HTML Charts

• Index of HTML4 Elements
  Official W3C listing, with definitions and usage. Excellent and authoritative.
  [Thanks to Bob Stein for sending in this link!]
  
  
• VisiBone's Web Designer HTML Card
  Most of what you'll ever want to look up for HTML and CSS can be right within reach. VisiBone's Web Designer HTML Card includes HTML, CSS, Special Characters, SSI, URLs, and an XHTML checklist. Bob Stein, the man behind VisiBone, whose well-known color charts are already a standard tool for web designers, has created this new immensely helpful tool after countless hours of researching, experimenting, distilling, and poring over great suggestions to provide the best possible tool for HTML and CSS. This incredible chart is available in two sizes. WebsiteTips.com wholeheartedly recommends VisiBone's latest tool! Mine are sitting here at my desk.
  
  
• HTML Element Index
  by Brian Wilson, Index DOT Html. Excellent listing of definitions and lots of details for all the HTML tags. Great reference.
  
  
• HTML Elements
  MSDN Online Web Workshop's listing, with definitions. Very helpful.
  [Thanks to Bob Stein for sending in this link!]
  
  
• HTML Tag Reference - Alphabetical List
  Netscape's thorough listing, with definitions. Big help!
  [Thanks to Bob Stein for sending in this link!]
  
  
• Netscape 6 Release Notes
  Netscape's official chart of bugs with workarounds for its new version 6 browser. Includes HTML, XML, XHTML, CSS1, CSS2, CSS3, W3C DOM1, W3C DOM2, JavaScript, more. Links to more specific details for each category also, and newsgroups for discussion and questions answered. Major help for this new browser.
  
  

HTML Cleanup, Conversion Tools

Tools to convert documents to OR from HTML, clean up HTML, and convert from HTML to XHTML. Know of other good ones? Feel free to submit them!

• HTML2Table, Table2HTML
  Stefan Pettersson has created a couple of tools:
  HTML2Table: "you can convert HTML tables without all the HTML tags into comma (or anything else) delimited tables which you easily can import into Excel or a database."
  Table2HTML: "you can easily convert a tab or comma delimited table (table in a Word document for example) to a HTML table. You can directly copy/paste the table or specify a file that should be converted. You may also specify font settings, alignment, and more of the generated HTML table."
  
  
• HTML Tidy
  by Dave Raggett, W3C. Cleans up HTML, XHTML, reports errors and problems. It also has a great feature to clean up Word 2000 generated HTML (I've used this often!). It also converts HTML to XHTML. Configurable, customizable. Very handy, excellent tool. Already integrated with Macromedia HomeSite and other programs. Standalone program or integrated.
  
  
  • Integrating HTML Tidy into Microsoft FrontPage
    By Michael Suodenjoki, August 2002. This article describes how you can improve the quality of your HTML/XHTML pages by integrating HTML Tidy into Microsoft FrontPage 2000 or 2002 (Office XP).
    
    

Link Checkers, Maintenance

Link Checking Software

Many HTML programs come with a link checking feature. They may or may not be as robust as needed, however, especially for a larger site with many links. Some of the programs below may offer more than what's included in the HTML programs, such as Linkbot, by Watchfire.

Note: In WebsiteTips.com's testing of these, while most will find dead links fine, some of these programs handle redirected links unpredictably or ignore them (some have settings to ignore or not ignore them so be sure to check that, too).

Programs that come with link checking software already included are CSE HTML Validator, Macromedia HomeSite and Macromedia Dreamweaver. See the HTML Editors section for more.

• LinkScan
  by Elsop (Electronic Software Publishing Corporation). Another highly regarded link checking program, with unlimited link checking capabilities. Many kudos by well-known names, such as Sun Microsystems.
  
  
• Web Link Validator
  This program finds broken links (including those using JavaScript and Flash), orphaned files, slow-loading, deep, outdated and small-sized pages. Results can be saved in HTML, TXT, RTF, CSV or MS Excel formats, filtering is available, and more helpful features. Their lite version is free and is suited for small websites, and their full program can check thousands of links and large websites as needed.
  
  
• WebQA (formerly Linkbot)
  by Watchfire. Excellent, highly regarded program for link checking. Thorough, accurate. Checks dead, moved, redirected links, old pages, new pages, problem pages, images, frames, plug-ins, image maps, style sheets, more. Reports are easy to understand and use. Their Personal Edition checks up to 1,000 links. Integrates with Macromedia HomeSite and other programs, too. WebsiteTips.com highly recommends WebQA.
  
  

Online Link Checkers

• Linkalarm
  An online link checking service for unlimited pages and sites. Detailed and thorough, scheduling, checks a multitude of link types and handles certain site management, just as others listed below. Now also checks email addresses.
  
  
• Netmechanic's HTML Toolbox
  Checks for dead links, HTML errors, slow loading images, and more.
  
  

Free Link Checking Software

• Xenu Link Sleuth
  Created by Tilman Hausherr. An excellent free link checking program. Checks links, images, frames, plug-ins, backgrounds, local image maps, style sheets, scripts and java applets Highly regarded and used by many who maintain Web sites.
  
  
  • Guide to Using Xenu's Link Sleuth
    Great guide to using Xenu.
    
    

Free Online Link Checkers

• W3C® Link Checker
  W3C's link checker will check up to 150 linked documents at once. Free service by W3C.
  
  

Validating

• HTML Conformance Testing
  Links to online validators and conformance information from the W3C.
  
  
• W3C CSS Validation Service
  Check your style sheets code either at the site, or download it to your own computer. Fabulous service (Free!).
  
  
• W3C HTML Validation Service
  Originally created by WebTechs. Great tool for checking HTML.
  
  
• W3C HTML Validation Service FAQ
  This FAQ answers a few common questions about W3C's HTML Validator.
  
  
• CSE HTML Validator
  Integrates within Macromedia HomeSite, Bradsoft TopStyle, and several other programs. Also stands alone as an HTML validator and link checking program, too. Easy to use, great program.
  
  
• Doctor HTML v5
  Online website analysis. Fee (not free).
  
  
• Integrating Validation into FrontPage
  By Michael Suodenjoki, August 2002. This article describes how you can improve the quality of your HTML/XHTML pages by integrating offline HTML/ XHTML validation into Microsoft FrontPage using James Clark's SGML Conforming Parser (SP).
  
  
• LIFT Online
  An online service by UsableNet to help recognize and solve HTML code for usability and accessibility, and includes a 508 Accessibility test.
  
  

Didn't find what you're looking for? For more tools that include markup validating, see CSS Validating Tools and Accessibility and Section 508 Software and Other Tools. They include tools for specific editors, too, such as HomeSite, FrontPage, Dreamweaver, others.