In this post we are not going to write about IDEs, browser plug-ins or scaffolding tools like yeoman or html5 boilerplate. Those tools are so many and have been covered in various articles all over the web.
We would like to write about everyday tools that will make your life easier and save you time.
1. GIT
If you are a web developer and you haven`t used GIT yet, its time! OR if you have tried it and found it useless or hard, try again!
GIT is a distributed revision control and source code management system that offers complete history and full version-tracking capabilities for every repository.
Among other things Git can be used
-by a team of developers making it easy to collaborate and merge their work automatically
– as a backup
– to have a history where you can revert to
It is a bit hard to understand at first but there are tools to make it easier.
First off, find a Git repository hosting such as BitBucket, GitHub or BeanStalk to host and save your projects.
Then find a Git client tool such as SourceTree or GitBox, in order to have a graphical interface and avoid command line.
2. GRUNT / GRUNT-SPRITESMITH
Grunt is a javaScript task runner that automates work for you like minification, compilation, unit testing and linting. There are many plugins you can choose from http://gruntjs.com/
One of our favorite plugins is grunt-spritesmith that automatically converts a set of images into a sprite with corresponding CSS variables.
For more info visit: https://www.npmjs.org/package/grunt-spritesmith
3. YSLOW
Yslow is actually a browser plugin, but it is very helpful as it analyzes the current page and suggests ways of improvement, regarding the performance.
https://developer.yahoo.com/yslow/
4. VIRTUALBOX
Want to test your website in various versions of IE or other browsers? You just have to download VirtualBox from https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Downloads and then a test VM from https://www.modern.ie/en-us/virtualization-tools.
5. SITE SCAN
Site Scan is an online tool that scans website pages for common coding problems and proposes fixes, in order to make sure your users get the best possible experience.
https://www.modern.ie/en-us
6. WEB DEVELOPER CHECKLIST
Well this is not a tool, but it is a list of things needed before launching your site. It makes sure you don`t forget anything important but also gives tips on improving your code.
http://webdevchecklist.com/