Counters and Trackers
It's every webmaster's dream to have millions of hits a day. But even if you only get a hundred, or ten, its still fun and important to know how many hits you get. Recording tracking information can be as easy as signing up for a free service provided by extremetracking.com. The only caveat with extreme tracking and other free services is the requirement to display their logo on your page. The logo on the right is an example; clicking on the logo will display the tracking information of this page.

Color Index by Jim Kraus
Determining a color scheme for a site has always been for me one of the most difficult challenges I've faced. I came across this book in the local borders; it has indexed hexidecimal color combinations that will be successful on the web and across different browsers and platforms. In addition, the color index lists the corresponding "Red, Green, Blue" colors, and even more exciting, if you are hope to have your site also match printed materials like brochures, the color index also provides matching "Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black" colors.

Photoshop Elements by Adobe Systems
Once you understand the basics of web layout and html design, adding in photographs and graphics is the next obvious step. To do this, you will need a photo-editing software. Most digital cameras, scanners, or even color printers will come with software for editing photography. The leader in professional software has for years been Photoshop. At over a thousand bucks, most small time web developers are not going to be interested in buying the software; finally Photoshop elements was released. Basically a stripped down version of the professional grade program, photoshop elements will let you scan photos, manipualate and crop them, and then save them as web efficient jpg's. You can also use it for creating graphical additions to your site.

Message Boards
Message boards are one component in a dynamic site. Message boards allow user input and feedback, and can foster a sense of community. At the same time, unless your site generates large volumes of traffic, few if any people will post on a message board. Use this tool wisely.

Javascripts, Perl, CGI, and More
Making your page a little fancier can be easy with pre-written scripts from sources other than you. Javascripts are an easy way to create drop down menus or other dynamic looking navigation tools. Perl and CGI scripts are one way of using forms to create and send feedback, polls, or generate your own message boards, counters and other tools. In many cases, developers release versions of their scripts for anyone to use, but always double check for permissions.