It’s essential to keep up with the latest in web development tools and trends, even if you’re not working on any new projects at the moment.
Knowing what’s hot in web design can help you determine whether or not it’s time to invest in any significant upgrades to your current website, so you’re prepared to stay ahead of your competition moving forward.
Here’s what stats say about the development tools rapidly used by developers worldwide:
Source: Statista- Tools used by software Developers Worldwide
A web development tool can make developing your website so easy you won’t even know you are using one!
Here are some of our top picks for helpful web development tools you should be using right now:
- Github
- Sublime Text
- Visual Studio Code
- Sass
- Bootstrap
- NPM
- Sketch
- Canva
- Mockplus
- Weebly
- Photoshop
- Adobe Dreamweaver
- Notepad++
Let’s explore them in detail.
Web Development Tools 2022
1. Github – Excellent Version Control & Collaboration
Staying organized & on top of your game is tough. Github is a tool that helps you manage multiple open source projects while making it easy to collaborate with other developers and teams. Using Github, you can create repositories where you can do the following:
- Share code with others
- Manage issues,
- Pull requests for projects
- Releases for projects, and
- Review contributions from other collaborators or community members.
It’s also an easy way to document your code so that others can learn from your work. GitHub offers tons of free learning resources like tutorials, videos, workshops, and Q&A communities.
Combining everything into one platform—code repository, documentation, community—Github makes it easier than ever to be an effective developer who understands their tools well enough to help improve them by sharing code.
2. Sublime Text- Fast Coding of JavaScript Languages
It is a fantastic code editor for coding HTML, CSS, and JavaScript languages. If you’re doing multiple web development or working with HTML and CSS frequently, Sublime Text can make your life much easier by providing shortcuts to common code snippets.
It also has an automatic syntax checker to ensure that you haven’t broken any rules when writing your code. It is for those who spend lots of time editing text or coding!
3. Visual Studio Code- Integrated Development Environment
Visual Studio Code has many features that make it useful for Node.js, Vue.js, or Java web development. It is fast, lightweight, and great for coding. Moreover, it comes with built-in support for Git source control, JavaScript IntelliSense, easy debugging, and so on. It also supports many programming languages.
To build web apps or edit server code, install extensions such as Yeoman, Vue CLI, and Node CLI. They’ll add features such as file generator templates and valuable shortcuts. Visual Studio Code even has a built-in terminal! For example, you can create new HTML files with just two keystrokes (ctrl + n).
4. Sass- Reducing Coding Time
Sass has evolved into a powerful preprocessor, originally just a CSS extension. It’s a combination of Less and Ruby, designed to make your life easier by writing less code and making it easier to read what you write.
When paired with Compass, you can do things like dynamic imports and create incredibly efficient themes. If you haven’t used it yet, don’t wait—you’ll wonder how you ever got along without it.
5. Bootstrap- Simplifying Web Pages Development
If you’re building a site, chances are high you’ll use Bootstrap. It assists with everything from layout and responsiveness to animation and gradients. It was not made specifically for web development, but it certainly helps. However, remember that Bootstrap isn’t for high-end applications like those financial institutions need.
If you need something more robust, take a look at Adobe Muse (or another drag-and-drop application). While it doesn’t have all of Bootstrap’s options or customization possibilities, there is less learning curve than its older counterpart. And remember: Customization always comes at a cost.
6. NPM- Creating Node Programs
If you’re not aware, NPM is a free, open-source package manager for Node.js development and many other JavaScript applications. It makes it easy to share and manage code packages for your software projects—all you need to do is upload them to your account on NPM.
Don’t know what that means? Well, it’s like a library where you can find—and use—lots of prewritten code that others have created to save yourself time and effort writing these tools by hand.
7. Sketch- Ultimate Designing Tool
Sketch is what every web designer uses. It is a vector-based design tool with one of the best interfaces for UI designers. Notably, teams use it at Google, Apple, Facebook, Microsoft, and more.
If you want to enhance your skills & get straight to work on designing interfaces, Sketch is for you. It sometimes appears intimidating at first, but it comes with a fantastic onboarding process that will have you designing interfaces before you know it.
