20 best web development tools to improve your workflow

A web development tool is a piece of software or an application that helps developers build, test, and manage websites and applications. These tools can be categorized by their function, such as for front-end development, back-end development, and DevOps or collaboration.

Some of the best tools from these categories include:

• Chrome Developer Tools. A suite of tools for debugging and editing front-end applications, allowing you to check how your code renders in a web browser.
• ReactJS. A popular front-end JavaScript library for building dynamic, component-based user interfaces.
• Ruby on Rails. A full-stack web framework that handles both back-end logic and front-end rendering through its MVC architecture.
• NGINX. A high-performance web server commonly used as a reverse proxy, load balancer, and HTTP cache.
• GitHub. A web-based platform for version control using Git, enabling developers to host, review, and manage code projects collaboratively.
• Docker. A containerization platform that packages an application and its dependencies in an isolated environment, mainly used in DevOps for continuous deployment.

Explore more tools from each category in detail, including their key features and drawbacks.

Best tools for front-end web development

Front-end web development tools help create the visual and interactive parts of a website that users see and interact with in their browser.

1. Chrome Developer Tools

Chrome Developer Tools is a set of web editing and debugging features built directly into the Google Chrome browser. It enables developers to easily view and update a web page’s styles, debug JavaScript code, and optimize website speed.

Front-end developers can check how their websites or custom web applications render using the Inspect Element tool, grab colors from any website element with the Color Picker feature, and switch between color modes.

This tool also features a local overrides option, enabling developers to test changes on a website easily without directly modifying the actual page’s code. This makes prototyping and troubleshooting more efficient.

Chrome Developer Tools key features

• Lighthouse. A tool for auditing and reporting web pages’ performance, accessibility, and search engine optimization (SEO).
• Console utility. This feature lets developers debug JavaScript code. Developers can also use it to include expressions on web pages and monitor their values in real time.
• Memory profiling. A dashboard where users can check the memory usage of a web page with different profiling types, like heap snapshots and allocation sampling. It is often used to identify memory leaks or bloat that can slow down a site’s performance.
• Device mode. Developers can simulate a website’s performance across different devices by checking how its design adapts to different viewports, testing web page performance, and throttling the network.

Chrome Developer Tools drawbacks

• Steep learning curve. New users will need time to explore and learn how to use all the development tools, given the comprehensive features.
• Limited as a primary code editor. While you can edit code directly in DevTools, it lacks features found in dedicated IDEs like advanced autocomplete, refactoring tools, and integrated testing. It’s best used for debugging and quick testing rather than full development.

2. Sass

Syntactically Awesome Style Sheets (Sass) is one of the most popular CSS preprocessors. Front-end developers primarily use it to add more logical syntax to CSS, such as variables, nested rules, and loops, to make stylesheets more maintainable.

This web development tool is also handy for learning how to make websites, as it lets you change colors, fonts, and other user interface elements. Furthermore, Sass facilitates easy design sharing within and across projects, enabling more seamless project management.

Sass key features

• Mixins. This feature lets you create a reusable bundle of design rules. This enables you to apply complex styling that involves multiple rules simultaneously, without having to rewrite them manually.
• Built into popular frameworks. Users can use Sass’s styling capabilities on various frameworks, including Bootstrap.
• Beginner-friendly. This web development tool is easy to configure and learn, as its features are primarily centered around CSS, a relatively simple language.
• Great reputation and strong community backing. With millions of downloads, Sass has an excellent reputation and community behind it to help answer your questions about the tool.

Sass drawbacks

• Slow performance when handling large files. Users may experience occasional brief freezes or slow loading times, especially when dealing with large projects.
• Unmaintained libraries. Since many libraries that were built on Sass are deprecated and no longer updated, your options for Sass-based tools are limited.

3. Bootstrap

The front-end development framework Bootstrap is a popular tool for creating responsive web applications. It’s designed to be easy to learn, especially for front-end developers who are familiar with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.

This framework features various ready-to-use CSS styling and JavaScript scripts for web design, eliminating the need to code them manually from scratch. It also includes a set of bundled JavaScript libraries, making it easy to implement interactive elements like alerts, tooltips, and modal windows.

