The web development workflow consists of things from information gathering, planning, content writing, designing with the help of website builder tool, content assembly, coding, testing & review, etc.
Web development is a lot of work and many teams work together to accomplish the act. In such a scenario, there are many tools that can boost its working efficiency.
There are many categories of tools such as:
- Javascript Libraries
- Frontend frameworks
- Web application frameworks
- Task runners
- Languages/platforms
- Databases
- CSS preprocessors
- Code editors
- Markdown editors
- Git services
- Web servers
- API tools
- Local development tools
- Collaboration tools
- Web site speed tools
- Website development communities
- Website development newsletters
Each of the categories can be further subdivided into sub-categories. In this article, we will discuss API tools and collaboration tools used in web development. It is with the help of these tools that teams can stay in touch with each other and collaborate in a better way even if they are not sharing the same location.
Slack
With this tool, you can create channels so that you can discuss different aspects of the same project. Every single message is indexed which makes it easy to recover it for later reference. It eliminates the need to have a different chat group for every single topic. There is a flexibility to add the third-party tools to it or else develop your own API. It can be used for internal purposes as well as for communities at large. It is possible to set reminders, schedule meetings on this app eliminating the need for different programs. It offers a free plan and the user has the ability to subscribe. Once subscribed, you can search for all messages.
Trello
Trello is a project management tool that can manage up to 10 members. It is a free application and can be used in a variety of ways for managing workflows. Just imagine how difficult it would be for a sole proprietor to call each and every employee and assign him the task and also to keep track of the tasks which are completed. Trello can be used by a person who is in charge of multiple tasks. He can add the employees and prepare separate boards for them to assign them activities. For eg, you can have separate boards for content writers, SEO, web developers, etc. In each board, you can have a set of employees and assign them tasks. Boards in Trello are similar to the departments in an organization. It is possible to access the board to which you belong. But in an organization, many things depend on one another. A content writer might want to refer some article for SEO, in that case, there is a facility to add the member to it so that the concerned person gets a notification about it. You can use different colors for different boards for easy recognition and even labels of different colors are available for ease of use. To assign a task to someone you just to add a card, add labels, tag members if you wish and can move a card by dragging and dropping it once the task is accomplished.
Redash
Redash is an open-source tool built for teams to query, visualize and collaborate. It works with any data source you might need and facilitates to raise a query from anywhere. It can be integrated with MySQL, PostgreSQL, MongoDB, ElasticSearch and much more. It can be integrated with Slack so that you don’t need to see your dashboard daily. You can continue to stay on the Slack group and stay updated.
Zapier
If you want a tool that can push data from Facebook to Google spreadsheets then Zapier would be the best option for you. Zapier makes the task easy by integrating more than 2000 apps. It is possible to create automated processes and workflows which can save time and no coding is required, which is a plus point. With Zapier you can easily create Trello card from Google responses. No need to see every response manually and feed the same to your computer. So if you want to avoid redundant development projects, bugs try using Zapier.
Draw.io
It is one of the free sketch tools available which allows you to edit and open a diagram created by anyone if you have permission for doing that. It is a great tool for prototyping, mock-ups and architecture design. Draw.io offers many components for easy insertion into the sketch-like flow charts, Venn diagram, charts, etc
All-In-One Messenger
In the digital age, we often use different apps for different purposes and for different people. It includes 46 applications ranging from WhatsApp, Twitter to Skype and Google mail. As a user, we might not be using all of the 46 apps but I am sure each one of us uses at least 5 to 6 different apps. In such a case, keeping track of all apps, getting notifications and downloading them on a device becomes a tiresome task. Rather than that by downloading this single app, the user can get the benefit of all apps and get notified whenever required.
BitBucket
It is yet another collaboration tool similar to Github. The only difference is that it offers five repositories free. BitBucket can be mainly used to control and manage the code versions. Also, if you are a kind of organization that has multiple departments then you can add this tool in your list. It will easily integrate with third-party tools for code inspection. It easily integrates with the Slack tool and makes it super easy for the user just to push the tasks or notifications. It also integrates with Trello, Jira Software, Confluence, and Bamboo. The amazing feature of this app is the ‘code aware search for BigBucket cloud’. It is especially useful to the teams who have large code bases or many repos. The only point of caution is that if you want to add private code repositories beyond five collaborators then you need to purchase a paid plan.
Postman
Testing the APIs developed by others might not be always possible. So also, the APIs require collaboration between the producer and the consumer. Consumers need it to stay updated on the changes made whereas producers need it as feedback from the consumers. There had to be someone to fill this gap and the Postman tool exactly serves this purpose. This tool is free for the solo developers, but for team collaboration you need a paid plan.
CONCLUSION:
So depending on your need you can decide which tool will suit your organization. Please let us know if you ever need any assistance in setting up these platforms and we can help!
Author’s Bio:

I’m Chris Wagner, Head of Content @ HostingPill. I regularly write about Hosting, Web servers and WordPress. I have more than 9 years Industry experience.