WebMatrix – Free Web Development Tool from Microsoft

WebMatrix is a free web development tool from Microsoft that includes everything you need for website development. Start from open source web applications, built-in web templates or just start writing code yourself. It’s all-inclusive, simple and best of all free. Developing websites has never been easier.

Download WebMatrix 

Working:

Create your website

To get started creating websites, just download and install WebMatrix using the Microsoft Web Platform Installer. You’ll be up and running less than 5 minutes! Once WebMatrix is installed, make it simple to get and install the latest version of your favorite free web applications such as WordPress, Joomla!, DotNetNuke and Orchard.

Customize your website

Once you’re up and running, you will find that WebMatrix provides all the tools features you’ll need in a single unified interface. Say good-bye to switching between multiple applications just to perform common web development tasks. With WebMatrix, you’re always just a click away from easily editing your files, managing your database and modifying your server settings.

Publish your website

When you’re ready, WebMatrix provides a no-hassle way to show the world your website. Just access its hosting gallery from WebMatrix and you’ll find a hosting provider that is guaranteed to run your site smoothly while also allowing you to publish directly from WebMatrix.

Features:

• Small, but complete package: WebMatrix is a free Web development tool that installs in minutes and elegantly brings together a Web server, a database, and programming frameworks into a single, integrated experience. WebMatrix lets you code, test, and deploy both ASP.NET and PHP applications side by side.
• Grows with you: WebMatrix integrates Visual Studio into your workflow. Connect to Visual Studio to take advantage of powerful features such as debugging and profiling. And when you’re ready for a high-volume relational database server, move your database and data from SQL Server Compact to SQL Server with just a click of the mouse.
• [advt]Site publishing: With WebMatrix you can find the perfect home for your Web site. Use WebMatrix to find a Web host that fits your requirements and use the built-in publishing support for FTP, FTPS, and WebDeploy to ensure that your files, databases, and settings arrive intact on the web.
• Database made simple: WebMatrix includes a small, embedded database called SQL Server Compact that can live with your Web site code and content. Use it to start building your next Web site, and when you’re ready to publish, just copy the database file from your computer to any Web server and it will run no extra installation required. Or you can easily migrate the database and data to SQL Server when you’re ready for high-volume traffic.
• Elegant interface, simple experience: WebMatrix integrates a rich code editor, a database editor, Web server management, Search Engine Optimization, FTP publishing, and more, WebMatrix provides a fresh, new, Web site development experience that bridges all the key components you need to create, run, and deploy a Web site.
• Start > Open Source: WebMatrix connects you to a world of popular and free open-source Web applications, including DotNetNuke, Umbraco, WordPress, Joomla!, and more. Simply select an application from the built-in gallery, and WebMatrix handles the downloading and installation of your new Web site. The days of hand-editing configuration files and making sure you have all the right components are long gone. Customize your site using the built in code editor and make it yours.
• Simple to code: WebMatrix is the easiest way to learn standards-based Web development and makes it simple to build and publish Web sites on the internet. Start with HTML, CSS and JavaScript and then seamlessly connect to a database or add in dynamic server code using the new ‘Razor’ syntax for ASP.NET Web pages. Your code is easy to read, simple to learn, short to write and works with any text editor. Use built-in helper functions to connect to a database, display a Twitter feed, or embed a video. And with a seamless path to ASP.NET MVC it is now easier than ever to create powerful ASP.NET Web applications.
• Hints when you need it most: WebMatrix not only colorizes everything including file tabs and code to make things quick to find, it also supports tag completion and hinting for standard HTML and CSS markup making it easier and faster for you to write code.
• Desktop or server, it’s all the same: WebMatrix uses the same powerful Web server, database engine, and frameworks environment that will run your Web site on the Internet, which makes the transition from development to product seamless.
• Optimize for search: Run an SEO report and find how to make your site more visible to search engines. WebMatrix takes the secrets out of search engine optimization, provides clear guidance on how to make your site better, and even offers to take you right to the file in your site you need to fix.