General Debugging Tips

Long before I was developing WordPress plugins, I actually made a living as a freelance programmer online. When I first got started doing this, I honestly didn't know a ton about programming, but I did know how the programming languages worked, so I knew how to use Google to help me figure out how to do various things.

Many of my early freelance work was not for web design or programming but actually for debugging and troubleshooting. I was able to do this type of work by simply knowing what to look for and how to correct the problems, even without actually knowing the coding being used.

Tons of website owners run into a problem with their websites, and this situation often leaves them completely confused about how to fix it (which is why they search for a freelance programming to fix it). In the end, these minor fixes can easily cost $50 each, even though the programmer might be able to complete the job in less than an hour!

Whether you're interested in becoming the freelance programmer that gets paid $50 for quick fixes or you simply want to avoid these costs with your own websites, I'm going to help you out today by showing you my exact process for debugging websites.

Debugging Software

I do not use specific software for debugging purposes, but I do use my normal coding software to help me identify problems. This software is called Notepad++ (not the standard Notepad that comes with Windows).

Notepad++ is specifically designed for coding, so it will actually highlight various parts of your code to help you to easily read it and also identify errors.

I'll be using this software throughout this tutorial, so I recommend downloading a copy for yourself (it is free, open-source software, so nothing to buy here):

http://notepad-plus-plus.org/

This software can do many different programming languages including but not limited to: HTML, CSS, PHP and Javascript.