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I'm looking for a very simple online tool to manage a small Web site project. I'm currently using a Google doc to keep track of everything, but there has to be the equivalent of a project Extranet - but much smaller. I would say Basecamp, but modeled more towards actual Web projects - so something styled towards the 'define, design, develop and deploy' workflow of building sites/apps that doesn't cost a lot. I'm not a huge fan of Basecamp, so I'm interested to find out what people use with clients.

More details/requirements:

  • to do list: calendar is less of a priority, but that to do list is a big part of what I'm looking for, and the ability to have categories and dependencies without getting into a Gantt chart or schedule
  • cost: ideally free or low cost (less than $20/month) - part of the reason why I'm not going to use Basecamp is that I can't justify the cost for such a small project for a small client
  • hosted: don't want to download anything and self-host, and don't need a specific app - a SaaS Web based solution is fine
  • collaborative: could be shared with another person (the client) privately
  • mood board: some sort of ability to have a visual repository of inspirations or links. This is a minor thing - I can just use Pinterest for that.

At this point, I'm not tackling the development part, but if there were checklists of things to start thinking about, that would be helpful too to have built in, although I know that's not likely to be prepopulated. I like something like the Business Model Canvas (http://www.businessmodelgeneration.com) that forces you to think about the things you need for a successful product, but again, I probably won't find that in a project management tool. I've tried Trello and Evernote, but they aren't Extranets. I love Central Desktop and various wikis, but again, I'm looking for classic Extranet tools - task lists, places to upload a document, have folders for drafts, etc.

Thanks for your help!

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  • Looks to me that you are seeking something less advances than what tools like Trello or Basecamp offer. Did you consider cloud space tools like Dropbox? They have web access as well. – Peter MV Jan 8 '15 at 8:04
  • Although I've only heard of Trello and Evernote... Is this a freelancing product you are looking for? Or a product for your client to use? – Canadian Luke♦ Jan 8 '15 at 17:14
  • This is mostly a freelancing project for an individual - if there's a free version of something, I'd prefer to use it. If there is something that costs, though, I'm happy to use it. Thanks, Canadian Luke! I'm from Toronto originally :) – lafemme Jan 9 '15 at 21:45
  • This might get closed as opinion based but in the meantime, have you looked at AgileZen or KanbanFlow? They're primarily task management tools so may not cover everything you need – levelnis Jan 10 '15 at 17:47
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I am also a freelancer. Here is a tool that I use to collaborate with my clients (local and international)

  1. Koding (https://koding.com/) - This tool is helpful for the following reasons

    Rapid prototyping I simply give my clients a URL where they can view the website prototype. This greatly sped up the client feedback process. You don't have to do any training

    Code Repository Since it is a virtual machine, you can store your code here and access it anywhere.

  2. Marker (https://insync.io/marker)

    Collaboration/Feedback This one is also a useful tool for communicating via screenshots. You can edit the screenshots (highlight certain areas, write text/comments, etc) via browser

Hope this helps

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  • upvote for Koding link. – Peter MV Mar 20 '15 at 10:46
  • I wish I could give another upvote for Marker. Something we Linux users waited for years :) – Peter MV Mar 20 '15 at 10:54
  • Hi @PeterMV , my friend works for the company that made Marker. Just curious, what feature from Marker did you love (as a Linux user)? – Jpineds Mar 22 '15 at 16:18
  • Simplicity, short link, annotations,... All of them – Peter MV Mar 22 '15 at 16:38

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