This article is going to be the first of a series on the best web design tools for Java programmers.
While there are many ways to write a website or web app, many people find that Java is their language of choice. In this article, we’ll talk about some of the best tools for developing websites or web apps in Java.
Table of Contents
Best Web Design Tools Java
1. Sublime Text
Let’s start with the basics: a first-rate code editor—one that features a well-designed, super efficient, and ultra speedy user interface. There are several that do this well, but arguably the best (and most popular) is Sublime Text.
Artfully run by a one-man development team, the secret to Sublime’s success lies in the program’s vast array of keyboard shortcuts—such as the ability to perform simultaneous editing (making the same interactive changes to multiple selected areas) as well as quick navigation to files, symbols, and lines. And when you’re spending 8+ hours with your editor each day, those precious few seconds saved for each process really do add up…
You can start coding with Sublime in this free web development tutorial (no sign-up necessary).
2. Chrome Developer Tools
Wouldn’t it be great if you could edit your HTML and CSS in real-time, or debug your JavaScript, all while viewing a thorough performance analysis of your website?
Google’s built-in Chrome Developer Tools let you do just that. Bundled and available in both Chrome and Safari, they allow developers access into the internals of their web application. On top of this, a palette of network tools can help optimize your loading flows, while a timeline gives you a deeper understanding of what the browser is doing at any given moment.
Google release an update every six weeks–so check out their website as well as the Google Developers YouTube channel to keep your skills up-to-date.
3. jQuery
JavaScript has long been considered an essential frontend language by developers, although it’s not without its problems: riddled with browser inconsistencies, its somewhat complicated and unapproachable syntax meant that functionality often suffered.
That was until 2006, when jQuery—a fast, small, cross-platform JavaScript library aimed at simplifying the frontend process—appeared on the scene. By abstracting a lot of the functionality usually left for developers to solve on their own, jQuery allowed greater scope for creating animations, adding plug-ins, or even just navigating documents.
And it’s clearly successful—jQuery was by far the most popular JavaScript library in existence in 2015, with installation on 65% of the top 10 million highest-traffic sites on the web at the time. If this sounds like something you’d like to look into some more, we have a full guide to jQuery vs JavaScript.
4. GitHub
It’s every developer’s worst nightmare—you’re working on a new project feature and you screw up. Enter version control systems (VCS)–and more specifically, GitHub.
By rolling out your project with the service, you can view any changes you’ve made or even go back to your previous state (making pesky mistakes a thing of the past). There are so many reasons why GitHub is vital to developers. The repository hosting service also boasts a rich open-source development community (making collaboration between teams as easy as pie), as well as providing several other components such as bug tracking, feature requests, task management, and wikis for every project.
Many employers will look for finely-honed Git skills, so now’s the perfect time to sign up–plus it’s a great way to get involved and learn from the best with a wide array of open-source projects to work on. If you’re not 100% sure of the differences between Git and GitHub already, make sure you know that first.
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5. CodePen
Despite being around since 2012, the ever-increasing of people learning programming means that 2022 is going to be another bumper year for this tool beloved by the frontend community. There is almost no better way of showcasing your HTML, CSS, and JavaScript snippets, and as a result their embeds are an increasingly common sight across coding resources online.
If you need some proof for just how user-friendly CodePen is, take a look at this very cool airplane-themed feature:h
As well as showing off your GitHub profile, CodePen is an incredibly useful tool for those building or overhauling their web developer portfolio. It’s an elegant way of showing off not just the code behind features you’ve built, but also how they are displayed to users as well.
6. AngularJS
HTML is usually the cornerstone of any frontend developer’s toolbox, but it has what many perceive to be a serious flaw: it wasn’t designed to manage dynamic views.
This is where AngularJS, an open-source web framework, comes in. Developed by Google, AngularJS lets you extend your application’s HTML syntax, resulting in a more expressive, readable, and quick to develop environment that could otherwise not have been built with HTML alone.
The project is not without its critics: some feel that this sort of data binding makes for a messy, non-separated code, but we still think it’s an invaluable skill to have in your frontend kit.
7. Sass
Web dev tools that save time are your best friend, and one of the first things you’ll learn about code is that it needs to be DRY (“Don’t Repeat Yourself”). The second thing you’ll probably learn is that CSS is usually not very DRY.
Enter the world of the CSS preprocessor, a tool that will help you write maintainable, future-proof code, all while reducing the amount of CSS you have to write (keeping it DRY).
Perhaps most popular among them is Sass, an eight-year-old open-source project which pretty much defined the genre of modern CSS preprocessors. Although a little tricky to get to grips with initially, Sass’s combination of variables, nesting, and mixins will render simple CSS when compiled, meaning your stylesheets will be more readable and (most importantly) DRY.
web development tools free
- CMS Hub: Best All-in-One Web Design Software for Beginners
- WordPress: Best Free Blog Design Software for Beginners
- Figma: Best Free Collaborative Wireframing Tool for Beginners
- Sketch: Best User Interface Design Tool for Mac Users
- Lunacy: Best Free User Interface Design Tool for Windows Users
- Adobe XD: Best Prototyping Software for Adobe CC Users
- Origami: Best Free Web Design Tool for Animations
- InVision Studio: Best Free Mobile Responsive Prototyping Software
- FluidUI: Best Simple Web Design Tool for Prototyping
- Vectr: Best Simple Web Design Tool for Vector Drawing
- GIMP: Best Simple Web Design Tool for Photo Editing
- Marvel: Best Simple Web Design Tool for User Testing
- Wix: Best Simple Website Builder
- Framer: Best Simple Design Tool for Web Apps and Products
- Bootstrap: Best Prebuilt Web Design Framework
- Sublime Text: Best Free Code Editor for Mac
- Visual Studio Code: Best Free Code Editor for Windows
With hundreds of tools available, it can be confusing and overwhelming to decide which to use. That’s why we’ve curated a list of some of the best design tools that you can use for free.
Conclusion
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