Over the years website needs have steadily evolved. What once was thought for large companies only has now become a commonplace for the “Average Joe” startup. With more moving parts on a website the question that arises for the “Average Joe” is, “Should it do that?” The answer more than likely is no if you have to ask yourself that question. If a user is getting their website built by a developer then they need to know certain tools to report issues quickly and efficiently to their developer.

There are many paid tools out there that allow users to report bugs on their websites. Some examples of would be smartsheet and JIRA. These may not work for the “Average Joe” startup company because these platforms offer more than just bug tracking; however, there are options out there to fit simpler needs. Fogbugz and bugherd takes the core essence of bug tracking and excludes the project managing aspects that come with smartsheet and JIRA.

There are also free tools out there that allow a user to report issues to their developer. Most of these tools are used in conjunction with a word document or a spreadsheet so that a user can properly describe what is happening to their developer. There are handy screenshot tools out there; such as, awesome screenshot and grabilla. Awesome screenshot is a browser extension for google chrome and firefox that allows users to capture what is happening on their browser and creates a link that allows users to view a non distorted image. Grabilla allows users to take a screenshot of whatever is on their monitor and also creates a link that allows users to view a non distorted image. If the problem is harder to capture in a picture then screencast-o-matic might be the way to go. Screencast-o-matic is a recording tool that captures a video of whatever area the user chooses.

In the end, there are a vast amount of tools out there that will allow users to report issues on their website. Whether users use a paid option like smartsheet, Jira, fogbugz or bugherd, or choose to use a free option such as awesome screenshot, grabilla, or screencast-o-matic and put their findings in a document or spreadsheet. There is no “right” solution for this, and it all depends on the need and budget of the user. It’s kind of like picking the right car.

Links To Their Respective Sites

Smartsheet: http://www.smartsheet.com/
JIRA: https://www.atlassian.com/software/jira
Fogbugz: http://www.fogcreek.com/fogbugz/
Bugherd: http://bugherd.com/
Awesome Screenshot: http://awesomescreenshot.com/
Grabilla: http://grabilla.com/