Every expert from every field has his or her own tools of the trade and web development is no different – web development tools are one of the most important factors to every project and these tools could mean the difference between finishing your project on time or passing multiple deadlines. Luckily enough, plenty of top web development tools are available for just about every platform. Here is our list of OS X apps which you should include in your web development tools box:
Browsers for web development
One of the most important tools for web development is a browser – you’ll need to view your website after you created it right? But it’s not so simple – you will need to test your website for many browser versions, including beta and nightly builds. With that taken into consideration, you’ll most likely need Opera Next, Chromium, Chrome Canary, Firefox Aurora, and Firefox Nightly.
Koala
Koala, apart from its cute name, is another nifty web development tool which is used to compile CoffeeScript, Compass, Sass, and LESS into a browser-compliant format. If you’re using any of these techs, Koala is definitely a must.
Anvil for web development
Anvil is an interesting free app which allows web developers to create .dev domains. You’ll see it as a new icon in the OS X menu bar and you can turn it on or off, create domains or add your projects to it. If you’re looking for a tiny web development tool to manage or work on your local websites with, Anvil is perfect.
Keka
When handling multiple files, you need a reliable compression service to help you along. Most web developers may use ortar, rar or zip but Mac has its own built-in feature to extract and manage these formats – this service is rather limited so you’re better off with Keka. Keka is a free open source OS X app for file compression and extraction.
Keka supports zip, rar, ortar, ISO, DMG, Tar, Gzip, 7z and it can extract to PAX, CAB, EXE and RAR formats. Keka allows you to split compressed files into different parts of specified sizes, apply password restrictions or automatically delete source files after extraction or compression.
Web development & Web Sharing
Since Apple removed the Web Sharing option from the OS X system preference, you might want to install the Web Sharing plugin. This little plugin will allow you to host local websites under the local host address. Once you install it you’ll be able to see a new panel in System Preferences – here you’ll be able to switch web sharing off or on.
File compression, One of The Very Top Web Development Tools for Mac OS X
We talked about Keka before but there are two ways you can use it to compress files. You can either download this small web development tool and install the services contextual menu or you can drag and drop your files directly into the Keka app window.
Sequel Pro
MySQL is one of the most popular databases in the world – plenty of websites rely on MySQL for storing and managing databases. If you are using OS X, Sequel Pro is a must-have for web development. It’s a native OS X app built in Cocoa and it also features a nice and friendly GUI. With Sequel Pro you can create, filter databases, import, export, remove, create users and execute MySQL queries.
The iPhone Emulator
All web developers need to take mobile users into account when building their websites, hence the need for a web development tool that can be used to test websites for specific platforms. Devs can use physical tablets or phones or they can go for the easier option – a simulator like iPhone Simulator. All you need to do is just install Xcode from the AppStore and you’re done – you have another web development tool in your little toolbox.
Icons8
If you’re looking to use icons, Icons8 is one of the top web development tools that you can use. Just install Icons8 and you’ll be able to search through its over 2800 collections of icons. Once you find something you like, you’ll be able to copy it to Finder, Xcode or Photoshop.
Github and SourceTree
Even if you’re building a small website or a presentation website, you’ll need a control version system to track your revisions and changes to the project’s code. Github is the most popular service for version control and you can install it on OS X as well. SourceTree is another mentionable service – both of these services are the backbone of any respectable web development agency.
Poedit
Poedit is the best web development tool you can use for translating websites into multiple languages. Not only that but you can translate plugins and Wordpress Themes as well with this little app.
Automator
Automator is a web development tool that’s pre-installed with OS X. This little app allows users to automate tasks such as cropping multiple images at once, creating thumbnail images, changing file extensions and renaming files in batch.
Dash
Dash collects documentation for a lot of the popular programming languages, including LESS, Sass, jQUery, CSS3 and HTML5. Users can search through code snippets, functions, syntax, and other valuable information.