Bootstrap key features

• Customizable. Web developers can override Bootstrap’s default styles by customizing its Sass variables, using CSS variables, or extending its color system through stylesheets.
• Responsive features. The predefined HTML and CSS components in Bootstrap automatically resize images based on the users’ screen size, making it easy to develop a responsive design.
• Grid system. Bootstrap’s grid system lets you easily align and adapt content to different viewports without having to build a flexbox from scratch.
• Comprehensive documentation. Bootstrap is well-maintained, providing extensive documentation that is regularly updated.

Bootstrap drawbacks

• Uniform design. As Bootstrap has a consistent visual style, it requires a lot of customization to make your projects stand out. Otherwise, every website built with this framework will share the same structure and design.
• Large file sizes. While Bootstrap lets you build responsive sites easily, it produces larger files compared to those built with vanilla CSS, HTML, or JavaScript.

4. ReactJS

ReactJS is a free and open-source JavaScript library for creating responsive user interfaces for web and mobile applications. This tool enables you to easily develop your page with reusable components that you can build or import from component libraries, such as navigation bars, buttons, forms, and modals, making the development process faster and more efficient.

Additionally, you can use the ReactJS library with Node.js for server rendering and combine it with React Native to power mobile apps. This tool is also considered lightweight due to its use of a virtual Document Object Model (DOM), modular design, and minimal core code.

ReactJS key features

• Virtual DOM. A lightweight, in-memory representation of the real DOM that tracks changes made to the user interface. It allows the browser to update only the elements that have changed, making rendering faster and more efficient.
• Reusable components. ReactJS components encapsulate their own logic and controls, which makes it easier to track code in large projects.
• SEO-friendly. This framework’s server-side rendering ensures your web page is delivered to web browsers after being fully formed, streamlining the crawling process and improving loading speed.
• One-way data binding. This ReactJS feature simplifies code debugging. The changes to child components don’t affect the parent structure, thereby reducing the risk of errors.

ReactJS drawbacks

• JSX requirement. While ReactJS supports vanilla JavaScript, utilizing its full potential requires familiarity with JSX.
• Limited features. Developing a full-stack application requires additional technologies, as ReactJS is primarily used to build the user interface.

5. Angular

Angular is a front-end web development framework that enables you to create different types of projects. For example, it lets you build single-page applications (SPAs), progressive web applications (PWAs), or even complex enterprise apps.

This framework provides custom directives to extend the behavior of HTML and make it more easily reusable as a component, which helps clean up the code. Moreover, it organizes code into well-structured modules that are independent, isolated, and easily tested.

Angular also integrates with various libraries that help simplify front-end development. For example, RxJS provides pre-built tools for observing data streams, responding to updates, and combining multiple data sources, thereby simplifying the process of handling dynamic information like user inputs.

Angular key features

• Support for progressive web applications (PWA). Angular supports building web apps that work offline and run across different devices or browsers.
• Two-way data binding. This feature synchronizes data between the component and the view, automatically updating both when either changes, which is particularly useful for form inputs.
• Powerful command-line interface (CLI). Angular’s command-line tool provides a set of functionalities that enable you to perform various development tasks, such as testing and deployment, directly from the terminal.
• Dependency injection (DI). It allows Angular to provide services and dependencies to components automatically, promoting code reusability, testability, and loose coupling within your application.

Angular drawbacks

• Potential SEO impact. If you don’t use Angular Universal, this framework uses client-side rendering by default, which can make it more complicated for search engines to crawl and index page content.
• JavaScript knowledge. Learning Angular without a solid understanding of JavaScript and TypeScript can be tough.

6. Vue.js

Vue.js is a front-end development framework that helps developers build JavaScript web and mobile applications. Its data-binding feature enables real-time data updates, making it easy to create an app with dynamic functionality and an interactive design.

This framework uses an HTML-based templating system that binds component data to the DOM. When the data changes, the DOM updates automatically, making it easier to develop a responsive user interface.

Moreover, it offers built-in transition and animation capabilities and supports third-party animation libraries, enabling developers to enhance their application’s visuals easily.

