10 Noteworthy Web Development Tools for a Smart Web Developer
Let’s face it. The entire human race is starting to evolve around the World Wide Web. All information, services and transactions happen in real time which is not a surprise due to the evolution of the internet. Many of the internet savvy individuals have even mastered the art of blogging while having a unique website to call your own has gradually turned out to be a trend. Due to the fast pace and popularity of the web development industry, it is a must that web developers such as you and me keep up with the demands of the trendy clientele. Here is a list of 10 must have tools that web developers can use to design and manage a website.
1. Firebug – This amazingly useful add-on has been introduced by the brainy developers at Firefox. Firebug enables developers to debug, edit and monitor any website’s HTML, CSS, DOM, XHR and JavaScript. This is also a useful tool when it comes to web security testing as well as web page performance analysis. Furthermore, it is free and open source which is convenient to all types of web developers.
2. Cloud9 IDE – This is recognized as a cloud-based Integrated Development Environment (IDE) that allows web and mobile developers to work collaboratively with remotely located teams. The location and time differences will not matter at all. You can connect with developers from all around the world while editing codes and chatting at the same time. Supporting more than 40 languages this tool also supports PHP, Ruby, Python, JavaScript and Go. Features include built in terminal, code completion for snippets, themes, built in image editor and a gamut of various support options.
3. Fontello – Offering you a one of a kind experience, Fontello is a cool tool that offers you a simpler way to create icons in web font form. Main features of fontello consists of shrinking glyph collections by minimizing font size, merging symbols from a number of fonts into a single file and also accessing large groups of professional level open source icons. The tool is compatible in most platforms while it allows easy scripting so that web developers can apply a variety of favourable features.
4. Lorem Ipsum Generator – If you are into web development, chances are that you already know what this tool is. This tool is basically a pseudo latin text which is used in web design, printing, typography and various layouts replacing english to sort of provide emphasis on the design elements as opposed to the actual content. Web developers use lorem ipsum for mock ups to allow clients to concentrate more on the layout of the web site.
5. CSS Sprite Generator – CSS Sprites is the perfect tool that a web developer can use to reduce the number of HTTP requests that are made for image resources that are referenced by the site that you are developing. This in turn increases the loading speed of the web site as well. The procedure is that images are combined to a single large image with specific X and Y coordinates. Once this generated image is assigned to relevant page elements, the developer can use the background-position CSS property to shift the visible area to the required component image. The tool is useful in improving your website’s performance where hoards of icons and small images are used.
6. Animatron – This tool offers web developers high quality HTML5 animation and the best part of the deal is there is no coding required to do so. Developers can design and publish interactive and animated content that can be played anywhere, from your own mobile device to your desktop pc. Animatron is browser based which enables you to save your project in the cloud and access them whenever you want them. It also provides you with a user friendly interface along with real time collaboration where you can work alongside your colleagues even from home.
7. Themify – Again, if you are not that into coding and want the easy way out, Themify is the perfect tool to set your website apart. As a developer, you are given the convenience of customizing frameworks and themes with a simple adjustment of settings. Plenty of options are given when it comes to theme settings and style options. All themes are superbly coded so that they can work on any mobile or desktop device. The advanced Themify framework provides the developer with a drag and drop builder, shortcodes and custom widgets.
8. Bootstrap – It doesn’t matter if you are an amateur or pro in web development, Bootstrap is a faster and easier tool which supports HTML, CSS and JS framework for developing websites. This tool is open source while features include extensive and creative documentation for HTML elements, a variety of CSS and HTML components as well as JavaScript plugins, form components and responsive grids.
9. CodePen – This tool is a JavaScript, CSS and HTML code editor in your browser giving you instant previews of the code as and when you write them. You can use CodePen to show off your unique building skills, learn new and improved things by tinkering, try out new technology, build components for later use and also build reduced test cases that can report bugs. The editor also offers you access to social share buttons, the ability to change the editor layout, and a live preview area.
10. jsfiddle – jsFiddle is an online tool that is used by many web developers for working on code for various applications, collaborations, code reviews etc. Features of this impressive tool include CSS, JS and HTML panel, adjustable panel sizes, a collection of frameworks, remote debugging, chat, real time collaboration with tracing, voice call, profile information etc. Many developers use it mainly to write and execute code, unit testing, debugging, versioning and even testing out new frameworks.
Now that was an interesting list and I think that if you make use of your creativity and the expertise of these tools, you can certainly create magic on the web. Most of these tools are easy to use while it saves you time. So, if you are thinking of trying out web development, do not hesitate to experiment a little with these amazing web development tools.