A lot of new developers don’t realize how big of impact tools have in day-to-day development. But great developers utilize such tools to improve their web development capabilities near tenfold. When you’re a newcomer in the business, you might feel overwhelmed as there is an incredible number of tools and plugins at your disposal. And while definitely some tools were made as an afterthought, and their primary focus is profit, most exhibit incredible performances. But to wade through such an immense amount of tools, you’ll need some help. And that’s why you should check out the best bits and bobs a developer should have on hand in 2021.
Git
Developing things is already quite an arduous task, so having a program that racks any change of files (both accidental and potentially malicious) can be incredibly beneficial. That’s why you should use Git as it’s the premier open-source source control system whose ease of use and featureful software can take your developing powers to the next level. You can make your code switch around seamlessly and branch out into perfect hierarchical structures. And to make sure all of your experiments don’t create a mess in the base code, Git offers recyclable experimentation branches with which you can safely roll back any prototypes that might compromise your work. And the best part of it all, Git’s completely free and open-source, so there are no real downsides in trying it out.
WP Reset
Starting out as a developer can be quite tough, especially if you don’t have solid backup plans for when things go awry. That’s where WP Reset can really be of help to newcomers. As one of the best development tools that’s so easy to use that even non-developers can use it to its maximum potential. With WP Reset, you get a personal automated “backup” feature that they call Snapshots, and you can even bulk install other plugins with it. This comes especially useful if some plugin or theme messes up your product, and you’d need a complete reset of your work, which you can easily do with their Nuclear Reset option. And one of the best features WP Reset has to offer is definitely the Emergency Recovery Script, or ERS for short, that enables you to safeguard all of your critically important files from compromisation. Some newcomers may believe that such a feature’s redundant after all and that they would never make mistakes, but even simple mistakes can give you the dreaded “white screen of death” that completely locks you out of your website. Having ERS on-hand can allow you to reset and backtrack to a safe point in which you’ll be able to effortlessly access your website.
Postman
When it comes to developing APIs, which are immensely important for cross-platform activity, testing their functionality’s crucial, that’s why you should use Postman, the premier API development collaboration platform. Why does everything yourself when you can automate your testing, simulate endpoints, and even collaborate in all manner of ways with your teams? With Postman, you’ll be able to significantly quicken your production pace with parallel working solutions as well as comprehensive testing services. You can customize Postman completely to your liking allowing for an utterly unique experience. If you’re working as a team, you may find that keeping everyone up to date with your progress is difficult, but with Postman, your work’s automatically synced and ready to be worked with.
Chrome DevTools
As one of the most popular web browsers around the world, Google Chrome caters to almost everyone. That includes developers too, where it offers Chrome DevTools for all of your debugging and prototyping needs. With it, you can edit your CSS while inspecting changes in real-time. And considering that it comes integrated with your browser, you can view and work on the elements of your page instantly. That feature’s quite frankly incredible as it bypasses quite a few steps you’d have to usually do to check up on the front-end of your site. And sure, while it does take some time getting used to and learning all the bits and bobs, Chrome DevTools’ definitely worth checking out, no matter if you’re a beginner or an expert.
Slack
Developing a website’s only part of the work that goes into creating a website. A lot of people tend to forget how proper communication can speed up workflow as you’re avoiding the unnecessary bureaucracy of office relations. That’s where Slack comes in as one of the best communication software currently on the market. You can open chat rooms, organize them to your liking, and even send files in them. To make sure your teams are working in sync, Slack allows for the creation of team “workspaces” where they can keep themselves up to date with all the current changes in their workflow. And as it offers various integrations, Slack can be a perfect form of communication that can utilize all the tools you have on hand. Slack even has an API so that you can automate some processes and create applications.
Visual Studio Code
Another option for source-code editing and development is Visual Studio Code. With it, you can use most of the programming languages as well as a comprehensive debugging system. It’s extremely lightweight on your machine, so you’ll be able to run it alongside other programs. And to make sure it’s compatible with whatever you’re working on, Visual Studio Code offers a multitude of extensions to integrate into your workspace. Some of those extensions even enable Visual Studio Code to act as an alternative to web development and can provide an active syncing system so that you needn’t switch between your servers and editors. With a meteoric rise in popularity, it really isn’t a surprise that Visual Studio Code is becoming a staple in the developer community.
Conclusion
To conclude, every craftsman needs their tools, and similarly, every developer needs a good quality toolset to get their work started. Each of these tools has a unique specialty on offer whose benefit you may find more suitable to your preferences. You should especially check these tools out if you’re a beginner, as most of them are incredibly user-friendly, and their documentation can help you achieve the peaks of your development skillsets.
