Design your way

In our current day and time, the Internet has become a very big part of our lives. We’ve grown accustomed to it being present in our day to day activities, being able to access it at any time from anywhere and most of all, we’ve become reliant on it to supply us with all the information we require.

Due to these factors, the web development industry has been experiencing a substantial increase in the past few years and it isn’t showing any signs of stopping. Naturally, as users became more used to the Internet so have the websites become more diverse.

In the quest to attract and retain as many visitors and customers as possible, web developers have had to become more and more creative and ingenious. Luckily for them, the array of tools that will make their lives easier has also grown.

Here’s a list of the top 20 best web development tools and how they’ll make your lives easier.

Animatron

Animatron is a powerful HTML5 animation web app that will allow you to create amazing web content compatible with both computers and mobile devices. When using Animatron you will be provided with a completely new workflow employed in creating interactive web content.

Why waste your time and money with traditional animation software when Animatron is both free and user-friendly? The Animatron Editor is completely code free, therefore you will be able to define and customize your animations without needing any complex technical skills.

This does not mean that Animatron isn’t fit for more experienced users as well, the simple and intuitive UI was designed with professionals and newbies alike in mind. This web app is perfect for development teams comprised of several individuals as they will be able to share their work by simply copying the link to their content and sending it to collaborators. Even more so, you’ll be able to see all the alterations in real time.

Also, you’ll be pleased to know that you will be able to access your work done in Animatron from any device with an Internet connection as all your work will be saved in your account online. When you’re done, all you have to do is download your project as standalone HTML5 and you’ll be ready to go with your animation that will be universally usable on any operating system and device.

WPJobBoard

The WPJobBoard plugin for WordPress is the perfect tool for creating job boards. It works great with all WordPress functionalities and you can either use it on an existing site or on a new site specially created for job listings. It’s entirely compatible with WordPress, so you can choose any theme you like or you can opt for the default theme “Jobelon”.

WPJobBoard also works beautifully with WordPress frameworks, which means you can choose between WooFramework, Genesis, Headway or Thesis. Due to its SEO features, WPJobBoard helps its users achieve search engine optimization through increasing page views and link popularity by distributing job listings to Google Base SimplyHired, Indeed and even social media sites like Twitter.

WPJobBoards automatically sends email job alerts and RSS feeds so that board owners can easily stay in touch with their users. You can delete the fields you find irrelevant, rearrange your screen and the intuitive interface will guide you through all the steps of listing a job post.

Original Mockups

When discussing a project with a potential client or even with an already paying one, visuals are essential. The easiest way to settle on a design and be sure that both you and your customer are on the same page is to create a mockup of the design you are thinking about. This is where Original Mockups comes into play.

These Mockups were designed for Adobe Photoshop and allows you to show in a better way your designs for anything, from web sites to mobile phone apps or even flyers. Up until now, in order to be able to show your client a relevant visual representation of the project you’re developing, you’d have to invest time and money in printing and photography. By using Original Mockups all that is a thing of the past.

In order to create your design, all you have to do is drag and drop your elements and arrange them according to your vision. The PSD Mockup takes care of the rest: keeping your files organized, transforming flat dimensional designs into photo-realistic presentations and more all in a matter of seconds.

Hiveage

Whether you’re a freelancer or you own a small business, Hiveage will help you manage your bills quickly and efficiently. It allows to send as many invoices as you need. And if you want to remind a client about a payment or thank him for paying on time, leave it to Hiveage to handle your invoicing related correspondence.

Users are also allowed to fully customise their invoices so that they include the firm’s logo and color scheme. Security is highly valued at Hiveage, so your finances are stored in the cloud on state-of-the-art Rackspace servers where they are kept accessible and secure.

Another useful feature is that Hiveage Free comes with the Paypal Standard payment gateway bundled in, so you don’t have to pay a cent when you get paid by your clients. The intuitive interface allows you to quickly send invoices on the go, use outstanding reporting tools and finish your work in a matter of seconds.

MotoPress

MotoPress Content Editor is a plugin that replaces the default WordPress editor and facilitates the editing of content, articles and custom post types. It works with any WordPress theme, so you can install it in just a few minutes. It’s also very easy to use – just by dragging and dropping page elements you can customize your theme without having to write a single line of code.

Besides the very helpful drag and drop feature, MotoPress Content Editor also has built-in content elements like sliders, buttons, videos, custom code and more. You can even extend it with your own shortcodes for an even more original design. The plugin is WPML compatible and includes files for easy translation.

To top it all off, the team behind the MotoPress Content Editor offers professional customer support as well as regular updates. To find out more about all of the great features MotoPress includes and how it works, check out the website.

