The Ultimate Web Development Toolbox: 20 Tools Every Developer Should Know
As a web developer, your role includes creating dependable web applications. This encompasses more than just coding; it involves tackling intricate and time-consuming responsibilities like error debugging and server management.
Fortunately, web development tools exist to streamline the entire process while maintaining high quality. These tools often incorporate automation and security features that can enhance the performance of your web applications.
Nevertheless, given the numerous web application development tools continuously developed and upgraded, it can be challenging to ascertain the most suitable tool for your specific requirements.
What Is a Web Development Tool?
Web development tools, or dev tools, refer to applications and software utilized by web developers to test and troubleshoot the code and interface of the web applications and websites they build. These tools are crucial in simplifying and optimizing the web development process, ensuring high performance. They enable developers to work with diverse technologies to create responsive web designs.
Responsive web pages enhance the browsing experience, improve SEO, decrease bounce rates, and minimize maintenance efforts. Essentially, the leading web development tools are designed to assist developers in designing and developing websites with ease, speed, and cost-effectiveness.
Key Features to Consider When Choosing a Web Designer Tool
To enhance your productivity, choosing the right web design tool is essential. Consider the following factors when searching for such a tool:
- Ease of Use: Opt for a tool with a user-friendly interface to avoid spending excessive time getting familiar with its features.
- Error Detection: Look for a tool that includes error detection capabilities, as it can help identify small mistakes in your code that may go unnoticed by the human eye.
- Collaboration: Since collaboration with others is often necessary for projects, ensure the tool provides options for seamless collaboration with teammates.
- Code Assistance: Select a tool that offers code suggestions, such as function calls or code snippets, to enhance your coding experience and efficiency.
This article will delve into the key considerations for choosing the best web development tools and provide a comprehensive list of options suitable for beginners and advanced users.
Novi Builder
Novi Builder is the HTML drag-and-drop builder that grants users access to free customizable plugins and UI templates. It offers the flexibility to modify the graphical UI design of a website by providing access to the source code of its elements. Novi Builder is integrated as a built-in feature in popular browsers such as Opera and Google Chrome. It can also function as a browser add-on.
Nevertheless, it may pose a challenge for newcomers to the web development field due to its steep learning curve. We highly recommend Novi Builder to qualified developers with extensive understanding, knowledge, and experience creating applications and websites.
Chrome Developer Tools
Imagine the convenience of making real-time edits to your HTML and CSS, effortlessly debugging your JavaScript, and simultaneously analyzing the performance of your website. Well, Google’s integrated Chrome Developer Tools can make this a reality.
These tools are bundled and available in both Chrome and Safari browsers, providing developers with invaluable access to the inner workings of their web applications. Additionally, a range of network tools is available to optimize loading processes, while a timeline feature offers deeper insights into the browser’s actions at any given moment.
It’s worth noting that Google releases updates to these tools approximately every six weeks, so regularly visit their website and check out the Google Developers YouTube channel to stay up-to-date and enhance your skills.
InVision Cloud
The utilization of InVision Cloud by top technology companies such as Amazon, SoundCloud, Evernote, and Netflix strongly endorses the effectiveness of employing a digital product design platform. This approach incorporates traditional design elements and processes, transforming them for the digital era. The platform provides various tools, including an Element Library, a photography board, navigation flows, a web prototype for desktop sites, and an inspiration board for design-related tasks. The Prototype tool is particularly interesting to web developers, which enables the creation of clickable elements for desktop or mobile use, facilitating the development of prototype websites.
In addition to its diverse toolset, InVision Cloud offers a free tier that allows users to work with a single prototype. The Professional plan is available for more ambitious requirements, providing unlimited prototype capabilities. The Enterprise plan is offered for larger teams, and pricing and individual options can be obtained by contacting InVision directly.
Visual Studio Code
Visual Studio Code, also known as VScode, has gained popularity among developers, disregarding any reservations due to its association with Microsoft. It offers a wide range of packages and free extensions that can be obtained from its marketplace, allowing users to enhance its functionality. Additionally, the code editor itself can be customized to suit individual preferences.
While coding may seem daunting to those without programming experience, being able to edit code directly becomes crucial at certain stages of the web design process. This is particularly beneficial when customization of code for existing software add-ons is required to achieve desired features for a website. Visual Studio Code simplifies this task by providing a dedicated platform for coding.
Visual Studio Code features its terminal and debugger, supports linting, and seamlessly integrates with various source control tools. It supports JavaScript and Python, making it valuable for front-end web development and potentially implementing back-end functions.
Angular.JS
AngularJS empowers you to expand the capabilities of HTML. While HTML is suitable for static documents, it falls short when handling dynamic views. With AngularJS, you gain an expressive, readable, and efficient development environment. It equips you with a comprehensive set of tools to construct the foundation of your application.
This highly adaptable toolset seamlessly integrates with other libraries, granting you the flexibility to modify or replace features to align with your unique development workflow.
AngularJS offers essential features such as Data Binding, Controller, and Plain JavaScript. Data Binding eliminates the need for manual DOM manipulation. Directives, Reusable Components, and Localization are pivotal in creating robust components.
AngularJS provides Deep Linking, Form Validation, and Server Communication capabilities for navigation, forms, and back-ends. Additionally, it includes built-in testability features.
AngularJS enables you to express behavior in a clean and readable format. Leveraging plain old JavaScript objects makes your code reusable and easy to test and maintain. Furthermore, it liberates your code from boilerplate, enhancing its efficiency.
GitHub
GitHub stands out as an incredibly potent tool in web development, catering to the needs of professionals in the field. Serving as a platform for collaboration and sharing among developers, it has evolved from solely version control software. Presently, GitHub offers a wide array of functionalities, including code sharing, code storage, project contributions, and revision tracking.
With GitHub, you can effectively manage multiple projects by establishing distinct review processes for your written code. Moreover, it offers the flexibility to be deployed as a cloud-hosted or a self-hosted solution, according to your preferences and requirements.
Wrapping Up
Undoubtedly, website development is a complex undertaking. However, by utilizing the appropriate web design tools, you can streamline your tasks to a great extent. The curated list of tools above proves indispensable for back-end and front-end development. Selecting the tools that align with your specific needs is essential, as each tool serves a distinct purpose.
These tools have the potential to enhance your productivity and improve the responsiveness of your website, which is ultimately the goal of every developer. As a developer, you often handle many media files and other digital assets, which can become challenging to organize manually on your computer. By embracing the power of these development tools, you can avoid cluttering your computer and experience a more efficient workflow.