Web development continues to grow and evolve in interesting ways. Progress in libraries and workflows empowers developers to create their best work. Version-control systems allow teams to collaborate in new and better ways. Web application developers have access to a wide range of tools to create great responsive web applications.
What tools do developers use to create web apps?
Developers use a wide range of tools. They use code editors. They use collaboration tools like Slack. They use tools for wireframing like Figma and Sketch. For front-end frameworks they deploy tools like Bootstrap and Semantic UI.
Why do we use web development tools?
First, let’s define our terms. What exactly do we mean by web development tools? Simply put, web development tools, or devtools, help developers create and test their code. The tools range from debugging and testing tools to collaboration software and wireframing tools. For our purposes, all tools that help developers are devtools. Web development tools simplify and streamline the development process.
With this vast number of web application tools out there, many teams struggle to find the best ones. Let’s take a look at our curated list of the 15 most useful web app development tools. We’ve sorted out the best so you don’t have to cull through the huge number of application tools out there.
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15 useful web app development tools for 2021
1. Notepad++
Developers appreciate Notepad++ for its minimalist design and ease of use. Notepad++ supports 27 programming languages. It works without tying up system resources, using Win32 API to execute with speed.
Features
Simple line numbering
Advanced find and replace
Edits text files up to 2 GB in size
Useful for:
Quick edits of HTML and CSS
Editing multiple files at once thanks to tabs
Opening files not supported by other text editors
Pricing: Notepad++ costs nothing, though the developer has a donation link on the website.
Read on the programming languages for mobile app development in 2022.
2. Visual Studio Code
Microsoft created Visual as an open-source code editing program. Developers use Visual Studio Code to debug, embed GIT commands and write SaSS code. The interface has many options for customizing including options to change display fonts, icons, and colors.
Features
Remote development features, uses containers or a remote machine for development
Version-control remote plugins
Intelligent code editor, including code completion
Wide variety of plugins and extensions
Useful for:
Team collaboration
Javascript and Python web development
Developers using Windows, MacOS or Linux operating systems
Pricing: Free!
3. Ruby on Rails
Ruby on rails gets high marks from developers because it’s easy to read, write and test code. Developers use Ruby on Rails because it contains the basic structures for web services, pages and a database. Ruby on Rails has a simple interface.
Features
Robust yet simple to use
Intuitive workflow
Great integration with third-party applications
Useful for:
Quick creation of Minimum viable product (MVP)
Automated deployment
Creating e-commerce websites
Pricing: Free!
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4. Angular
Google created Angular as a javascript framework. It works as a cross-platform package with a large pool of third-party plugins. Developers use Angular’s command-line interface, or CLI, to code and test.
Features
Powerful template syntax helps create user interfaces, fast
Animation effects with minimal coding
Component Router automatically code-splits for fast load times
Useful for:
Enterprise web applications
Applications with dynamic content
Progressive web applications
Pricing: Free!
5. Bootstrap
Software developers use bootstrap as a CSS framework. Developers at Twitter created Bootstrap in 2011. Bootstrap allows for fast creation of mobile-first sites and web applications.
Features
Powerful template syntax helps create user interfaces, fast
Animation effects with minimal coding
Component Router automatically code-splits for fast load times
Useful for:
Enterprise web applications
Applications with dynamic content
Progressive web applications
Pricing: Free!
6. Semantic UI
Developers use Semantic UI to theme websites with its component framework. Semantic UI uses exchangeable words and classes. Semantic UI has a wide variety of components. Some of the components include behaviors, views, collections and behavior modules.
Features
Natural-language syntax
Intuitive JavaScript
Performance logging for simple debugging
Useful for:
Large UI projects
Teams needing documentation
Teams that need a large library of icons
Pricing: Free and open-source
7. GitHub Desktop
GitHub built Github Desktop for easier integration between GitHub and its users. The interface allows for fast collaboration and version control.
Features
Before and after shots of work in progress
Tracks changes in files sets
Allows teams to coordinate their coding projects
Useful for:
Teams that want to collaborate in the cloud
Developers who need superior version control
Pricing: Free and open-source
8. REST Assured
Most web developers who work with Java use REST Assured. They use it to test and validate REST services. REST Assured saves them time and allows them to test without having to know a ton of HTML.
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Features
Supports POST, GET, PUT, DELETE, OPTIONS, PATCH, and HEAD requests
Validates and verifies the response of the above requests
Allows teams to coordinate their coding projects
Useful for:
Developers who write Java code
Pricing: Free and open-source
9. HoppScotch
HoppScotch has gained a large following with developers because of its simple and fast interface. Developers use HoppScotch to develop APIs.
Features
Allows for full-duplex communication
Has collections to organize API requests
Can sync and restore request entries
Useful for:
Those who want a powerful API tool with a slick and intuitive user interface
Pricing: Free and open-source
10. Adobe XD
Developers use Adobe XD for wireframes and interactive mock-ups. They can create designs for any screen size. Adobe XD works with all the other Creative Cloud apps seamlessly.
Features
Vector-based drawing and type tools
Dynamic resize makes for faster changes
Allows for comments and collaboration
Cloud-based file and library storage
Useful for:
Developers that want a real-looking prototype without having to write code
Teams that need to create interactive mockups to share with stakeholders
Pricing: 9.90 USD per month
11. Figma
Another wireframing and mock-up tool, many developers love Figma. Figma uses a drag-and-drop editor to quickly create mock-ups.
Features
Version history
Real-time collaboration
Useful for:
Teams that want a quick and easy way to work without spending a lot of money
Pricing: FREE!
12. ProtoPie
A prototyping tool that many love for its simplicity. ProtoPie works for creating prototypes for web, mobile and desktop.
Features
Simple, easy to use
No coding required
Useful for:
Beginners who want to create realistic prototypes
Pricing: Starts at 11 USD per month for an individual user account
13. Sass
Teams use Sass to preprocess CSS. Sass builds on CSS with variables, nested rules and inheritance.
Features
Simplifies editing and workflows
Modularizes code
Useful for:
Web developers looking for a CSS tool that allows them to work fast using mixins
Pricing: Free!
14. Stack Overflow
Developers use the website Stack Overflow to ask and answer coding questions. They post questions and get fast and accurate responses from the passionate Stack Overflow community.
Features
Answers to most code-related questions
Massive collection of answered questions
Useful for:
Everyone who codes anything!
Pricing: Free!
15. TypeScript
Developers use Typescript for adding extra features to JavaScript. TypeScript catches code and type errors. TypeScript comes with extensive documentation.
Adds data types, classes, and other object-oriented features to JavaScript
Finds bugs with code checks
Useful for:
JavaScript developers who want to have more options and greater productivity.
Pricing: Free!
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In the fast-moving web development world new tools crop up every day. The tools we’ve looked at today represent the best of what 2021 has to offer. Here at Blocshop, our developers use these tools and more to create sophisticated and elegant web applications. Get a custom price calculation for your web app by telling us more about your project.
