Top 10 WordPress Development Tools
WordPress is not only used for blogging. In fact, it is a full-fledged Content Management System (CMS), which makes it a powerful platform for developers.
With millions of people using WordPress, it’s a given that a number use it to make a living. Every day, its number of users rises, whether they are in technical support, or plugin or theme development. Similarly, the number of products you can use along with WordPress is continuing to rise, with no chance of slowing down.
However, all the tools and trends out there can be a little too much to handle when you are looking for a firm, quick solution. More significantly, as your workflow will differ based on your selection, it is good to know what your choices are and what features they can give to you.
Developing themes, applications, and plugins in WordPress necessitates different tools that will aid in development. In this blog, we will take a look at some of the top WordPress development tools, which include:
- Postman
- Buddy Works
- Prettier
- Visual Studio Live Share
- Parcel
- Telepresence
- Speedline
- Vim Plugins
- Storybook
- Dimer
Recommended WordPress Development Tools in 2019
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Postman
Not only is this one of 2019’s best WordPress dev tools; this is also great for any API developer who is searching for a full-fledged solution for their API workflow.
Postman is very simple to use and it has a superb focus on testing. The different environments for testing are not just simple to set up, but you can also share your test cases between them. This will accelerate the necessary, but arduous, practice of API testing.
The collections are an excellent way to manage your API requests and keep them arranged for future use. You can then make use of the monitoring schedule to regularly run the collection for performance and response. Also, the monitoring tool enables you to choose the environment(s) and perform tests. Any tests that do not pass will trigger a notification to any amount of integrations, such as Microsoft Teams, Dropbox, and GitHub, to name a few.
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Buddy Works
If you want an uncomplicated solution for continuous integration and delivery, then Buddy Works is the way to go! Of all the CI/CD tools that are available, this one has the best UI for simple building, testing, and deployment.
Buddy Works will integrate with Bitbucket, GitLab, GitHub, and private repositories to offer automatic deployments to FTP/SFTP and cloud services such as Google Cloud, AWS, Digital Ocean, and Microsoft Azure. While it is Docker-based, it can support Kubernetes. It also supports different languages, such as .NET, C++, and PHP, to name a few.
With its easy setup and superior UX, it is this year’s standout tool. It lessens your needed tools with powerful DevOps and website monitoring actions. You can even use SSH scripts to help lower your tool load.
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Prettier
Without a well-formatted code, integration and deployment would be nothing. For this reason, Prettier is considered as one of the top WordPress dev tools of the year. It is an opinionated code formatter that offers a more pristine style to your projects. That being said, it is only about the style, which guarantees that the abstract syntax tree will stay operable.
Prettier offers support for a diverse range of languages, from JSON and CSS to JavaScript. You can also integrate a batch of editors such as Visual Studio and Vim, as well as ESLint. Its best feature? The relief it offers. Prettier takes out questions of style from code reviews. When you install this tool, you can also experience the advantage of bringing newcomers up to speed quicker.
Its big selling point is its automation. With the click of a button, Prettier will go through your dirty code and take care of all the formatting you fear.
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Visual Studio Live Share
Even after over a decade, Visual Studio has stayed popular among developers from all kinds of disciplines. It has become one of 2019’s top WordPress dev tools with the Live Share extension for VS Code and VS 2017.
The Live Extension will enable you to share your project instantly with your team, regardless of the language you’re programming in, or which OS you are on. It makes the process of editing and debugging a real-time collaboration, without the delays usually concerned with repo clog and environment setups. With Live Share, it is now possible to go into issues quicker and deeper than you used to.
It helps keep everything as one, along with the audio tools that promote communication within the app, as compared to using all kinds of tools to sync. Also, your team will be able to see everything from databases to commands without needing to reveal your ports.
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Parcel
When finding the best WordPress dev tools of the year, we searched for tools that promised to enhance your overall experience. And boy, does Parcel, a web application bundler, deliver on that promise.
Parcel does not require any plugins. When a tool says zero plugins are required, we instantly think better experience. At its most simple, Parcel offers full support for CSS, HTML, JavaScript, and file assets the second you launch the box.
Compared to other web bundlers, Parcel is faster and friendlier. It also helps you avoid dealing with unpleasant configuration setups. So if you want to do away with all the complex configuration setups, then Parcel is the perfect tool for you.
