Chapter 1. Setting Up Shop

Before you dive in and start to build your website, we need to set your computer up so that it’s ready for the work that lies ahead. This is what this chapter is all about: ensuring that you have all the tools you need installed and are ready to go.

If you were to look at the hundreds of computing books for sale in your local bookstore, you’d be forgiven for thinking that you need to invest in a lot of different programs to build a website. However, the reality is that most of the tools required are probably sitting there on your computer, tucked away where you wouldn’t think to look for them. And if ever you don’t have the tool for the job, there’s almost certain to be one or more free programs available that can handle the task.