Vue.js key features

• Declarative rendering. Vue.js extends HTML with a template syntax that allows developers to describe HTML output based on JavaScript state, rather than manually manipulating the DOM.
• Reactivity. Vue.js tracks modifications made to the JavaScript state and automatically updates the DOM when changes occur, eliminating the need to code such a function manually.
• Reusable components. Developers can reuse their code as a template, making it easy to scale their project or fork an application.
• Computed properties. This feature recalculates and caches derived values only when their dependencies change. This prevents your application from recalculating the same result on every render, which helps improve performance.

Vue.js drawbacks

• Limited number of plugins. While Vue.js supports add-ons and third-party libraries, the selection is not as extensive as that of other JavaScript frameworks.
• Small ecosystem. Many developers expressed that Vue.js lacks a variety of component libraries, testing utilities, and enterprise-ready libraries.

7. Flutter

Flutter is a Google-backed open-source framework for building cross-platform applications. Its most recent version is compatible with popular operating systems like Android, iOS, Linux, and Windows, opening up possibilities for multi-platform development.

Flutter is an excellent tool for creating custom app designs, as it includes the Flutter SDK with extensive UI widgets and development tools. It also offers strong support for popular integrated development environments (IDEs) and code editors, including Android Studio, IntelliJ IDEA, and Emacs.

Flutter key features

• Cross-platform mobile development. Flutter compiles your codebase to be compatible with iOS and Android. This allows developers to build applications that run on both operating systems easily.
• Hot reload. A feature that lets developers apply changes to the application code during runtime. This enables a faster development process as it streamlines the testing and review processes.
• Variety of widgets. It offers various custom widgets that help you easily develop an intuitive user interface, such as Cupertino Design and Material Components.
• Responsiveness. Flutter’s declarative nature and responsive layout system ensure your application automatically adjusts to various screen sizes.

Flutter drawback

• Large file sizes. Apps built with Flutter are typically larger than those built with native languages.
• Dart knowledge. Since Flutter applications are built with Dart, you must be familiar with this rather niche language to fully utilize the framework.

Best tools for back-end web development

Back-end web development tools are used to manage the server-side of an application, including databases, server logic, and how data is sent to the client.

1. Ruby on Rails

Ruby on Rails is a popular full-stack framework for building reliable web apps using the Ruby programming language.

This framework can be used for server-side development, such as managing servers’ databases and files. On the client side, it enables you to render HTML and update web pages in real-time.

This framework is backed by an active community that actively resolves issues and makes continuous improvements. It is also compatible with popular front-end frameworks, like Angular, React, and Vue.js, making it a flexible choice for a full-stack solution.

Ruby on Rails key features

• Automated testing tool. Ruby on Rails’s built-in feature enables developers to test code without installing third-party tools or external plugins.
• Built-in libraries. The free and open-source RubyGems package allows you to easily extend the functionality of your web app.
• Data protection. The built-in security feature safeguards against various types of cyberattacks. For example, the input and output escaping features help sanitize data that your application will process, protecting against cross-site scripting (XSS) attacks.
• Industry standards. This framework promotes quality standards in web development, following best practices like DRY (Don’t Repeat Yourself) and CoC (Convention over Configuration) to ensure code maintainability.

Ruby on Rails drawbacks

• Slow speed. It has a slow runtime speed, especially when working on large projects.
• Complex dependency management. While deploying Ruby on Rails is simple, installing and managing dependencies is challenging because gems are maintained by many independent authors with varying standards.

2. Laravel

Laravel is an open-source web application framework that enables developers to build PHP projects of any scale. It provides a clean and expressive code syntax, which helps simplify the development of complex features like routing, authentication, and caching.

By default, Laravel is secure against common cyber threats as its Eloquent Object-relational Mapper (ORM) sanitizes database queries from malicious code injection, while its Blade templating engine escapes output to protect against XSS scripting.

This framework comes with over 20 pre-installed libraries, including Laravel Cashier, which enables developers to integrate payment services into their applications easily. Moreover, Laravel Forge provides a server management platform that simplifies server provisioning, application hosting, and the Laravel project deployment process.

Laravel key features

• Built-in ORM. Laravel’s ORM, Eloquent, allows developers to interact with database tables using simple PHP syntax instead of writing complex SQL code, which simplifies back-end configuration and minimizes errors.
• Template engine. The built-in Blade engine enables developers to use simple syntax to create unique layouts and utilize template inheritance, which helps maintain consistent design and structure across the application.
• Supports Model-View-Controller (MVC). Laravel is built on an MVC architecture, which separates the application’s business logic from its presentation and user input. This makes projects more organized and manageable.
• Task scheduling. The framework’s built-in scheduler uses a single cron entry on the server to run and manage recurring tasks within the application code. It simplifies repetitive tasks, like sending emails or cleaning up a database, as developers can define the schedule directly within their code.

