Pixlr: Free, web-based image editor

As a web developer, I am often tasked with creating easy to manage websites for clients who really don’t have much computer experience. A problem I often run in to is that these clients don’t have a proper image editing application on their computer, and there’s no way around it, you need to resize and crop your images for web. Photoshop is expensive, so that’s not an option, but an image editor is a necessary tool that you just can’t go without.

Fortunately for us all, Pixlr is a web-app that has everything you need in an image editor. Free, full of tools, filters, “retro” effects, and adjustment options, Pixlr does an amazing job at replicating Photoshop. At times it’s tough to tell the difference (the menus are even in the same order). While you won’t find batch automation or actions, and it slows down with super hi-res images, it’s that perfect recommendation for those who need to edit images for the web. Pixlr is Flash based, so make sure your Flash is up to date. Kinda ironic though, that one of Adobe’s programs has allowed for savvy developers to create a clone of another program, and offer it for free. Let’s hope for the whole Creative Suite!