Let’s say you just got done designing a totally sweet web site for a customer. You show the design to them and they absolutely fall in love with it, but explain that they would really like to update the content themselves without having to call you all the time. You choke, cough a little and pretend you didn’t hear them, hoping they say something else. But no, they ask you again. “We would like to have the ability to edit text, images, etc. Can you build that into this design?”. You say, “yeah sure”, but dread the possibility of actually implementing such a feat.

Finding a good Content Management System (CMS) is pretty easy. Paul Anthony has a wonderful post including 13 free CMS solutions with reviews. However, finding a good CMS that fits nice and snug with a preexisting web template is another story.

In the past I had no problem finding the perfect CMS, plugging in a template and going from there, but doing things the other way around was next to impossible. It meant you had to dig through the CMS source code and somehow sync your design up with the original framework. Not fun.

Welcome to CushyCMS - The totally simple and easy to use CMS system that plugs right into your already designed web template. That’s right. Simply add a website to your CushyCMS account, provide some FTP info, add a couple classes to your HTML source code and your good to go. Kick back and relax, no more calls in the middle of the night for that critical text change.

Do you use a CMS? If so, what has worked for you?

Firefox is by far the best web browser available, no question about it. I could go on and on with its advantages, but here are just a few in case you’re still an unbeliever: tabbed browsing (copied by IE now), built-in spell checker, safer browsing, bookmarks toolbar, custom themes, and (my personal favorite) add-ons for ultimate customization.

There are tons of add-ons out there, some good, some bad, and some that you can’t live without. The following list of add-ons are some I’ve been using for quite a while. I wouldn’t recommend installing too many, just because it can slow down your browser a bit. But don’t let that scare you away from adding a few to your arsenal. Hopefully I have included a few that you haven’t seen before. Enjoy!

Web Developer

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1. Web Developer

Web Developer is a must have for any web developer. It adds a toolbar to the browser with various web developer menus including:

• Disable - Options for disabling cache, javascript, java, page colors, popup blockers, etc.
• Cookies - Cookie management.
• CSS - Management and viewing options for stylesheets.
• Forms - Form Management.
• Information - About the size of the web page, meta tags, links, etc.
• Outline - Images, Div’s, Tables, Links, etc.
• Resize - Window and resolution.
• Tools - For validating CSS, Forms, HTML, Links, Feeds, etc.
• View Source - And edit in browser window.

2. Fire FTP

Fire FTP is a sweet FTP client that allows you to transfer files quickly and efficiently, FireFTP also includes more advanced features such as: directory comparison, syncing directories while navigating, SSL encryption, search/filtering, integrity checks, remote editing, drag & drop, and file hashing.

3. ColorZilla

ColorZilla allows you to get a color reading from any point in your browser. Use the eye dropper to copy any color code and paste it into another program or CSS file for an exact color match. You can also zoom in on the page you are viewing and measure distances between any two points on the page. The built-in palette browser gives you the option to choose colors from a pre-defined color set and save your most often used colors in custom palettes.

4. ScreenGrab

ScreenGrab takes a snapshot of a web page and makes an image out of it. Nothing to fancy but very helpful when doing online tutorials or sending web clips to friends.

Tabbed Browsing

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5. Tab Mix Plus

Tab Mix Plus enhances Firefox’s tab browsing capabilities. It includes such features as duplicating tabs, controlling tab focus, tab clicking options, undo closed tabs and windows, etc. It also includes a full-featured session manager with crash recovery that can save and restore combinations of opened tabs and windows.

6. NewTabURL

NewTabURL does one simple thing - allows you to open a new tab with any URL you specify. Perfect for those that just need the bare necessities.

7. ColorfulTabs

ColorfulTabs is pretty self explanatory - basically it allows you to have different colored tabs. This is especially helpful when you have several tabs open at once and need to label specific tabs for organization.

Google

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8. GooglePreview

GooglePreview is one of my absolute favorites. It inserts preview images (thumbnails) of web sites and Amazon products into the Google and Yahoo search result pages, so you don’t have to be constantly clicking the back button in your browser when you are disappointed with the result of a clicked link.

Downloading

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9. Download Statusbar

Download Statusbar packs in more useful features than the standard download window. The fully customizable interface auto-hides when not in use, allowing full control without interruption.

10. UnPlug

UnPlug scans web pages and tells you where media players are getting their data from, and displays it as a link: in most cases, you can then follow the simple download link to save the media file. Unlike many other extensions, UnPlug scans the page, and if it doesn’t know where the data comes from it can guess - correctly most of the time. UnPlug works for lots of sites including youtube.com, ifilm.com, current.tv, revver.com, peekvid.com, video.google.com, mobuzztv.com, etc.

Security

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11. NoScript

NoScript provides extra protection for Firefox: allowing JavaScript, Java, Flash and other plugins to be executed only by trusted web sites of your choice (e.g. your online bank), and provides powerful Anti-XSS protection.

Weather

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12. Forecastfox

Forecastfox puts a totally customizable status bar in your browser with real-time weather forecasts from AccuWeather.com.

This list is by no means all inclusive, just what happens to work for me. Feel free to share what Firefox plugins you can’t live without.

1. Backpack:

Backpack is an incredibly simple tool created by 37signals that acts as an information organizer and calendar. Great list-maker, perfect for to-do lists and other types of lists. Can be accessed from anywhere: home, work, Mac, PC, mobile. I especially like the to-do and reminder options and the ability to send notifications via SMS messages to my cell.

2. Highrise:

Highrise is a relatively new product from 37signals. It serves as an online contact manager and CRM system. Keep track of your contacts, when you talked to them, and what you said.

3. Basecamp:

Basecamp is the flagship product by 37signals. Its primary functions include project management and collaboration, however you can also create schedules, tasks, files, messages, and more.

4. Ta-Da List:

Ta-Da List is an extremely simply tool that allows you to make lists and share them with others.

5. Sandy:

Ever wish you could have a personal secretary? Look no further, Sandy is an online personal assistant ready to handle your requests. Simply send emails to Sandy with reminders, to-dos, or upcoming events and she will make sure you don’t don’t miss a thing. Oh yeah, I almost forgot…Sandy can also send notifications via SMS to your mobile phone. :)

6. Del.icio.us:

If you’re like me, you browse the web on multiple computers. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a single place where you can keep all of your favorite sites bookmarked and be able to access them from anywhere? Well, say hello to Del.icio.us. Del.icio.us is an incredibly simple site that allows you to keep all your bookmarks in one place so you can retrieve them whenever you like. You can also share bookmarks with friends and take a look at what others are bookmarking.

7. Gmail:

Gmail is the best free online email option available. Gmail is superb at filtering out spam, offers more than 2 GB of storage and is simple to use. I could go on and on, but if you still aren’t convinced, check out Gmail’s benefits page.

8. Google Calendar:

Along with Gmail and Google Reader, Google Calendar is my favorite Google application — allows you to keep your life organized easily, intuitively, and with no hassle. You can share your calendar with others and allow them to edit parts of your calendar if you so choose. Oh yeah, and you can be notified via email and SMS with reminders and such. Here’s more info.

9. Zoho:

Zoho is an office productivity suite providing several online web applications for creating, managing, and organizing. Tools include: word processor, spreadsheet application, presentation tool, planner, notebook, hosted wiki, CRM, etc.

Let me know if these online organizational tools have been helpful. Also, please add any that I’ve missed in the comments.