Tools The kinds of tools you need for your site depend on the content you plan to have. At the same time, you probably need to consider what tools you have when planning your content. If you don't own a digital camera, planning to offer a photojournal is probably a mistake. The basic tools you need are: HTML Editor. You need some tool to create your pages. For most people this will be a "What You See is What You Get" or WYSIWYG editor. These allow people with very little experience to create web pages. Depending on your host, they may even have tools to create the pages available online. Image Editor. If you're going to have any kind of images, from banners to buttons to a picture of your dog, you'll need something that can create image files. Usually you'll want to be able to create/edit .jpg and .gif files. FTP client Depending on how you put files on your server you may need a "File Transfer Protocol" client. This is a program that lets you copy files to your server quickly and easily. One thing to do before you go looking for all these is to check your computer. Many computers come bundled with programs that will let you create web pages or edit images. Microsoft Word, for example, can create web pages. You can also check websites for free or low cost programs for doing these things. Our site has a list of resources that could help you find just what you need. You may also want to find a book on website creation, the basics of HTML, or the programs you're using. Don't be afraid to try your local library. There are also a lot of "how-to" resources on the web. If you're going to have a lot of pictures, a scanner or digital camera would help a lot.