GIMP is a free alternative to Photoshop, and as you could’ve guessed from the title of this article, it also has a portable version. Got a web app you need to demo somewhere in the middle of the Mojave Desert? Have XAMPP Portable and any computer handy and you’re good to go. You can be anywhere without an internet connection and still have a working site. It works fine no matter what computer you insert your flash drive in, and you can easily see exactly how your site will look when loaded from a server in a browser. XAMPP is a great local server (learn all about it in this tutorial), and the portable version does its job amazingly well. It’s just like the regular version, but doesn’t need to be installed on your operating system. Firefox Portable Editionįirefox, a popular web browser amongst web designers with its impressive collection of add-ons, has a portable version that you can carry around your USB drive. Sure, it doesn’t look as good, but it’s much better than Notepad if you want any advanced features and easy code editing functionalities. KompoZer Portable (previously known as Nvu Portable) is an amazing HTML editor that rivals the functionality of Dreamweaver. Here are some of the best portable apps for web designers that are a must-have. With today’s USB stick sizes and prices, you can easily have all your work with you in your pocket at all times, and be able to work from any computer without needing anything else. There are a lot of great applications for web designers that will work without needing any installation, and they make an excellent choice for a portable USB drive.

In those cases, a good backup (or even primary) solution is to carry your own toolset on a portable flash/USB drive. In addition, there are those unfortunate times when your computer crashes and breaks with all the data on it and no ways to retrieve it. But that is not always possible, and many times, the client wants you to show them how the site or application will look on their own computer, projector and other equipment. Most designers just carry their laptop with them. Scenarios That Benefit the Use of Portable Apps But if you are constantly on the move or are doing a lot of demonstrations to your customers at their place of business, you’ll need to carry your programs with you. Of course, that is most often the case when you’re working from home or from an office where you have your own work computer. A web designer must always have his or her tools handy.

Portable programs