Web development tools has come a long way in just a few years. This progress has allowed us to harness the power and flexibility of well-tested libraries to enhance our workflows and offer greater opportunities for responsive design. We can also build things together with ever-evolving version control systems. There are endless options for creating amazing web applications, from browser plugins and browser add-ons to processors that simplify your code.

It can be difficult to find the right web development software, with so many available. We’ve compiled a list with essential tools for frontend developers to help you get started. Click the link below to learn more about a particular one.

1. Sublime
2. Chrome Developer Tool
3. jQuery
4. GitHub
5. CodePen
6. Angular.js
7. Sass

Are you not a fan of reading? You don’t want to read? Then take a look at the video below, where Will, one our course specialists, walks you through the tools.

1. Sublime Text

Let’s begin with the basics. A first-rate code editor is one that has a well-designed user interface, is super-efficient, and runs extremely fast. Although there are many options, Sublime Text is the most popular and effective.

Sublime is run by one person, with no other developers. The program’s many keyboard shortcuts are the key to its success. These include the ability to simultaneously edit (make the same interactive changes in multiple areas), as well as navigation to files and symbols. Those few seconds you save for each step really add up when you spend 8+ hours working with your editor every day

2. Chrome Developer Tools

It would be amazing if you could edit and debug your JavaScript while simultaneously viewing a detailed performance analysis of the website.

Google’s Chrome Developer Tools allows you to do exactly that. They are available in Chrome and Safari and allow developers to access the internals of their web applications. A range of network tools can optimize your loading flow, while a timeline provides a deeper understanding of the browser’s current state. Google releases an update approximately every six weeks. To keep your skills current, visit their website and the Google Developers YouTube channel.

 

3. jQuery

JavaScript is a frontend language that developers have long considered essential. However, it has its limitations: It’s riddled by browser inconsistencies and its complicated syntax meant that functionality often suffered.

This was true until 2006 when jQuery, a small and lightweight JavaScript library that simplifies the frontend process, appeared on the scene. jQuery abstracted a lot the functionality that developers usually have to solve by themselves, giving developers more freedom to create animations, add plug-ins or navigate documents.

It’s a clear success. jQuery was the most widely used JavaScript library, installed on 65% of top 10,000,000 web sites at that time. This is something you might be interested in, so we offer a complete guide to JavaScript vs jQuery.

4. GitHub

This is the worst nightmare for developers: you’re working on a new feature in your project and you make a mistake. Enter version control (VCS), and more specifically, GitHub.

You can see any changes made to your project and even return to the previous state. This makes pesky errors a thing of past. GitHub is essential for developers. The repository hosting service boasts an open-source community that makes collaboration easy between teams. It also provides many other components like bug tracking, feature requests and task management.

Employers are looking for skilled Git developers, so now is the time to apply. There are many open-source projects that you can work on and it’s an opportunity to learn from some of the most respected Git experts. You should be able to distinguish between Git and GitHub.

5. CodePen

Although this tool has been around since 2012, it is still a popular choice for frontend developers. It is nearly impossible to find a better way to showcase your HTML, CSS and JavaScript snippets than embeds. This makes them an increasingly popular sight on coding resources online.

This very cool, airplane-themed feature is a great example of how CodePen can be made easy to use. CodePen can be used to show off your GitHub profile and is also a great tool for anyone who is building or updating their web development portfolio. This is a beautiful way to show off the code behind your features, as well as how they are presented to users.

6. AngularJS

HTML is the foundation of any frontend developer’s toolbox. However, many believe HTML has a serious flaw. It wasn’t built to handle dynamic views. AngularJS is an open-source web platform. AngularJS was developed by Google. It allows you to extend the HTML syntax of your application, making it more expressive, readable and quicker to develop than HTML alone. Although there are some critics to the project, we believe it is an important skill to have in your frontend toolkit.

7. Sass

You’re going to love web dev tools that can save you time. One of the first things that you’ll learn is that code must be DRY (“Don’t Repeat Yourself”). You’ll also learn that CSS is not always very dry. The CSS Preprocessor will allow you to create maintainable and future-proof code while decreasing the amount of CSS that you need (keeping it dry).

Sass is the most well-known of them all, an open-source project that dates back to 2008 and has largely defined modern CSS preprocessors. While it can be a bit difficult to understand at first, Sass’s mix of variables, nesting and mixins will result in simple CSS when compiled. This will make your stylesheets more readable, and, most importantly, DRY.

 

Final thoughts

If you are interested in learning these frontend technologies and embarking on a seven-month journey towards becoming a web developer, I recommend  Full Stack Web Development Program. This program teaches you how to develop JavaScript from scratch.

These articles might be of interest to you if you are still thinking about a career change to web development or simply want to know more about the subject. Keep reading our blogs.