Web development continues to grow and evolve in interesting ways. Progress in libraries and workflows empowers developers to create their best work. Version-control systems allow teams to collaborate in new and better ways. Web application developers have access to a wide range of tools to create great responsive web applications.

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What tools do developers use to create web apps?

Developers use a wide range of tools. They use code editors. They use collaboration tools like Slack. They use tools for wireframing like Figma and Sketch. For front-end frameworks they deploy tools like Bootstrap and Semantic UI.

Why do we use web development tools?

First, let’s define our terms. What exactly do we mean by web development tools? Simply put, web development tools, or devtools, help developers create and test their code. The tools range from debugging and testing tools to collaboration software and wireframing tools. For our purposes, all tools that help developers are devtools. Web development tools simplify and streamline the development process.

With this vast number of web application tools out there, many teams struggle to find the best ones. Let’s take a look at our curated list of the 15 most useful web app development tools. We’ve sorted out the best so you don’t have to cull through the huge number of application tools out there.

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15 useful web app development tools for 2021

1. Notepad++

Developers appreciate Notepad++ for its minimalist design and ease of use. Notepad++ supports 27 programming languages. It works without tying up system resources, using Win32 API to execute with speed.

Features

• Simple line numbering

• Advanced find and replace

• Edits text files up to 2 GB in size

Useful for:

• Quick edits of HTML and CSS

• Editing multiple files at once thanks to tabs

• Opening files not supported by other text editors

Pricing: Notepad++ costs nothing, though the developer has a donation link on the website.

Read on the programming languages for mobile app development in 2022.

2. Visual Studio Code

Microsoft created Visual as an open-source code editing program. Developers use Visual Studio Code to debug, embed GIT commands and write SaSS code. The interface has many options for customizing including options to change display fonts, icons, and colors. 

Features

• Remote development features, uses containers or a remote machine for development

• Version-control remote plugins

• Intelligent code editor, including code completion

• Wide variety of plugins and extensions

Useful for:

• Team collaboration

• Javascript and Python web development

• Developers using Windows, MacOS or Linux operating systems

Pricing: Free!

3. Ruby on Rails

Ruby on rails gets high marks from developers because it’s easy to read, write and test code. Developers use Ruby on Rails because it contains the basic structures for web services, pages and a database. Ruby on Rails has a simple interface.

Features

• Robust yet simple to use

• Intuitive workflow

• Great integration with third-party applications

Useful for:

• Quick creation of Minimum viable product (MVP)

• Automated deployment 

• Creating e-commerce websites

Pricing: Free!

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4. Angular

Google created Angular as a javascript framework. It works as a cross-platform package with a large pool of third-party plugins. Developers use Angular’s command-line interface, or CLI, to code and test.

Features

• Powerful template syntax helps create user interfaces, fast

• Animation effects with minimal coding

• Component Router automatically code-splits for fast load times

Useful for:

• Enterprise web applications

• Applications with dynamic content

• Progressive web applications

Pricing: Free! 

5. Bootstrap

Software developers use bootstrap as a CSS framework. Developers at Twitter created Bootstrap in 2011. Bootstrap allows for fast creation of mobile-first sites and web applications. 

Features

• Powerful template syntax helps create user interfaces, fast

• Animation effects with minimal coding

• Component Router automatically code-splits for fast load times

Useful for:

• Enterprise web applications

• Applications with dynamic content

• Progressive web applications

Pricing: Free! 

6. Semantic UI

Developers use Semantic UI to theme websites with its component framework. Semantic UI uses exchangeable words and classes. Semantic UI has a wide variety of components. Some of the components include behaviors, views, collections and behavior modules.

Features

• Natural-language syntax

• Intuitive JavaScript

• Performance logging for simple debugging

Useful for:

• Large UI projects

• Teams needing documentation

• Teams that need a large library of icons

Pricing: Free and open-source 

7. GitHub Desktop

GitHub built Github Desktop for easier integration between GitHub and its users. The interface allows for fast collaboration and version control. 

Features

• Before and after shots of work in progress

• Tracks changes in files sets

• Allows teams to coordinate their coding projects

Useful for:

• Teams that want to collaborate in the cloud

• Developers who need superior version control

Pricing: Free and open-source 

8. REST Assured

Most web developers who work with Java use REST Assured. They use it to test and validate REST services. REST Assured saves them time and allows them to test without having to know a ton of HTML.

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Features

• Supports POST, GET, PUT, DELETE, OPTIONS, PATCH, and HEAD requests

• Validates and verifies the response of the above requests

• Allows teams to coordinate their coding projects

Useful for:

• Developers who write Java code

Pricing: Free and open-source 

9. HoppScotch

HoppScotch has gained a large following with developers because of its simple and fast interface. Developers use HoppScotch to develop APIs.

Features

• Allows for full-duplex communication

• Has collections to organize API requests

• Can sync and restore request entries

Useful for:

• Those who want a powerful API tool with a slick and intuitive user interface 

Pricing: Free and open-source 

10. Adobe XD

Developers use Adobe XD for wireframes and interactive mock-ups. They can create designs for any screen size. Adobe XD works with all the other Creative Cloud apps seamlessly.

Features

• Vector-based drawing and type tools

• Dynamic resize makes for faster changes

• Allows for comments and collaboration 

• Cloud-based file and library storage

Useful for:

• Developers that want a real-looking prototype without having to write code

• Teams that need to create interactive mockups to share with stakeholders

Pricing: 9.90 USD per month 

11. Figma

Another wireframing and mock-up tool, many developers love Figma. Figma uses a drag-and-drop editor to quickly create mock-ups. 

Features

• Version history

• Real-time collaboration

Useful for:

• Teams that want a quick and easy way to work without spending a lot of money

Pricing: FREE!

12. ProtoPie

A prototyping tool that many love for its simplicity. ProtoPie works for creating prototypes for web, mobile and desktop. 

Features

• Simple, easy to use

• No coding required

Useful for:

• Beginners who want to create realistic prototypes

Pricing: Starts at 11 USD per month for an individual user account

13. Sass

Teams use Sass to preprocess CSS. Sass builds on CSS with variables, nested rules and inheritance.

Features

• Simplifies editing and workflows

• Modularizes code

Useful for:

• Web developers looking for a CSS tool that allows them to work fast using mixins

Pricing: Free!

14. Stack Overflow

Developers use the website Stack Overflow to ask and answer coding questions. They post questions and get fast and accurate responses from the passionate Stack Overflow community.

Features

• Answers to most code-related questions 

• Massive collection of answered questions

Useful for:

• Everyone who codes anything!

Pricing: Free!

15. TypeScript

Developers use Typescript for adding extra features to JavaScript.  TypeScript catches code and type errors. TypeScript comes with extensive documentation.

• Adds data types, classes, and other object-oriented features to JavaScript

• Finds bugs with code checks

Useful for:

• JavaScript developers who want to have more options and greater productivity.

Pricing: Free!

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In the fast-moving web development world new tools crop up every day. The tools we’ve looked at today represent the best of what 2021 has to offer. Here at Blocshop, our developers use these tools and more to create sophisticated and elegant web applications. Get a custom price calculation for your web app by telling us more about your project.