No website can be built without the assistance of development tools. However, one possible challenge currently faced by front-end developers is their struggles to choose the best essential technologies for certain projects. To help you figure out the future trends in the segment, this article will briefly list the top frontend web development tools and other critical components to render any site highly applicable.
What are the Top FrontEnd Web Development Tools?
Frontend web development tools include all necessary applications that support developers to easily create interactive sites and web apps. They provide certain built-in elements and even drag-and-drop functions to accelerate the coding process but still guarantee deliverables meet a client’s requirements.
Those tools are either free (open source) or paid (commercial) software programs. Inevitably, frontend developers don’t have to learn about technologies unneeded for their personal or professional projects. However, they should constantly update important news and events related to future web development.
Moreover, no tool is separately used. Instead, developers often include distinct essentials in toolsets to best serve their goals. Frontend web development tools now are including:
- Code editors
- Version control systems
- Frontend frameworks and libraries
- Front-end boilerplates
- Front-end assets
- JavaScript frameworks and libraries
- CSS preprocessors
- Code validators
- Developer tools
- Online coding environments
Recommended reading: 17 Web Design Tools for Different Types of Web Design Software
The Top 7 FrontEnd Web Development Tools In 2022
In 2022, you can expect the following frontend web development tools and frameworks to gain greater application among developers:
- AngularJS: As a leading JavaScript framework, AngularJS allows developers to create HTML syntax for cross-platform and cross-device websites. Besides, this open-source tool helps develop huge database models on Immutable.JS or RX.JS and offers reusable components for faster coding processes.
- jQuery: This JavaScript library simplifies the frontend development by reducing time on fixing plenty of the functionality. Moreover, it accompanies a developer-friendly API to build animations and Ajax on any browser with ease.
- GitHub: This cloud-based hosting service enables developers to monitor the history of code manipulation, track bugs and handle other tasks.
- Bootstrap: This UI toolkit provides responsive grid systems, extensive components, robust JavaScript plugins, and Sass variables to hasten customized mobile-first websites.
- HTML5 Boilerplates: This frontend template saves much time to build a powerful and adaptable website. Its featured components include Normalize.css – an advanced substitute for CSS resets, Apache Server Configs for improved performance, and the Google Analytics snippet.
- Chrome DevTools: This debugging toolset prebuilt in Chrome provides lots of testing functionality to see how your codes work right in the browser. It’s a time-saving option for faster testing and modifications.
- SASS: This CSS preprocessor is popular for its support of more features and capabilities than other extensive languages out there. This tool is particularly useful in reducing the amount of CSS you must write to build an aesthetic site. Instead, you will easily produce well-organized and maintainable codes with SASS.
Useful Libraries and Frameworks (Most Relevant Frontend Development Tools)
Frameworks and libraries are integral frontend web development tools. They contain packages of pre-established, reusable codes that you can directly inject into your website instead of writing codes from scratch. Otherwise, you can make some modifications to render your websites more adaptable. The key difference between a framework and a library is that the former takes control of your web application and requires plugins only whenever it needs them. Meanwhile, the latter lets you be in charge of web development workflows.
Frameworks and libraries are written in HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and other languages. Today, JavaScript remains its reign as the most used client-side language to develop 97.5% of global websites. Therefore, little wonder that most useful frameworks and libraries are based on JavaScript, including AngularJS, Vue.js, ReactJS, and jQuery.
Other prominent frameworks recommended by experts entail:
- Bootstrap (an open-source CSS framework that contains CSS-based design components and also provides optional JavaScript-driven templates)
- Semantic UI (a development framework that uses developer-friendly HTML and intuitive JavaScript to build a variety of themes)
Despite several differences, frameworks, and libraries all target the ultimate goals of providing user-friendly deliverables and speeding the process of coding websites. So basically, they still offer common web elements (e.g. side panels, scroll bars, or grids) which serve as a foundation for developers to insert their customized codes.
Recommended reading: 6 Best Trending Programming Languages
Version Control Systems and Source Control
Version (“Source”) control systems (VCSs) play a key role in the web development process. Whether you are working on personal projects or partnering with other team members on complex web applications, you always need source code management systems to track and review historical changes in codes. Beyond that, you can revert to an earlier code base if required. Those systems allow multiple developers to work on the same project at the same time and share their work without fear of overwriting others’ codes. For these reasons, you can quickly detect problems by examining what was previously modified and who did it on centralized systems.
Another benefit of VCSs is more leeway you have to work on projects wherever possible. To do so, you only need to make a clone repository of codes on your computer and work independently on them. Once you have made changes, you may either sync your work with the primary version of the repository or contribute them to other repositories. Besides, you may grab codes from contributors to your codebase. That’s a way Git – the most supported VCS – performs.
To better monitor Git repositories, Git-based tools, and projects, you need such hosting services as GitHub and AWS CodeCommit.
For projects at an organizational level, you can ponder using Apache Subversion (SVN) instead. This source control system facilitates the data storage on one central server, so it’s possibly easier to use than Git. But when server problems arise, developers may get into worse trouble.
Browser Add-ons and Plugins
Browser add-ons and extensions are pieces of software adding certain functionality to a specific browser. For example, when Google Chrome is embedded with the Grammarly add-on, any writing on this browser receives the extension’s automatic suggestions for improvement.
Plugins are slightly different. One typical example is Adobe Flash Player which allows web users to watch videos or play games, but this component is no longer supported. Without plugins implicitly executing codes, users cannot do some important activities on websites.
They all authorize external developers to build new features or extend the browser’s capability. Multiple add-ons and plugins prove useful and harmless for users. But malicious extensions are unknowingly installed to spy on browsing activities or redirect users to unidentified websites.
Web Processors (In Frontend Development Tools)
A web processor is part of browsers that are used to decipher HTML and CSS codes into what is displayed on the client-side interface. In other words, a web processor is occasionally known as a “frontend framework” when it comes to web development. Without web processors, web users merely see boring codes of the backend server on websites and web apps.
As already mentioned, there are various frontend frameworks out there to support the programming work of developers. Some popular processors include Preact, AngularJS, and Vue.js. Regardless of distinct features, most of them are compatible with or supportive of JavaScript, the most popular computer programming language for front-end development. Those frameworks can use or combine with numerous CMS platforms (e.g. WordPress, Joomla, or Drupal) to facilitate a developer’s work and build a more interactive website.
Conclusion
Frontend web development tools are becoming plentiful. Each of them has unique capabilities to enhance the coding process and make robust websites. However, we still see the standout performance of technologies that better assist developers to build responsive mobile-first websites. And this trend is projected to rapidly grow, no matter which industries and devices mobile sites will serve.
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