Laravel drawbacks

• Problems with certain updates. Some users experience lag or compatibility issues with changes when upgrading between major versions.
• Limited support. As an open-source project, it lacks dedicated, official support, so users must rely on community forums and documentation for help.

3. NGINX

The open-source web server NGINX is back-end software that can also be used as a reverse proxy, load balancer, and HTTP cache engine. Unlike traditional servers that create a new process for each request, it uses an asynchronous, event-driven architecture to handle traffic more efficiently.

This web server’s easily configurable settings allow developers to fine-tune the server to their needs. For example, it supports multiple protocols, SSL/TLS encryption, basic HTTP authentication, load balancing, and URL rewriting.

NGINX key features

• Low memory consumption. NGINX handles requests asynchronously in a single thread, meaning it doesn’t spawn new processes for each connection to save resources.
• Extensive learning resources. The NGINX team provides extensive documentation, including ebooks, webinars, glossaries, and video tutorials, making it easy to get familiar with.
• Built-in security features. NGINX provides security controls, such as rate-limiting, which allows you to define the number of requests a user can make within a given time frame to protect servers against DDoS and brute force attacks.
• Excellent support. In addition to its documentation, NGINX provides a mailing list and a public support forum with a large community of users.

NGINX drawbacks

• Limited Windows support. NGINX is primarily designed for Linux and Unix-based systems, and its capabilities are limited when running on Windows.
• Less suited for managing dynamic sites. NGINX is excellent for serving static files, but it must pass dynamic content requests to a third-party program, such as FastCGI, which complicates the configuration process.

Best tools for DevOps and collaboration

DevOps and collaboration tools streamline the entire development lifecycle, from writing code and tracking changes to testing, deploying, and managing applications.

1. GitHub

The popular Git repository platform GitHub provides a centralized location for developers to upload code, work on the same project simultaneously, track changes, and review each modification in detail to prevent errors in production.

The platform offers numerous additional tools to help developers work more efficiently, including GitHub Copilot and GitHub Actions. More on those later.

If you want to extend its functionality, you can download various extensions from the GitHub Marketplace.

GitHub key features

• GitHub Copilot. This AI-driven tool integrates into your code editor to suggest code completions based on your comments and coding patterns, reducing the time spent on writing repetitive or boilerplate code.
• GitHub Actions. This feature lets you set up your continuous integration and continuous deployment (CI/CD) pipeline and other workflows directly within GitHub, simplifying DevOps.
• Pull requests and code review. Developers can use the pull request to ask for review from others about changes before merging it with the main project. This minimizes human errors and helps track modifications.
• Codespaces. This feature streamlines collaborations by providing a complete cloud-based development environment that is accessible via a browser or Visual Studio Code (VS Code).

GitHub drawbacks

• Command-line knowledge. While the web interface is powerful, using GitHub to its full potential for version control often requires knowledge of Git commands, which can be difficult for beginners.
• Pricing. While the free plan is generous, larger teams may need advanced features such as advanced auditing and more storage, which are part of paid subscription plans.

2. Visual Studio Code

Visual Studio Code, or VS Code, is a free, open-source code editor that runs on Windows, Linux, and macOS. It’s lightweight but powerful, combining the simplicity of a text editor with features of a larger IDE, such as built-in support for Git version control, a debugger, and a terminal.

VS Code’s interface is highly customizable and includes built-in features that let you develop your application more efficiently, such as syntax highlighting and Command Palette, where you can save all your CLI shortcuts.

This tool supports various programming languages, including C++, JavaScript, and Python. In addition, it integrates with other development tools, including PHP CS Fixer and ESLint.

