This is the basic section for anyone wanting to build a web site and wanting a bit more help than just a 'notepad' type editor.

The level of complexity is very much one of personal choice and that choice will, inevitably, change as you gain experience. The following are amongst the best tools out there, free or commercially licensed.

* In my opinion, the best free editor to be found on the net is 1st Page 2000 from Evrsoft.com - this is a magnificent editor. It has all the features expected of a commercial tool, an extensive and well laid out help section (local and web based files) and can be used in four different modes of complexity from novice to expert. In fact the help section can give information overload if you are not careful!

There are collections of scripts that are available for insertion (an enormous collection of javascript, perl and others, as well as html); Script validation and the facility to convert plain text to html and script converters for changing the content to xml and other languages.

All in all, this is a tremendous tool to have and the fact that it is free makes it an essential item.

* The next selection is available in two flavours, a free 'lite' version and a commercial 'Pro' one; Note Tab from Fookes Software.

I have to confess to bias as my editor of choice is Note Tab Pro 4.9 - though I use others too!

The 'lite' version doesn't have all of the functionality of the 'Pro' version but is still more than adequate for someone starting to write web scripts. The help files are vast and well laid out (with web links where needed) and the reference section is very impressive.

The items that I like most are the integration with 3rd party software (validators and css editors) and the way the screen has a side panel with just about any fast edit/insert you could wish for.

Note Tab Pro has all the functions you would expect of a top class product, multiple convert options (including text to HTML - very useful when writing in word or note pad; just import the document and click on 'convert to html' and the page is done), a large selection of scripts in all the major programming languages and more functions than I have room to write about (I said I was biased!).

* Next is a commercial only product, AceHTML 5 Pro from Visicom Media is another excellent editor offering most of the standard HTML and scripting applications of the previous two. The 'icing on the cake' for this tool is, that purchase of the Pro version also gets you an enormous selection of HTML, Javascript and CSS templates as a separate free download.

The tool comes with its own validator, plenty of intuitive programming aid and extensive help files. Again, a very worthy addition to your web building arsenal.

* The final editor is a novelty of sorts in that it is a pure Java written tool; Arachnophilia from Arachnoid.com is an extremely versatile free editor.

This editor does everything that more traditional editors can do, but has a totally different 'feel' to it. One drawback is that the help files are not as exhaustive as the previously mentioned editors, though the web linked help is pretty good. This editor is probably not ideal for an absolute beginner - but is great fun to use once you have got a bit of web building practice under your belt.

The final tool you will need is an FTP client. FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol and the tool provides the method of sending your web site pages and files to and from your server.

Some editors include an FTP client (1st Page 2000 has one built in) others are stand alone. Either way it is worth having an FTP tool for the times when you want to send, edit or download your site; Ace FTP 2 Freeware for Windows is an excellent free FTP client - just download and register the tool.

For non Windows operating systems, a quick check of ZDNet (ZDNet UK) downloads - search for FTP - will produce a list of most FTP clients on offer, some free and some trials before purchase.

Having got your editor and FTP client all you need are a couple of graphics tools and you are now ready to start building your first web site!