With Parcel, you can quickly experience an improvement in speed since it fully takes advantage of multi-core processing for parallel code compilation. You’ll notice that the initial builds are going to be as fast as 50% more. And when you use this with cache, you will notice amazingly quick startups. With choices like code splitting and transforms ready from the beginning, it’s easy to see why Parcel is one of the top WordPress dev tools.
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Telepresence
Telepresence is included in the list since it quickens the harsh Kubernetes develop/debug cycle by taking out the container build and deploy process from the situation. You will instantly notice your code changes since Telepresence makes your desktop or laptop part of the Kubernetes cluster via proxies.
Kubernetes clusters will merge the local code on your workstation as a normal pod and enable you to completely access the live environment. This entails that your local process will have an environment similar to that of the remote cluster while staying under your control. Furthermore, the strain on your local resources will be much lower. Lastly, Telepresence is tool agnostic, which means that you can use any locally installed tool to edit, test, and debug the remote service.
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Speedline
This tool is the node module used by Lighthouse. It works by measuring the visual advancement of the visible page and offers a rating derived from how fast the content loads. Stop focusing on milestones that users do not care about. Instead, focus on thinking about what they see.
Speedline offers you a better understanding of the end-users’ experience, as it concentrates on the speed at which visible content is passed on to the viewport. While you can measure other milestones, this is one of the top measurements for the end-user experience.
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Vim Plugins
Although it is over two decades old, Vim is still one of the top text editors developers use at present. This means that it has to be considered as one of the best WordPress dev tools this year. Fortunately, new plugins are always being created to help users use this tool to the fullest. The following are the best three of 2019:
- Vim Branch Stack – This helps you look for the branching path for a current line of code. You will enjoy this if you work with nested branches and long functions.
- Vim Headfirst – This provides you with commands that will swiftly open sibling files in Vim.
- Vim Ruby Block Helpers – This makes it simpler for you to get through Ruby blocks with new keystrokes and mappings for Vim.
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Storybook
This is a learning tutorial for developing UI components from scratch using React, Angular, or Vue. It helps you build faster with the information provided by industry professionals.Storybook is one of WordPress’s best dev tools since it is straight to the point. In a span of two hours (or less, for experienced developers), you will create a working task box with commits at the ending of each chapter. When you complete your task box, you will be prepared to begin creating new components with Storybook right away.
Each chapter is understandable and they guide you through every vital stage, from composite components and testing to Add-ons. There is a nice balance between basics and advanced with edge cases mentioned explicitly. You will notice that more complex options are recognized every step of the way as well. If you want a fast way to cover the basics of UI component creation, then you should definitely consider using this tool.
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Dimer
Sometimes, tools may become abandoned due to documentation being too difficult to parse. Experienced developers may be able to find their way through any documentation. On the other hand, documentation may be the key to converting less experienced ones to lifelong users.
Dimer is one of the most recommended WordPress dev tools because it assists you in making better documentation. It offers a simpler way to arrange your document with sections made after every h2 tag. In addition, you get compiler errors when key components are missing. The editor is limited, in a positive way, to offer font families that guarantee your final document’s readability. If you are up to it, then you can integrate this with GitHub to develop rules for publishing documents after every merge, commit, or release.
Dimer is now in Beta, which means that you can take advantage of the Pro features for free while development is ongoing. For developers who do not like to write, the limitations and reminders are great ways to use your knowledge to the fullest while also offering your users readable documentation.
Finishing Off
Not every WordPress dev tool is created equal. The one you pick will play a big impact on the way you work. And if you are a member of a team, it will also have an effect on each individual you are working with. This is why it is important to conduct some research into what choices are available and the advantages each one can bring to you.
Proweaver and WordPress Development Tools
At Proweaver, our team makes use of the best WordPress development tools available to allow us to build custom-designed websites that fit our clients’ exact needs and specifications. We are committed to using the latest tools and innovations out there for websites that our clients and their target audience are sure to enjoy.
This is exactly why we have gained a reputation as a dependable, world-class web design company. We’ve been around this long because we are constantly evolving and embracing change. We stay up-to-date on the newest trends, while maintaining the tried-and-true. So when you need a professionally designed custom website, you know who to turn to—Proweaver.
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