Visual Studio Code key features

• A huge library of extensions. The VS Code Marketplace offers thousands of themes and plugins that add new languages, debuggers, and tools, enabling developers to fine-tune their IDE to their needs.
• IntelliSense. This feature provides smart code suggestions, completions, and parameter info based on variables, syntax, and the programming language in use.
• GitHub integration. VS Code offers various GitHub functionalities directly within the user interface. For example, you can push changes, check pull requests, review changes, and create issues directly from the code editor.
• Split view. This feature enables you to open and work on multiple project files side-by-side in the same window for reference or comparison.

Visual Studio Code drawbacks

• Stability issues with plugins. While the extension library is a key strength, users have reported that VS Code can become unstable or crash when running multiple plugins simultaneously.
• Resource-heavy. Given its comprehensive features, VS Code takes up more disk space and RAM, which can cause the system to slow down, especially when many extensions are loaded.

3. Sublime Text

Sublime Text is a lightweight, all-in-one editor for code, markup, and standard text, making it a strong option for those learning how to code.

While known for its simplicity, Sublime Text offers advanced features, such as simultaneous editing, which allows developers to place multiple cursors and edit several lines of code simultaneously.

Sublime Text runs on virtually any computer and operating system, making it a fully cross-platform application. It also works with various programming and scripting languages, including JavaScript and its variants, such as TypeScript, JSX, and TSX.

Sublime Text key features

• Goto Anything. This feature enables users to instantly jump to files, symbols, or functions by typing just a few keystrokes, allowing for mouse-free navigation that many developers prefer.
• Minimap. This is a small, zoomed-out view of your entire file shown on the side of the editor, making it easy for developers to jump into a specific part of a lengthy file.
• Python API. Sublime Text features a powerful Python application programming interface (API) that enables users to install or create external plugins to extend the text editor’s functionality.
• Multiple selections. Users can find, change, rename, and manipulate multiple lines of code at the same time for bulk modification.

Sublime Text drawbacks

• Lack of built-in capabilities. Since Sublime Text is designed for speed and simplicity, many developers prefer alternatives that offer more built-in capabilities, like VS Code, for complex projects.
• Incessant payment pop-ups. The free evaluation version is fully functional but frequently prompts users with a pop-up to purchase a license, which cannot be disabled.

4. Sketch

Sketch is a vector-based design tool for macOS, used to create interfaces, prototypes, and graphics. It includes a robust toolkit with features like non-destructive vector editing, the ability to export presets, and integration with hundreds of plugins.

With its intuitive drag-and-drop capability, this web development tool is primarily used to create simple assets and mockups for projects.

Sketch also offers Sketch Symbols, which are reusable design components that can be updated simultaneously. Meanwhile, the Smart Guides simplify layout creation, allowing you to align components more easily.

Sketch key features

• Co-editing. This feature enables web designers and developers to collaborate on the same project file in real-time, improving productivity and minimizing misalignment between teams.
• Powerful extensions. Sketch offers a wide range of third-party plugins and integrations to extend its functionality. For example, you can connect Unsplash and include a built-in SVG compressor.
• Developer handoff. Developers can use this feature to inspect a design file directly, copy design style values, and export assets, allowing them to translate the visual into the application more efficiently.
• Data linking features. This enables users to import real JSON data directly from text files or other sources into their mockups to update placeholders more easily.

Sketch drawbacks

• Exclusive for macOS. Since the native Sketch app only supports macOS, designers and developers must look into alternative web design tools for cross-platform collaboration, or use the web-based version.
• Lack of prototyping features. By default, Sketch only allows users to develop basic, clickable prototypes without advanced logic or animations.

5. Marvel

Marvel is a web-based collaborative design platform used to create wireframes, mockups, and interactive prototypes.

This tool offers robust prototyping and user testing features. For example, it can record the screen, audio, and video of users as they interact with your prototype, providing direct feedback to your design.

Furthermore, Marvel provides a user-friendly interface, making it a suitable option for beginner web developers. Additionally, this tool offers a free version, as well as a discounted price for students and non-profits, making it an excellent solution for learners.

Marvel key features

• Developer handoff. This tool can automatically generate CSS, Swift, and Android XML code from a given design, which is then packaged into a URL for easier handoff.
• User testing. You can send users a link to your web app prototype and record how they interact with it, which helps gather real-world insights into your design usability.
• Integrations. The platform integrates with popular project management and productivity apps, like Dropbox, Microsoft Teams, and Jira, streamlining collaboration between teams.
• Customizable templates. Marvel provides hundreds of pre-made, drag-and-drop templates for various devices, enabling developers to create new designs without having to develop them from scratch.

