The Ultimate List of Front-End Development Tools to Use

Every developer knows how important it is to have the right tools when building an app, whether a cross-platform app or a website. There are some essential tools that you'll need to know about and learn how to use correctly. Many of these tools help the developer create unique products, but more importantly, they allow developers to make those products across multiple platforms and devices. This list of tools is by no means exhaustive, so if you have other favorites, you can share them in the comments.

1. Sublime TextSublime Text is a sophisticated text editor for code, HTML, and prose. You'll need Sublime Text to take full advantage of plug-ins that help you develop cross-platform apps. The best part? It runs on Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux. Everything happens in your browser! Nothing to install or update.
2. AtomA hackable text editor for the 21st Century - Atom is a next-generation code editor that's modern, approachable, yet hackable to the core—a tool you can customize to do anything but also use productively without ever touching a config file. Hack everything from inline scripts and hotkeys to keybindings, themes, colors, snippets, and more.
3. Visual Studio CodeMicrosoft's free cross-platform IDE is an invaluable tool for many developers. It has a great extension ecosystem, supports most languages, and has built-in support for Git. With VS Code, you can write HTML, CSS, and JavaScript on Windows, MacOS, or Linux.
4. WebStormWebStorm is a cross-platform IDE for modern web and mobile development. It offers top-notch support for JavaScript, TypeScript, HTML5, CSS3, AngularJS, ReactJS and Meteor. In short: If you're doing front-end development with one of these frameworks or technologies in your stack, then WebStorm is one tool that should be on your radar.
5. BracketsBrackets is an open-source code editor that supports various front-end file types, including HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. A live preview mode allows you to see your changes as you make them without refreshing your browser. You can even do some primary version control with Mercurial and Subversion.

Bottom Line:The phrase cross-platform app development is becoming more common in conversations around what is, or isn't, possible with today's technology. A cross-platform app can run on many different operating systems—either mobile or computer. Cross-platform apps are based on technologies like HTML5, Javascript, and CSS3. To support cross-platform functionality, you need special libraries for each platform (such as.NET for Windows Phone), but once you have these libraries, you can write your application once and deploy it anywhere.

Kristi is an IT consultant having years of experience.