The Best IDEs for Web Development

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When the social side of the world shifted from interpersonal to internet connections, so did every other aspect of life. And truth be told, there is no way of getting around this reality. The world’s shift to a digital-driven lifestyle has left us developers with no choice, but to build websites that perform. As a result of this insatiable demand, your relevance as a web developer is not only anchored on the ability to exceed market expectations, but also the capacity to leverage on the latest technology to up your game. For that reason, whether you are a veteran developer or a novice making baby steps into the world of web building, being aware of the latest and most powerful IDEs is the best way to remain pertinent in this ever-evolving sector. To keep you on the winning side, below is a selection of 5 of the best IDEs optimized for web development. 

But first and foremost, what are IDEs?

Well, IDEs or (Integrated Development Environments) are a special kind of software packages which provide a conducive environment and facilities for web developers and computer programmers. They are normally equipped with a wide array of tools which make it possible for developers to work effortlessly, hence increasing productivity. In other words, IDEs make it possible for a platform to be customized by providing the necessary tools for software profiling, testing and debugging, all under one umbrella. These packages also come with code completion and suggestion features which minimize the hassle of having to type entire sets of code syntax.

So, which are the best IDEs for Web developing?

In an effort to keep you in tabs with the ever-evolving world of web development, I have handpicked a set of 5 intelligent IDEs which are mainly optimized for web development. These will help you take your web developing endeavors to the next level. Let’s have a look!

Microsoft Visual Studio

Visual studio is a light but powerful IDE which runs on normal desktops and is available for Linux, Windows, and Mac. It is designed with an inbuilt support for Node.js, JavaScript, and TypeScript. This versatility gives you the freedom to choose your developing route. Besides this, it also boasts a rich ecosystem and runtimes that support other languages such as PHP, Python, C#, and C++.

Unlike normal IDEs, Visual Studio is equipped with IntelliSense which goes beyond typical autocomplete and syntax highlighting. This tool provides objective completions based on variable types, imported modules and function definitions. The interactive console also makes it possible to debug your code syntax right on the editor. You just have to launch or attach it on your running application then effortlessly debug it with call stacks or breakpoints

Notable Microsoft Visual Studio's Features:

  • A big library of extensions which keeps on growing day by day.
  • Dockable windows and a customizable dashboard.
  • IntelliSense
  • Automation tools
  • Ability to monitor performance in real time.
  • File hierarchy and straightforward workflow.
  • Split screen support
  • Easy code snippet insertion and refactoring

Microsoft Visual Studio Drawbacks

It might take a significant amount of time to open and start running on slower devices. This makes it time-consuming to make simple edits.

Atom 

If you are looking for a modern and approachable IDE, you should take Atom into consideration. Despite being contemporary, it is extremely hackable, a feature that makes it possible to build highly customizable websites and applications without having to click on a single config.file.

To make coding easy and fun, it comes with an inbuilt package manager which makes it possible to search for and install new packages. This manager even gives you the autonomy to create your own custom packages within Atom. Eight syntax themes and four UIs come preinstalled. And if these are not good enough, you have the freedom to create yours or download others from the Atom community.

Most importantly, Atom runs on electron, a platform which makes it possible to build cross-platform applications using web technologies.

Notable Atom's features

  • Compatible with all operating systems. These are, Windows, Linux and OS x.
  • Preview, find and replace text across your projects or on a single file.
  • Multiple projects can be opened on a single window.
  • Built with CSS, JavaScript, HTML and Node.js integration
  • Runs on electron

Atom Drawbacks

It is heavy and can consume a lot of memory

NetBeans

NetBeans is a free open source editor, ideal for starting projects from scratch or editing existing ones. It is designed with user a friendly drag and drop interface, which makes it easy for any developer to write software. Primarily, it was designed to build Java applications and websites. However, other bundles can be downloaded to support other programming languages. This text editor is much more than a typical IDE. It can not only indent lines, match brackets and words, but also highlight source code semantically and syntactically.

Its wide range of powerful tools lets you refactor code easily, while its huge collection of coding tips, code templates and code generators makes it easy for you to learn to code. This editor supports several languages such as PHP, HTML, XML, Java, C++, Groovy, JSP and C.

Notable NetBeans Features:

  •  User-friendly and intuitive interface.
  • Static and dynamic libraries.
  • Facilitates remote development.
  • Compatible with major operating systems. I.e. windows, OS X, Linux, and Solaris.
  •  Compatible with the Qt toolkit.
  • Supports a wide range of compilers. For instance, GNU, Clang, Solaris studio and Oracle.
  • Supports assembler files and Fortran.

NetBeans Drawbacks

It is a heavyweight IDE. This implies that it consumes a lot of memory, which can make some computers slow.

Bottom line

To be honest, there is no IDE that can be singled out as being the best because we all have different needs. I mean, the one that works very well for me might turn out to be disastrous for you. The best IDE is the one that fully satisfies your demands.

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