Framebench

Framebench is a cloud-based online collaboration, communication and feedback platform that allows you to keep in touch with colleagues and customers, store and share your creative assets. This way, they will be able to review the assets, mark changes and even host discussions on them in real time and all of this is automatically documented for later access.

Framebench features the “TableTop Sync” that helps everyone online watch any activity as it happens. Whether you’re changing the presentation slides, zooming into an image, or annotating a video frame, it will be visible for everyone to see this as it happens.

Furthermore, with everyone in sync, sharing and reviewing videos on Framebench is really easy, so you can discuss every detail of each frame. Besides, you can track versions right on Framebench using intuitive magazine page like flipping. And the cherry on top is Mail Markup in Gmail, which allows you to annotate, markup, comment and send without having to download any attachment.

Froont

With Froont you can now design websites directly in your browser by using a simple drag and drop interface. This user-friendly new platform allows you to speed up your way to a responsive web design and website prototyping. Froont enables you to start from scratch if you’re more ambitious or browse through other users’ designs and take your pick.

Next, you can edit the designs however you may like: add additional content, delete fields that you find unnecessary, change the logos’ size, toy with the headers’ colors and browse through over 2000 fonts from Typekit, Google and System fonts.

One cool feature of Froont is the very useful Library which helps you store your favorite items. Next time you work on a project you’ll find everything you want there. With Froont you can create HTML and CSS without coding and when you’re done, just press the download button to export the code. Everything will be saved in a zip file, ready to be given to the developer.

Cashboardapp.com

Cashboard is a cloud-based tool that helps freelancers and small businesses manage projects, keep track of time and get paid. It allows you to easily invoice customers for products or time worked or both. You can also create simple quotes which convert into invoices with just a click.

Whether you’re selling a product or offering a service, you can track the entire project just by listing the tasks, assigning them to employees, watching them get completed and then billing your customers. Or you can even create an estimate before you begin. Cashboard fully integrates with leading payments processors such as Stripe or PayPal to enable your customers to pay invoices online.

Furthermore, Cashboard is very easy to use – you get control over every detail and anyone in the company can generate estimates, invoices or reports. The best part is that Cashboard offers a 14-day free trial, with monthly or yearly plans to fit any business – from freelancing to large companies.

Themify.me

All Themify WordPress themes include the drag & drop Builder which allows you to create any WordPress page layout in a matter of seconds. All you have to do is drag and drop the modules within your page, shuffle them around until you’re satisfied and you’re done. How can you tell if you’re satisfied with the results? The Builder comes with an instant live preview that allows you to see the results of your changes and you’re guaranteed that it will be 100% responsive on desktop, tablet and mobile.

The best part about Themify themes is the fact that it was designed to help non-coders to build their WordPress sites as easy as possible. You can use it without any knowledge of the programming aspect, you have full control over every detail straight from the options panel. In addition to all of this, Themify.me has a money back guarantee that allows you to receive your money within 30 days of your purchase. Go to themify.me and give it a try!

ShrinkTheWeb

If you’re a web or mobile application developer, ShrinkTheWeb will help you make links more visually appealing for your users in a matter of seconds. Shrink the Web offers the most reliable website screenshot platform available. Whether you have to handle a few screen shots or millions, creating and managing them is now easier than ever. ShrinkTheWeb allows you to capture, shrink, crop, save, upload and display screenshots with a single line of code or by using an existing plugin.

Developers can now skip all the boring steps that are now fully automatized by ShrinkTheWeb. Although it offers free service, this platform guarantees unmatched reliability. Its pro features are not found anywhere else. The unlimited scalability and unparalleled tech support really help ShrinkTheWeb stand out from the crowd.

It has been used by Symantec, Technorati and Microsoft for showing screen shots preview of web pages, so you can be sure it’s top notch and won’t disappoint you.

WPHelpDesk

The WordPress plugin WPHelpDesk was specially created to be fully integrated in any WordPress site, allowing business owners to set up their help desks in minutes. All the customers have to do in order to get in touch with you is submit their issues online by filling in the standard fields.

They can also choose how they want to receive a reply, via email or via the ticketing service. The ticket can be assigned to anyone in the firm and with just a few clicks you can see its status, see when and who last made changes to it and convert any comments into a new ticket.

WPHelpDesk shows you if someone else is viewing a ticket or if someone wrote a draft on one of your tickets. WPHelpDesk automatically saves your work every 30 seconds and protects you against harmful data with special hooks and filters applied to tickets and messages. This WordPress plugin is the ideal tool that will help all business owners efficiently organize and reply to tickets faster.

KonstantInfo.com

Konstant Infosolutions is a team dedicated to offering web development solutions to all kinds of businesses. Whatever need your particular type of business has when it comes to their presence on the Internet, Konstant Infosolutions is more than equipped to handle it.

