Top 7 Essential Frontend Web Development Tools in 2022
There are two aspects to web development, front-end development and backend development. The term backend means the database of a website or web server whereas the term frontend means the user interface. The user enters their request with the help of the interface. Frontend development is the front-end portion of websites and web applications, the part that the users interact with. In simple words, front-end development aims at what the user can see whereas back-end development aims at building an infrastructure to support it.
No webpage can be built without the assistance of web development tools. Top Web Development Frameworks support developers to curate interactive and functional websites easily. They not only come along with built-in elements but also drag and drop features to accelerate the web development process. Front-end development tools are mostly open-source and some commercial tools are paid software programs. However front end developers are often confused when choosing essential front-end web development tools. Let us walk you through the top frontend development tools in the market:
Sublime text
Sublime text is one of the extensively utilized text editors. It is a sophisticated text editor that comes along with features such as auto-identification, file recognition, syntax highlighter, sidebar, plug-ins and much more. Among the first-rate code editors, the sublime text is the most popular code editor. It is super-efficient and has an ultra-speedy user interface.
Sublime text supports multiple markup as well as programming languages. It is versatile, commercial and sophisticated. It is extremely user-friendly. With sublime text, developers can focus on the more important aspects of development as it automates repetitive tasks. It is fully customizable and supports Windows, Linux and macOS. Moreover, its Python APIS allows plugins to augment built-in functionalities.
Chrome Developer Tools
While developing a web page or web application developers often wish to modify the way your browser looks before giving the green flag to their changes. Chrome developer tools play an important role in the overall process of modification.
Dev tools have built-in features of modern web browsers. These features aid in acknowledging the code behind all nooks and corners of a webpage with just some clicks.
Developers usually prefer Google Chrome as their default browser to modify the look of the website. Chrome DevTools is a set of modern web development tools that are curated into the browser of Google chrome directly. These wonder tools help designers in altering the page on the fly and reduce errors to help them develop a website instantly and effectively.
The Advanced breakpoint support system in chrome DevTools helps in debugging Graphics. Programmers can easily explore all local HTML5 databases without any hassle. It also aids in improving the site speed with the help of functions execution time analysis. Along with that, the appearance of the pages can be redrawn and relinked while refreshing the application with dynamic CSS and DOM.
jQuery
JavaScript is one of the most Front End programming languages. Mega prominent websites such as Amazon, Google, and YouTube are built on Javascript. According to recent statistics, about 97.8% of websites use JavaScript.
Similarly, businessmen and startup owners must be aware of all the primary elements of this programming language along with the libraries used. Among the bunch of JS libraries available online, one of the fundamental choices of web programmers is jQuery.
It is a reliable cross-platform JS library and an amazing front-end web development tool. jQUery was designed keeping in mind the front end of HTML scripting. Therefore, it is widely used for HTML document traversal, animation, AJAX modifications and much more. Along with that, it is the most appropriate tool when t comes to developing an interactive website starting from zero. It comes along with a lightweight JS Library and supports cross-platform applications as well as multiple browsers.
jQuery is not only flexible and scalable but is also extremely SEO-friendly as aids in loading pages faster.
GitHub
In the web development world, GitHub is one of the most favored tools. It is a control system of versions that are well versed in handling small to large projects without any hassle. It helps in coordination between teams that are working with the same code file of a project simultaneously. They do not have to think about overwriting others developers’ code. It allows programmers to build various autonomous code parts along with making the creation, integration, and deletion of development code swift and smooth.
The primary work of GitHub is to test and debug the code easily. Its high speed allows developers to work swiftly on large projects. The most secure part of Github is that it has cryptographic user data protection. The branching model of Git aids in creating, linking and deleting independent code lines easily.
Git has become one of the most prominent tools for web programmers as it plays a huge role in allowing them to work altogether on the same code without overriding each other’s changes. Additionally, it is noteworthy that GitHub being fast, scalable and decentralized is open source and available at no extra cost. These innovative features have made Git one of the most potent version control systems of its time.
GitHub is often used alongside Git. Git is a hosting service that is cloud-based and comes along with massive code repositories. It comes along with workflow control features and project management tools. These tools and features help the people involved in the project to talk and collaborate hassle-free on the same project.
Bootstrap
Bootstrap is an open-source CSS framework that contains CSS-based design components along with optional Javascript-driven templates. Regarding the list of front-end development tools, bootstrap holds one of the prominent positions. It lets developers design responsive HTML, CSS and JavaScript websites. It provides a responsive grid system and Includes CSS and HTML design templates to add elements to the website. It requires just some basic knowledge of HTML and CSS and thus, it is easy to use. Additionally, its compatibility spreads across all the latest browsers such as Firefox, Chrome or Safari. It even provides extensive plugins that support Jquery.
Bootstrap is known to be a must-have tool for all programmers working on front-end development. It was introduced by Twitter in 2011. Being an open source framework, it comes along with JS templates that help developers in designing and curating webpages to their taste or the clients’ needs.
Used on more than 20% of the websites currently, bootstrap has become quite popular in recent years because of the flexibility that it has to offer. Programmers are now using bootstrap to develop the basic structure of a webpage and define the HTML style. This plays a huge role in not having the need to program each and every element of the website individually. This innovative framework ensures the uniform and consistent look of websites across multiple browsers.
Angular.js
HTML is the heart of any established front-end developer’s tool set, but it comes along with what many developers call a serious flaw, it was not developed keeping in mind views that are dynamic.
This is where AngularJS comes into the frame. It is an open-source web framework established by Google. It lets developers extend their web page syntax resulting in a more expressive, understandable, and easy-to-use environment. This could otherwise not have been developed with HTML alone.
The project is not without its downfalls. Some developers feel that this sort of data binding comes along with messy and non-separated code, but it is still an invaluable skill to have in your frontend development toolkit.
Sass
CSS is a must-have while working on the design part of a website. It basically works on the layout that makes the website looks symmetrical and all the other design-related factors like fonts, colors, themes and much more. Additionally, a CSS preprocessing tool such as Sass is a must-have for front-end web design. It plays a huge role in reducing errors in designs as well as automating all the monotonous tasks by building reusable snippets. Along with that, Sass aids in reading, maintaining and sharing all the crucial parts of codes among the developers.
It is one of the most widely used CSS preprocessors in the web development industry. Sass helps the front-end developers to operate variable creation, outline imports and nest code rules efficiently. It is extremely convenient for all developers as it is compatible with all the versions of CSS and its library. They just have to install Sass on their current project and they can easily compile their CSS using the commanding features of Sass.
Sass is known for having two different types of synaxes namely SCSS and Sass. The first syntax is a superset of the CSS library and is valid across the interface. The other indented syntax validates all the features in SCSS. However, it utilizes curly brackets or semicolons instead of an indentation. It facilitates reusability methods and logic statements. It comes along with built-in features including parameter lists, mathematics, and color manipulation. It can be used as a command line tool as well as a standalone module and a rack-enabled plugin.
Conclusion
With the number of web development tools present in the market, the task to choose the right set of tools for your dream web development is daunting. In such scenarios, you can rely on one of the best website development companies to help you build dynamically functional and visually appealing websites with the correct set of front-end development tools. Web development in itself is a gruesome task, but with the right frontend development tools, the work becomes a lot easier.
