessibility issues at any given time.

Siteimprove Accessibility Checker for Chrome
Snook Colour Contrast Check

Determines if text and background colours meet WCAG 2.0.

Snook Colour Contrast Check web application
Tenon Check

Check your current page for accessibility against WCAG 2.0.

Tenon Check for Chrome
WAVE toolbar

Shows accessibility information and issues.

WAVE for Chrome WAVE web application
WCAG Contrast Checker

Checks whether text and background colours meet WCAG 2.0.

WCAG Contrast Checker for Firefox Snook Contrast Checker web application

Coding & development

Tool How it can help you Try the tool
Browser Stack

Live web-based browser testing on all desktop and mobile browsers (free trial, paid tool).

Browser Stack web application
CSS dig

Find and group stylesheets and style blocks on most websites, providing an easy way to analyze the code and plan refactors.

CSS dig for Chrome
Firebug

Allows you to inspect and edit HTML, CSS and Javascript live in any webpage.

Firebug for Firefox Firebug Lite for Chrome
HTML Validator

Scans a page for HTML validation errors which can cause problems with display.

HTML Validator for Firefox W3C Markup Validation Service
It's All Text

Allows you to edit any textarea on the web in your favourite text editor (eg with syntax highlighting).

It's All Text for Firefox
Web Developer toolbar Has a number of tools to help you inspect a page and find problems. Web Developer toolbar for Firefox Web Developer toolbar for Chrome

Content editing

Tool How it can help you Try the tool
Context highlighter

Allows quick and easy highlighting of all instances of a word or phrase within a page.

Context highlighter
Link Checker

Checks your site for broken links and can be run on the command line and scheduled.

Link Checker application
Pinger

Extremely fast link checker for finding broken links on a web page.

Pinger
Show File Size

Shows the size of linked documents in a pop-up before you download it, which can help with adding file sizes to document links.

Show File Size for Firefox
Spell Checker

Checks spelling and highlights errors. Also useful for finding 'ANU' and checking that it's used correctly.

Spell Checker for Firefox
Wired Marker

Webpage highlighter that can help you keep track of content that needs attention.

Wired Marker for Firefox
Xenu Link Sleuth Checks your site for broken links. Also helpful for finding all document links to add file type and size information. Xenu Link Sleuth application

Design

Tool How it can help you Try the tool
ANU grid

Overlays the ANU grid on any webpage using any browser, allowing you to check that everything is properly aligned.

ANU grid bookmarklet
ColorZilla

Eyedropper tool which allows you to find the colour of any element on a webpage. Can be useful for contrast checking (see accessibility).

ColorZilla for Firefox
Lorem Ipsum

Dummy text made to look like readable English for testing page designs.

Lorem Ipsum for Chrome Lorem Ipsum for Firefox Lorem Ipsum web application

Browser configuation

Tool How it can help you Try the tool
Clear Cache Shortcut

Quickly clear all your browser cache with a single click.

Clear Cache Shortcut for Chrome
Drupal Version Check

Shows you which version of Drupal a site is using and whether it is outdated.

Drupal Version Check for Chrome
Empty Cache Button

A handy toolbar button to empty the cache and reload the page so you can be sure you're looking at the latest version.

Empty Cache Button for Firefox
Firefox Environment Backup Extension

Allows you to quickly and easily backup your Firefox extensions.

Firefox Environment Backup Extension
Form History Control

Manage form history entries (search, edit, cleanup, export/import) and easy text formfiller.

Form History Control for Firefox
QuickJava

Allows quick enable and disable of Java, Javascript, Images, Stylesheets, Flash, Cookies, Image Animations, Silverlight, and Proxy from the Statusbar and/or Toolbar.

Firefox Environment Backup Extension
Restartless Restart

Add a 'Restart' menu item to the 'File' menu, with an optional toolbar button, which will restart the program without losing your tabs.

Restartless Restart for Firefox
Text MultiCopy

Allows copying of text multiple times from multiple locations before saving all to the Clipboard. It does not interfere with normal copy/paste functions until data is saved to clipboard.

Text MultiCopy for Firefox
Wappalyzer

Shows you which technology (eg content management system or programming language) is being used to deliver any webpage.

Wappalyzer for Firefox Wappalyzer for Chrome

Note: Icons on this page were created by dAKirby309 as part of the Metro UI Icon Set.

Updated:  4 June 2018/ Responsible Officer:  Director Marketing/ Page Contact:  Webstyle