Web development may have been tough in the past. Today, when the need for websites is so high, people are taking advantage of numerous tools to do at least some of the web development on their own.
Creating and maintaining websites is now available to the average users. The modern tools allow anyone who has never seen code before in his or her life to create numerous useful objects. Whether you are a newbie or an experienced developer, knowing which tools you can trust is important. We asked experts from Firewall Technical to share the tools they recommend for web development.
1. Sketch
Digital design elements are an integral part of any website. Sketch can help you create and handle these elements. It’s called the best design toolkit by many developers. You can use the program to add simple images, animations, and clickable prototypes. If you have unused text and pictures, you can manipulate them into dynamic designs.
Sketch uses libraries on the cloud, allowing you to share the symbols with other users and work on your design together. You can also design custom fonts for a very special look of your website.
The downside of Sketch is that it’s “Mac only”. Windows and Linux users can’t take advantage of it.
Price: 30-day free trial, $99 per year.
2. Adobe XD
Adobe presents the design and wireframing software called Adobe XD. It has drawing tools, mobile and desktop previews, sharing tools, and much more. Adobe XD allows you to import UI kits, such as Material Design by Google.
While Adobe XD is not as popular as Sketch, it’s an excellent alternative for Windows and Linux users. The interface is light and simple, making it easy for newbies to start working with. In fact, if you have already worked with Photoshop and Illustrator, XD’s interface will seem very familiar.
Adobe libraries can be used to import anything from Illustrator of Photoshop to help you work on collaboration tasks. Adobe XD is excellent for working on large projects alongside other developers. It’s a big time-saver for UI/UX designers. XD allows quick and easy web and mobile app drawing.
Price: Free
3. Affinity Designer
The app is incredibly well-designed for both newbies and experienced developers. It’s an excellent web and graphic design tool. Affinity Designer’s 1,000,000 percent zoom (compared to Photoshop’s 32,000) is impressive. Working with vector art demands a high-quality close-up. If you’ve used Photoshop before, you won’t have troubles with Affinity Designer’s interface.
Compared to Adobe Illustrator, the UI is very simple. It seems to be an optimized combination of Photoshop and Illustrator. iPad users can appreciate the vector tools. Vector graphics are made of paths and objects, which are created from a number of different shapes. They are scalable without losing quality when zooming in on different areas.
Price: $49.99
4. Avocode
This tool can help frontend developers create websites and apps from Photoshop and/or Sketch designs. The importing process is extremely simple. You can use Avocode’s Photoshop plugin to synchronize your PSD into the program with one click.
Avocode analyses Photoshop and Sketch files to incorporate them into a well-designed user interface. After the import is complete, you have full export control. Copy-pasting code into a text editor is easy.
The program has collaboration tools, which help designers and developers interact quickly by commenting on the revisions. It works for Mac, Windows, and Linux.
Price: 14-day free trial, $8.99 per month
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