Front-end developers like every other tech professional need tools; from the simple notepad app to high-level debugging software; to execute projects.

Thomas Carlyle said it best:

Man is a tool-using animal. Without tools, he’s nothing; with tools, he is all.

The tech ecosystem is always buzzing with new tools, libraries or frameworks that can help developers work easier and faster. While this is beneficial, it can get confusing and stressful especially for tech newbies to keep up. Do you need tools like Atom, jQuery, and Git in your arsenal?

Not to worry, this post, in no particular order, answers and highlights 11 useful tools for front-end developers while talking about their interesting features.

Let’s dive in. Shall we?

1. aptLearn’s IDE  

The aptLearn’s IDE is a free, easy-to-use resource that allows you to build, test and share code in a fun and engaging environment. With the support of over 10 programming languages, full in-browser and GitHub integration, code deployment is made simpler and faster for aptLearn users. Also, being part of its interactive developer community environment allows you unrestricted access to the knowledge and experiences of developers all over the world! See an example below:

2. HTML5 Boilerplate

HTML5 boilerplate comes with template HTML, CSS and JavaScript useful in creating fast and cross-browser-compatible websites. These templates save you the time and stress of building new pages from scratch every time. HTML boilerplate also help improves performance through debugging and Apache Server Configs. The good news is that being a code newbie doesn’t stop you from using it because its code structure is beginner-friendly.

3. Chrome DevTools

These are free chrome extensions made specifically for web developers to help you test and debug code, thereby making optimising your website in real-time easier without making any code deletions. You could also learn from code errors and grow your skill as a front-end developer through this review.

4. Angular.js

Angular.js is another open-source JavaScript framework that eases the process of app testing and development. AngularJS also lets you extend HTML vocabulary for your application, making it more expressive and readable. Other benefits of Angular include its cross-connectivity across libraries, an array of templates, reusable codes and plugins.

5. Bootstrap  

Bootstrap is a free open-source CSS framework that is handy in creating web and mobile responsive sites. It simplifies the process of web development by providing design templates, and permit plugins, among other features. This makes bootstrap one of the most common projects on GitHub among front-end developers. 

6.CodePen

CodePen has a user-friendly front-end development tool that provides an interactive and educational interface for your projects. Its online code editor allows developers to write and edit code in many programming languages. What makes code pen stand out, is its social development environment that lets other developers view and interact with your code in real time!

7. Atom

Atom is a free text and code editor desktop application, developed by GitHub that is written in Less, CoffeeScript, JavaScript, and HTML languages. This tool gives you cross-platform editing(Atom works across different operating systems), smart auto-completion of code, and built-in package managers, among other features. You could also collaborate on projects because it allows you to create new branches, stage and commit, push and pull, resolve merge conflicts, view pull requests, etc—all from one place. Other common text editor alternatives include VS Code and sublime text. 

8. jQuery

This is one of the most popular web development tools. jQuery is a JavaScript library licensed under MIT, created to execute a variety of functions. jQuery makes things like HTML document manipulation, animation, and Ajax easier because of its API that works on a cross-section of browsers. This survey by FreeCodeCamp shows that 79.73% of front-end developers had more knowledge of jQuery than React and Vue.js. In another report, 48.7% of developers preferred jQuery because of its very beginner-friendliness and ease of use in making animations. 

9. GitHub

GitHub is a free open-source version control system used for tracking changes in your code. With an inbuilt guide and several online tutorials, it is relatively easy to learn about and use regardless of your experience level. If you are looking to learn about version control and command line interface for collaboration, then having a mastery of GitHub should be one of your goals. 

10.Vue.js

Vue.js is a progressive open-source framework with various CSS animations and transitions for app development. With Vue.js you can build an app with just a few lines of code translating to better code readability, maintenance and testing. This probably explains why its usage increased to 18.97% in 2021; becoming the 6th most popular tool among front-end developers in Stack Overflow’s 2022 survey.

11. TypeScript

Developed by Microsoft, TypeScript is a front-end scripting language that helps with static typing and annotations. It is the second most popular programming language that promotes faster code development and debugging. If you plan to build a large-scale project and compilations, TypeScript should be your go-to front-end tool. 

In a Nutshell…

Front-end development is a dynamic, fast-paced tech path that needs you to acquire the necessary skills and workflow. Learning, writing, collaborating or deploying code requires you to have sound knowledge of these tools for easier and better productivity.

The job of a front-end developer is complex, therefore the best tool doesn’t exist. It depends on the process and your individual needs. However, my personal picks based on features, include aptLearn’s IDE, Git, jQuery, and Atom.