They have over 10 years experience with providing development services for a wide array of clients and they always bring a fresh, innovative approach to any project. Their services are comprised of PHP Development for websites, iPad, iPhone and Android development and more.

By using PHP and adding the experience they’ve amassed along the way, Konstant Infosolutions will offer you a stable, secure and flexible product that will benefit from the best PHP developments available and an attractive and visually pleasing design.

Rest assured that the team over at Konstant Infosolutions have the talent, the drive and all the skills necessary to take your company’s Internet presence to the next level.

Stamplia

It’s a common practice for firms of all sizes to use email templates and Stamplia is the tool that will help you get the most out of them. Stampila Builder is an editor that aims to let customers modify purchased templates as easily as possible.

By using this simple and elegant tool, web designers and developers will be able to add value to their templates and allow customers to personalize them further in whatever way they wish and see the results in real time.. Among the newest features this tool provides are automatic exports into the most popular email providers (MailChimp, CampaignMonitor and SendGrid) assuring that your template will be fully compatible with their editor.

In addition to this, developers will be automatically promoted to customers of the aforementioned partners. More good news: the Stamplia editor is now in Beta so you can access it here with 5 free templates.

Hostoople

Hostoople has been voted as the best hosting service in 2014. It offers a wide range of services for any domain hosting needs. When using Hostoople you can rest assured that you are in good hands, as they offer a 24/7 support service by top trained technicians.

Developers will be happy to know that Hostoople offers you the option to resell the hosting features they assure to your own clients. Regardless of the type of website you own or are aiming to create, you can be sure that Hostoople will have solutions for you.

Some of the core features this team offers are: shared hosting plans, free domain registration or transfer, easy to use control panel, unlimited MYSQL databases, free blogging software, free premium website builder and more. In addition to these, they offer other features for email (like 3 web-mail clients, auto responders), e-commerce (like CubeCart), content management (like Joomla! or Moodle) and more.

They also have a 30 day money back guarantee in case you are dissatisfied with their services.

Macaw

Macaw is an amazing tool that combines an image editor with a powerful HTML/CSS IDE. It helps the developer to take a little break from writing code and start putting his creativity in action by drawing the web page.

It has a real time, fluid engine which is called Stream and which allows elements to be manipulated in a manner similar to image editors like Adobe’s Photoshop.

RIU

Ensuring your website always makes sense. Introducing RIU, the tool that gets your message through. An image might be worth one thousand words, but only when displayed properly. In the physical world this is done by controlling the medium. Online, a fast paced environment with tight publishing schedules, the solution is controlling images automatically. Responsive web design (RWD) calls for responsive images. Enter RIU – The Responsive Image Uploader.

Imagine you are developing or updating a website for a client. The layout is perfectly balanced. The images have been carefully chosen and everything looks flawless on your monitor. Users then scan through your website using their tablets or mobile phones. Within 3 seconds they move on. Why?

One reason – they find your images misleading. Maybe it’s because the product got lost in the background since the image rendered too small on mobile. Both cases, your message didn’t get though. In RWD, ensuring images display properly on different screens is tedious and time consuming.

Launchlist

Launchlist is a neat tool which helps you check that all aspects of your websites are complete before exposing them to the world at large. Create your own checklist templates and test your projects before launch.

It gives you 5 tools: create the launch list (represents the checklist to test each of your sites before launch), manage the project from the launchpad (it displays all of the recent, active checklists stored in your account for quick access), a shortcut interface called “my list” (this page will list all of your active lists ready for you to update, edit and launch ), make every project different by customising their templates, collaborate with other colleagues by add users as admins, allowing them to edit all checklists and create new ones; or as standard users, who are only able to edit checklists to which they are assigned.

Flowdock

Flowdock is extremely useful when you work in a team since it helps you collaborate with your co-workers. Integrating all the workflow in a single app means that you can focus better on the real problems without having to worry about different timezones, platforms or portability.

Flowdock gives you a lot of tools such as 1-on-1 private chat, Twitter integration for monitoring support tickets, group chat, team inbox and portability thanks to its iOS and Android support.

Context

Context integrates your email server with your app, giving you a hassle-free synchronisation via a REST API. Thanks to Context now you don’t have to spend countless hours learning about IMAP protocols and other ugly related things. It supports OAuth1 and OAuth2 and you can even use your own Google OAuth to make sure users authorize your app explicitly. It is extremely easy to use: as soon as your mailbox is connected, Context creates a metadata index within seconds.

Metricfire

Metricfire is a neat tool which makes sure that your backend applications are running smoothly by helping you monitoring the response times. You can use different statistical views, scale, time shift and tweak your data until you find out what is going on with your applications or servers. It is extremely easy to install, all you need to do is to use their package repository for Debian or Ubuntu or RPM packages for Ruby and Java.