Marvel drawbacks

• No offline version. Since Marvel is a web-based app, users cannot access or edit their projects without an active internet connection.
• Lack of animation features. Marvel’s limited capabilities for creating complex animations can hinder users from developing dynamic and realistic prototypes.

6. Node Package Manager (npm)

Node Package Manager (npm) is a command-line package manager for JavaScript that installs and manages packages from the npm registry, an online repository of Node.js and JavaScript software packages.

The tool also serves as a repository for open-source projects, meaning developers can share their code packages with other users. Some of the most popular packages available in the npm repository include Angular, jQuery, and React.

Node Package Manager key features

• Command-line tool. The npm CLI is a tool that enables users to install, update, and manage Node.js packages directly from their terminal.
• Security auditing feature. The npm audit command scans your project’s dependencies for known security flaws, generates an assessment report, and sometimes patches the vulnerabilities automatically.
• Large registry. The npm registry hosts millions of publicly accessible Node.js packages, providing developers with access to a vast ecosystem of reusable code for various tasks.
• Collaboration features. The paid plan enables organizations to create private packages and restrict access to specific users, allowing developers to securely and efficiently share internal packages.

Node Package Manager drawbacks

• Dependency issues. If developers don’t actively manage and lock their npm dependency versions, the project might not work when moved to another machine.
• Decreased performance. Many developers report that as a project uses more dependencies, the package installation process can become slower.

7. Grunt

Grunt is a JavaScript task runner that automates repetitive tasks, such as unit testing, code minification, and compilation. By configuring these tasks in a Gruntfile, users can improve development efficiency and minimize human errors.

Web developers can also use Grunt for linting – a process that analyzes code for errors, inconsistencies, and non-compliance with guidelines. This tool also features automatic image optimization, which is helpful if your application has many visual assets or allows user-submitted images.

Grunt key features

• npm integration. Grunt tasks are plugins that are installed via npm, making it easy for developers to add new automation capabilities.
• Essential JavaScript tools. The Grunt ecosystem offers a wide range of predefined plugins that can be used to perform various JavaScript tasks, such as combining multiple JavaScript files or checking code for errors.
• Highly customizable task. Grunt enables developers to create, extend, and modify custom tasks using JavaScript to meet their specific automation needs.
• File-based configuration. All tasks are defined in a single JavaScript file, which keeps automated tasks organized and easily maintainable.

Grunt drawbacks

• Slow plugin updates. Due to the tool’s decline in popularity, Grunt’s plugins rarely receive updates, which can cause incompatibility issues and hinder access to new features.
• Performance overhead. When executing tasks, Grunt saves processed items as temporary files on the disk, which adds I/O overhead and makes the process less efficient.

8. Postman

Postman is a platform for building and testing APIs. It provides an easy-to-use graphical interface for web developers to build, test, share, and modify APIs.

Instead of writing complex scripts, developers can test an API endpoint in Postman by simply entering the URL, selecting the HTTP method, and adding any necessary parameters. It makes the process more efficient, easily repeatable, and less prone to errors.

The tool is also designed for teamwork, offering shared workspaces and collaboration features such as team discovery and commenting.

Postman key features

• API monitoring and reporting features. Postman can be set up to automatically run API tests at set intervals and compare them against a service-level agreement (SLA) to accurately monitor performance.
• API governance. During API design and testing, Postman can automatically check for security issues and inconsistencies, such as data format discrepancies, to ensure the API’s reliability.
• CI/CD integration. Postman’s command-line tool, Newman, enables users to run their API test collections as part of a CI/CD pipeline, streamlining the complex deployment process.
• API documentation tools. Postman can automatically create a web-viewable API documentation based on your API requests and saved examples, saving developers time needed to create a manual.

Postman drawbacks

• Limited sharing capabilities on the free version. The free plan only allows API sharing and collaboration for up to three users, meaning a larger team must pay to add more members.
• Resource-intensive. Many users report that Postman feels sluggish and inefficient, especially when there are many Collections.

9. Docker

Amassing millions of users, Docker is an open-source platform for developing, shipping, and running applications inside containers. A container packages an application’s source code together with all the libraries, configurations, and dependencies it needs to run.

