3 Web Development Tools You Should Consider That You're Probably Not Currently Using

Are you caught in a programming pickle? It’s true that the ever-evolving web can be exciting, but it also means that as a developer you need to constantly stay on top of the latest techniques, changes and programming languages. Even the most experienced developers can find themselves searching for a new tool or resource that will help them in their web development workflow. So while you probably already take advantage of the support provided by the big browsers, there are a lot of web development tools that you probably aren’t using — or don’t even know about. Fortunately, there are a wealth of online resources to assist you when you get stuck. Here are three awesome tools you may want to try out to help improve your web development skills.

1. JavaScript Library

JavaScript is one of the most popular programming languages in use, but things can get difficult when you’re trying to make it work with HTML. To ease your burden, fellow developers have pre-written a bunch of JavaScript code and put them into libraries. One such popular library is jQuery. Small and fast, jQuery is a feature-rich library that makes it a whole lot easier for you to develop your website or application. With the motto “write less, do more,” jQuery’s features take a lot of common tasks and wraps them into methods that you can call with a single line of code:

• HTML/DOM manipulation
• CSS manipulation
• HTML event methods
• Effects and animations
• Utilities
• AJAX

2. Task Runners

Task runners quietly toil behind most web and mobile apps, automating your workflow. For example, you can design a task to automate the minification of JavaScript, spin up development servers, compile code, and then create and blend tasks to speed up the web development process. Gulp is one such tool, keeping things simple and making complex tasks manageable. Often referred to as a build tool, Gulp runs fast, and its configurations are shorter and simpler than some of the other tasks runners out there.

3. Collaboration Tools

Since many development teams now work remotely — even in different countries — you need a way to stay in touch with the rest of your team. Collaboration tools can help streamline your web development workflow, making it simpler, more pleasant, and more productive. Take a look at Slack, which offers real-time messaging, archiving and search for modern teams. From developing new product features, working on new landing pages, or drafting new mockups, the team communication and chat messenger offers a wide variety of integrations.

Wrap Up

If you haven’t already, try these three web development tools to begin streamlining your workflow and increasing your productivity. Remember, there are always new tools being developed to help you — the web development community loves helping each other out. Developers are always looking to make the process of website development easier because saving time on day-to-day workflow lets them focus on newer technologies that improve the user experience of web browsing.