Hello Pleskians! This week we’re back with the tenth and final episode of the Official Plesk Podcast: Next Level Ops. We’re already at the close of the season and we’d like to thank every single one of our guests and listeners, as well as our host for being a part of Next Level Ops! In this installment, Superhost Joe chats with Brian Richards, Creator of WPSessions, about essential web development tools for modern web developers.
In This Episode: jQuery Turns 14, Brian’s Toolkit for Web Development, and Leveling Up
What coding tools are there for the everyday web developer? With a great amount of web development tools out there, how do you decide which ones to have in your toolbox? How can you level up your skills and find new tools to use? All of this and more in this episode of Next Level Ops.
“Knowing which tools to look for is the entire battle. So, where do you find the tools that help make your job easier? How do you know that they actually work as advertised? Why should you trust them? When can you trust them?”
Use Code Linting
First of all, you can start with some concepts to get familiar with. For example, code linting helps you find errors in your code while you’re writing your code. It shows you where you’ve inserted a character that breaks your code depending on the language you’re coding in.
Configure Your Code Editor
Second, Brian recommends that you find a code editor that you love. Moreover, you can configure the code editor of your choice to be more productive for you by changing short codes and adding code completion and formatting. A few changes like this and it will customize your code editor to be the best choice for you. Keep in mind that instead of looking for the next shiny product, use the tools that work for you and stick to them. Keep reading for recommended code editors and local development tools below.
Follow Coding Standards
Additionally, for coding it’s important to adapt some kind of coding standards and making sure that you follow them. Following standards should help you avoid running into bugs. Learn about local development environments that help you build projects for the web while offline. There are many tools specialized for the platform and languages you want to work with.
Love the Command Line
And last but not least, become familiar with and begin to love the command line. So, read on to find the key takeaways of recommended tools and strategies from Brian to orient your web development. This list is a must-have for web developers so better bookmark this page!
Key Takeaways
A List of Great Tools
- Free and open-source code editor: VSCode
- Code sniffers that can check your code for compliance with regulatory requirements.
- Github needs little introduction. Use it for testing, deploying and peer-review.
- Laravel Valet is a fast local, development environment for Mac with minimal resource requirements.
- Use Local by Flywheel for local WordPress development.
- Lando is a local development dependency management and automation tool.
- Know and love the Command Line:
- Wait at least two years before adopting a new library. And if you’re picking up a code library, don’t forget to follow the coding standards set by the library.
Choose Your Learning Battles
- Using purpose-built tools can improve processes a lot.
- To find out the latest tools and tips, and add to your learning, follow industry experts on social media. Check out the following, including Brian’s list of who to follow on Twitter:
- If you prefer the written word in print, check out these books:
…Alright Pleskians, it’s time to hit the play button if you want to hear all the details. If you’re interested in hearing more from Next Level Ops, check out the rest of our podcasts. This was the last installment this season, so keep checking in to find out our future plans!
The Official Plesk Podcast: Next Level Ops Featuring
Joe Casabona
Joe is a college-accredited course developer. He is the founder of Creator Courses.
Brian Richards
Brian is the Creator of WPsessions and an independent web developer.
Did you know we’re also on Spotify and Apple Podcasts? In fact, you can find us pretty much anywhere you get your daily dose of podcasts. As always, remember to update your daily podcast playlist with Next Level Ops. Until next time, stay safe.
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