Since the runtime environment is portable, developers can deploy and scale applications reliably across any environment without incompatibility issues. Using tools like Docker Swarm and Kubernetes, you can further simplify the management of a complex project built with multiple containers.

Docker key features

• Container development. Docker offers comprehensive tools that help you manage containers throughout their lifecycle, including versioning, automated building, logging, and monitoring.
• Wide community. Docker has a large community of users and contributors, providing substantial support for troubleshooting and learning through forums.
• Desktop and CLI support. Users can choose between deploying the CLI Docker on a server or the desktop version, which provides a graphical user interface.
• Docker Hub. Docker has an official registry where users can share and download images – a blueprint that defines all the required components to build a container. It streamlines the deployment of various services, as you can use pre-made configurations.

Docker drawbacks

• Slow performance. While running an app via Docker is significantly faster than using a traditional virtual machine, it is still slower than running the app directly on the physical server’s operating system due to the overhead of containerization.
• Steep learning curve. Given its numerous features, tools, concepts, and complementary platforms, getting started with Docker takes time.

10. Kubernetes

Also known as k8s, Kubernetes is an open-source container orchestration platform that automates the deployment, scaling, and management of containerized applications.

When you run multiple containers across servers, this tool organizes them into logical units for easy discovery and management.

Kubernetes also helps secure your containers by performing health checks and utilizing Kubernetes Secrets to manage sensitive data, such as authentication tokens, in a centralized location.

This tool can run on various infrastructures, including on-premises data centers or public, private, and hybrid clouds, offering true portability.

Kubernetes key features

• Automatic bin packing. Kubernetes automatically schedules containers to run on specific servers based on their resource requirements, thereby maximizing resource utilization and minimizing wasted computing power.
• Load balancing. Kubernetes enables you to set up a load balancer that automatically distributes traffic across available container replicas during a traffic surge to maintain stability.
• Storage orchestration. This feature enables Kubernetes to automatically mount a storage system to your containers for optimal data persistence.
• Self-healing capabilities. Kubernetes constantly monitors the health of your containers and will automatically restart or replace any containers that fail or encounter issues.

Kubernetes drawbacks

• Steep learning curve. Kubernetes is a complex system that requires a solid understanding of containerization, orchestration, cloud computing, and networking concepts to learn.
• Application compatibility. While you can technically deploy legacy or monolithic applications using Kubernetes, it requires significant modifications, as this platform is designed for more modern microservice architectures.

How to choose a web development tool

Choosing the right web development tool depends entirely on your custom web application’s needs, your team’s skills, and your budget.

Here are several aspects to consider when making a decision:

• Features and complexity. Simpler tools are better than the complex ones if you don’t need advanced functionality, as they take less time to learn. For instance, Docker Compose is simpler and more suitable for small projects compared to Kubernetes, especially if you are new to containerization.
• Security. The tool of your choice should have features that help maintain optimal web application security. For example, Laravel offers built-in XSS and SQL injection protection, while npm has robust user permission controls to prevent unauthorized modifications or internal packages.
• Scalability. Your tools should be able to accommodate project growth. Choose ones that support multiple users, large datasets, concurrent operations, and modular deployment, either by default or through an upgrade.
• Cost. Many powerful tools are free and open-source, while others require a subscription to unlock premium features. Ensure that you calculate your project requirements and consider potential upgrades when allocating your budget.
• User support. The ideal tool must provide adequate documentation, active community forums, or paid support. It is crucial to help you when you encounter issues or want to utilize a specific feature.

Do I need to learn programming to use web development tools?

Whether you need to learn a programming language depends on the tool you want to use. For example, if you want to become a web designer who primarily uses visual-based prototyping tools like Marvel or Sketch, you don’t need programming knowledge.

Note that while some web development platforms don’t need an understanding of coding, they may require familiarity with other fields.

For example, Docker doesn’t involve coding but demands in-depth knowledge of networking, containerization, and package management.

Code editors and frameworks are tools that require strong knowledge of programming in different languages. For instance, Laravel requires proficiency in PHP, while Next.js mainly uses JavaScript.If you want to use such tools but aren’t familiar with code, check out our tutorial to learn more about the best programming languages to learn.

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