8. Canva- Graphic Designing Software
While there are several image editing tools, Canva is one of our favorites. It’s perfect for beginners (and pros) alike and allows you to create almost any type of design. You can also add Text, adjust images (or upload your own), and tweak everything from font size to layout. All you need is an account with a few bucks to spend on your first designs!
There are many ways to use Canva — you could build simple graphics, like Facebook posts or ads; You could create anything from resumes to invitations or even business cards. If you want to focus more on video creation (i.e., Instagram Stories), that’s easy too: All that’s necessary is to click on Insert Media instead of Text.
9. Mockplus- Cloud-Based Prototyping Tool
Though it’s young and has a small following, Mockplus is already one of our favorite tools. It lets you quickly mock up your ideas into interactive prototypes. The simple interface allows for rapid imagination, and it makes adding features to a prototype as easy as drag-and-drop.
If you’re looking for more advanced and inexpensive, I highly recommend giving Mockplus a try. It won’t disappoint!
10. Weebly- Developing Digital Dreams
Weebly lets you design, build, and host a website for as little as $4/month. Weebly is great for small businesses that want to start a website quickly and don’t want to spend money on web design tools. Plus, Weebly has a large community of users who can help you out with your questions. So even if you’re starting entirely from scratch (no HTML skills), it shouldn’t be hard to create something unique with their drag-and-drop interface.
It does have some limitations, like it doesn’t support WordPress plugins or integrations with third-party apps – but you will get one of the most well-designed templates we’ve seen. There are over 100 free designs available, so it should be simple enough to find one that fits your brand perfectly!
11. Photoshop- The Ultimate Image Editor
Although newer tools are starting to make Photoshop a thing of yesteryear, there’s still no match for Adobe’s image editing tool. It won’t matter how advanced your tool is if you don’t have a clear vision for your design.
That’s where Photoshop can help. It gives users more control over subtle details than any other graphic design software out there, and even though it comes with a steep learning curve, it’s worth it once you get past that initial hump.
12. Adobe Dreamweaver- Intuitive Designing of Portals
If you’re working with intuitive website designs, it makes sense to use a tool tailored specifically for that purpose. Dreamweaver is an excellent option if you’re looking for an intuitive program to help you design and code your site. Its best feature? A live-preview option that allows you to see changes as they happen.
There are a lot of website builder tools out there, but they aren’t always easy or intuitive when it comes to customizing your style. If coding isn’t your strong suit, keeping things simple—and just working with basic options—is what you need.
13. Notepad++ – Text & Source Code Editor
Most web developers use some code editor to help them write and edit website code, which is why many professional coders swear by Notepad++. Notepad++ can handle many different programming languages without slowing down or crashing with its extensive API. It also provides tons of add-ons and other tools to help you customize your coding experience. While Notepad++ isn’t cheap, it has very few drawbacks that cause a developer to switch over from it.
If you’re looking for a top-notch code editor for all your development needs, consider giving Notepad++ a try. Its simplistic interface makes it easy for beginners to start using right away, but there are plenty of advanced options for more experienced programmers as well. Best of all? No installation is required!
Since it’s available online through their official site, there’s no need to hassle downloading and installing new software when moving between devices – log in wherever you go and pick up where you left off!
Final Words
It is not an exhaustive list. However, these are some of the best tools for designing and developing websites. What did I miss? What’s your top tool for building web pages? Please share it with us below!
Be sure also to check out our other posts about website design tips and trends, as well as free HTML5 templates to get you started on creating a professional-looking website.
Also Read:
Why do you need a web development company
FAQs
Question: What are web development tools?
Web development tools are those that help you create, build and maintain your website. These can include code editors, front-end and back-end frameworks, and SEO tools. Some of these also serve purposes outside of developing sites (e.g., Google Analytics).
It’s essential to choose the best web development tools that are easy to use and help get your website off to a stunning start. Here are our top picks for some of the best web development tools you should use.
Question: Why Should You Use Web Development Tools?
The answer is simple. To save time and to increase productivity. What’s more, many web development tools make it faster and easier for both beginners and seasoned developers to create websites that perform well on search engines, display content without glitches, access features quickly, and incorporate mobile apps.
