They say that the difference between a beginner and a pro is the tools they use. We tend to agree with this saying so we decided to come up with 14 of our favourite web development tools we use here at OPTASY.
SHRINKTHEWEB.COM
If you’re interested in promoting and administrating a website, ShrinkTheWeb.com is the way to go. This little tool will help you take automated screenshots of your website for free! (Restrictions and limitations may apply to size for example)
Shrinktheweb.com provides the fastest capture time possible even with their free plans. For less than $10 a month you can get other interesting features as well: inside page analysis, full length previews and custom sizes. You can also schedule automated captures with any plugin you use and test responsive websites whenever you need it. Shrinktheweb.com is a great tool for beginners and pros alike!
MUFFINGROUP.COM
Muffin Group’s BeTheme is an elegant, easy to use and extremely versatile wordpress theme library which you can use to customize your website in any way you want. With BeTheme you get unlimited backgrounds for each section, 7 different header versions, a layout generator, 4 grid layouts and 12 predefined skins.
BeTheme works with all available browsers including Opera, Firefox, Chrome, Safari, Internet Explorer – it’s 100% fully responsive and it looks awesome on any mobile device.
BeTheme also features video backgrounds and parallax effects – you can upload images, text and videos in your backgrounds for awesome looking sections.
BeTheme’s powerful admin panel will guide you through the designing stages, making it extremely easy to use. All themes featured on BeTheme are fully optimised, making your site very fast and easy to load.
FLYZOO.CO
Flyzoo features a Responsive Chat system on Mobile, meaning that the layouts used will adapt for mobile devices as well. You have 4 different mobile modes to choose from when adapting your website for smartphones.
You can also create a custom page on the site and build a dedicated page for the mobile version – after that you can add custom stuff like images, text, video and menus. The best part about Flyzoo is that you don’t have to start from scratch – this tool provides you plenty of customizable templates which should help you build your page in minutes!
SIMBLA.COM
Simbla.com is a free website maker platform which requires no downloads or installs. You can get your website up and running in just a couple of minutes – all you have to do is sign in, choose a template you like, purchase a domain and then start writing your content. Simbla’s intuitive interface and the drag and drop system allows you to create new pages easily.
ICONFINDER.COM
IconFinder.com is the largest icon marketplace – here you can find material icons, flat icons, glyphs and a lot of other goodies. You can also opt for customized or personalized icons if you decide to work with a designer from Iconfinder.com. In order to get a personalized icon set, all you need to do is fill out a design brief which includes a presentation for your company, a presentation for your product and your target audience – this will help the designer build an accurate image of your needs.
After finishing this step, all you need to do is set a deadline and price quotes from different designers will start pouring in. All designers on IconFinder.com are handpicked by the team so it’s a good idea to give them ample time to do their work. Payment for the designers on iconfinder is also mediated by the platform, ensuring safe and easy transactions.
ACTITIME.COM
ActiTime is a time tracking system designed for companies. This software counts the minutes spent on work and compiles reports, which can be very helpful to properly manage your time and budget. Actitime also provides reports on employee performance and the progress of your current project.
THEMIFY.ME
Themify is another great wordpress page designer with an intuitive interface. With Themify you can create multiple editable layouts while in the same time benefit from its ample features which can enhance your website’s appearance and functionality.
The Live Preview mode allows you to see any changes done to your website in real time – other add ons and features include infinite background, slider pro, image pro and many others.
OPTINMONSTER.COM
OptinMonster’s form builder is one of the best in the industry – it’s very intuitive and easy to use, plus heavily customizable. You can change the images, colours, messages background and other things as well.
OptinMonster also allows page level targeting, which can help you by segmenting your email lists into different categories which are able to see different forms on your website. OptinMonster users report a whopping 200-600% increase in email signups!
PIDOCO.COM
Pidoco is one of the world’s best prototyping tools. It features a library with over 400 UI shapes, project archiving, web and mobile projects, enterprise grade security, unlimited reviewers, unlimited users and unlimited screens. A subscription will set you back $12 a month for two active projects. If you need more than that you can upgrade your monthly plan for more perks.
XFIVE.CO
Xfive is a service made up of a team of experts from different fields such as graphic design, copywriters, content writers and programmers. They will take your ideas turn them into reality.
48HOURSLOGO.COM
As the name states, this website provides users with custom logo designs in 48 hours or less. Users can even launch logo design contests to see which designer best fits their needs.
BOWTIE.IO
Bowtie.io is a service designed to be used by developers and programmers. Here you’ll find a wide set of integrations which can help you reduce loading time and security risks. You can also use Bowtie to build custom interfaces for your clients or for your projects.
H-CODE RESPONSIVE & MULTIPURPOSE WORDPRESS THEME
Themezaa offers plenty of WordPress templates to build your site. It’s pretty easy to use and fully customizable, with plenty of other useful features. With Themezaa you can change layouts, colours, fonts or build your website from scratch with the visual composer. You can also use shortcodes to make your website really stand out in the crowd.
THESQUID.INK
Squid Ink offers users pixel perfect icons that stand out through their clean and flat design. There are three main types of icons: solid, line and flat. The site is pretty well categorized so you shouldn’t have any problem in finding the icons you need.
Feel free to write your own reviews of different tools in the comments section. Which ones are really worth the money?
