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Web Application Development Tools

Web Software

Web software rules the world. Virtually every business in every market in every industry has at least some online presence, and all of the most powerful and successful companies in the world use their web software to get ahead. There’s no way around it. You need competitive web software of your own if you want to be the best.

How you go about developing your online presence is a tough choice. Web development tools in 2019 were vast and powerful. There wasn’t a clear best choice for many companies, and that’s because the web designing software list is incredibly competitive. Consider just these few well-known names: Wordpress, Adobe, Bluefish, and Google Web Designer. They’re huge names in the industry, and they represent a fraction of tools you could ultimately choose to pilot your web development technologies.

It’s hard to say that there is just one best professional web design software package, but there are some things that make for great tools that you may not have considered. Chief among those is mobile development.

More than 60 percent of all web traffic is done on mobile devices. Before you commit to your Wordpress website design software, remember that mobile sites require different design elements and philosophy than traditional websites. You want to prioritize mobile design first, and that may affect which development software you ultimately choose.

Web Application Development Software

Before you can choose your web application development software, you have to understand your core development options. A web app is fundamentally different from a native mobile app, and that comes with a set of pros and cons. Web apps are typically easier and cheaper to develop. You also get control over how the app is deployed and distributed.

The price you pay for that freedom is a potential loss of trust and use of time. Native apps (loosely defined as mobile apps you can get from the app store) tend to be more trusted by users and get much more interaction time. There are a few reasons for this. For one, a native mobile app runs primarily on the mobile device’s hardware. Whereas a web app will run on the server and send processed information to the device, a native mobile app can run entirely offline (although plenty of apps require connectivity to grab data, the principle computation is done locally). That makes native mobile apps more accessible to users. Add to that the fact that they’re (at least theoretically) vetted by the app stores, and you can see why users often prefer the native option.

Before you decide you need to go native or hybrid in your app design, it’s worth noting that there is an alternative option that gives you the best of both worlds. Progressive Web Apps (PWA) are ultimately web applications, but they utilize resources that allow them to perform like native mobile apps. PWAs are capable of working offline (often incorporating data queues that are quickly uploaded/downloaded when a connection can be established), and they function with the precision and power of a native mobile app. The user experience feels much like a native app, but you still control the development and distribution of the app, and you can still offload much of the app's computation to the web server when a connection is available.

PWAs can largely be developed using traditional web design software, including open source web design software and offline website builder software. If you want a deeper picture of what makes PWAs special, consider listening to the following podcasts:

Web Application Development Tools

So, what are web application development tools? You might think this refers to app development platforms or open-source web development frameworks. That notion isn’t wrong, but it is incomplete. Some of the best web development tools are simplified and streamlined. They might help you monitor performance or traffic. They might specialize in databases. The full range of options is truly vast, and that’s why you want to compare some popular tools to get a clear idea of what you can really expect from them.

Some of the most common development tools and techniques exist under names like Lighthouse, Lumavate, and Ionic. These are three fundamentally different tools, each serving a different role. Lighthouse is an open-source tool that uses automated actions to audit websites and help you improve accessibility, SEO, and similarly important functions.

Lumavate is a complete development suite that enables you to build an entire Progressive Web App (PWA) without writing code. It includes a vast library of prebuilt tools and widgets that take the painstaking parts out of web development. With this tool, experts in their fields can build apps from the ground up without enlisting coding specialists.

Ionic is a framework that focuses on user interface and front-end web development. It provides powerful tools for developers to optimize the user experience, but its scope is limited. Ionic does not offer much for back-end development or deployment.

Clearly, each resource has its place in web development, and there are plenty of other specialized tools out there. With all of that considered, if you’re looking for a total solution for web development from start to finish, Lumavate needs to be on your list. It is the leading no-code Progressive Web App (PWA) development platform.

Front End Developer Skills

If we define front-end development as the part of the process that makes the user interface of a website or web app, then we can look at front end developer skills and the tools and technologies that complement them. Front end development technologies will focus on HTML, CSS and JavaScript (with other tools like Git).

These front end tools for web development can be difficult to master. In fact, many front end developers spend years on each before they can start landing lead gigs on professional projects. Despite that, many web applications are developed, start to finish, by people who haven’t spent years mastering HTML or JavaScript.

The key to their success is the use of front end technologies that remove the hardcore coding from the process. A great example of this is Lumavate. It’s a no-code platform that allows you to do all of your development without first mastering the raw coding skills that go into web development (including front end tools in DBMS). It’s designed to empower marketers with the full ability to create their tools from start to finish (which also includes back end development tools). That leads to apps designed by the people who work with them most directly — improving quality without sacrificing app performance.

Should You Use Free Web Design Tools?

With so many free web design tools out there, you might wonder if you really need to spend money on your development software. It’s an expensive world, and every opportunity to save money should be seized. That said, free software tools don’t always save money in the end.

As the saying goes, there’s always a catch. Depending on the web design software that is free, you’re going to be making cuts to the tools themselves. Some only have free trials. Others will have free development but will charge for deployment. Yet more will let you work in a free environment, but the additional tools, widgets and accessories that you need to succeed in a code-free environment will sit behind a paywall. And, there’s scalability. Generally speaking, a free app will not be able to scale up with your long-term app goals.

Rather than steer you away from free tools altogether, a bit of prudence is probably the best advice. By all means, play with free tools. See what different resources can offer you. This is the best way to find out exactly what you need from your drag and drop website builder software. With that experience, you’ll find out what is and isn’t worth your money.

That is how you can make an informed decision about which developer software is the best for your goals. That is what will lead you to Lumavate. Start a free account on the Lumavate platform today, and you can utilize that opportunity to see how it distinguishes itself from other PWA builders. It is the only software that can take you from concept to deployment of a PWA without writing a single line of code.

See Lumavate in Action

Meet with one of our experts to see how easy it is to centralize your product data, manage digital assets, and create digital product experiences. Trust us…you’re going to be wowed.