Best Chrome Extensions for Web Developers

Introduction

Since the needs of every web developer are different, developers are welcome to customize their browsers to suit their needs. We can say that part of this customization is extensions or plugins that can help a lot in the developer’s workflow.

In 2021, around 65.27% of the world’s people are using Google Chrome, according to data from June this year. Since the Google Chrome browser is the most widely used in the world and web developers use Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox the most, we decided to show you a list of the best Google Chrome extensions that can be useful for web developers.

ColorZilla

ColorZilla is an extension that allows the user to find any hue that is in the browser. The selected color can be edited and this extension also offers a CSS gradient editor. Most of these options are already built into Chrome DevTools, so this extension may not be of much concern to some developers.

Available at: ColorZilla

Lighthouse

Lighthouse is an open-source extension and serves as an automated tool to improve the performance, quality, and accuracy of your web applications. It can be used for any website, public or one that requires authentication. Lighthouse specifically audits performance, accessibility, progressive web apps, SEO, and more.

The tool performs a series of tests on the page and generates a report on how successful the page is. Based on this report, the user can conclude what he can do to improve his web application.

Lighthouse can be installed and run as a Google Chrome extension, but it also comes as a built-in tool within Chrome DevTools. It is recommended that you use Chrome DevTools workflow rather than Chrome Extension workflow. The DevTools workflow allows testing of local sites and authenticated pages, while the extension does not.

Available at: Lighthouse

Wappalyzer

Developers use a variety of technologies and usually look for inspiration by looking at other sites and applications which is why an extension like Wappalyzer comes across as very useful. The extension analyzes the site and shows what technologies it was created with.

With the help of this extension, you can find out which CMS, framework, eCommerce platform, JavaScript libraries, programming languages, analytics, marketing tools, payment processors, CRM, CDN are used by the site, and much more. A good alternative to this extension is: WhatRuns

Available at: Wappalyzer

Fake Filler

Fake Filler is a simple extension that serves to fill in all input fields on a page with randomly generated fake data, usually for filling out forms. This extension is useful because it saves time for developers and testers, without it everything would have to be done manually every time, which would take a lot of time.

Available at: Fake Filler

CSSViewer

CSSViewer is a simple extension that allows you to display CSS properties in an ordered order. The extension was originally made as an add-on for Firefox, after which a version for Chrome was released. Of course, developers can always use Chrome DevTools to view the CSS properties of an element, but this extension allows faster and more transparent access.

Available at: CSSViewer

JSON Viewer

JSON Viewer is an extension that enables the printing of JSON and JSONP and offers the possibility of customization so that the code looks beautiful and pleasing to the eye.

Available at: JSON Viewer

React Developer Tools

If you are a front-end developer and use React at some point you will surely start using the React Developer Tools extension if you have not already, this extension is required. The extension adds React debugging tools to Chrome Developer Tools. Allows you to inspect React component hierarchies using Chrome Developer Tools.

Available at: React Developer Tools

WhatFont

As the name of the extension itself says, WhatFont is used to identify fonts on web pages. The extension is easy to use, just drag the mouse over the letter and the extension will display the font name, for more detailed options you need to use the left mouse click. A good alternative to this extension is: Fonts Ninja

Available at: WhatFont

Redux DevTools

Redux DevTools is an extension that serves for debugging the application’s state changes. The extension provides power-ups for your Redux development workflow. The extension is not limited to Redux, it can be used with any other state-managed architecture.

Available at: Redux DevTools

Open in VSCode

An extension that can be useful in certain situations. Allows you to open GitHub and GitLab links in Visual Studio Code. Just right-click on any link from the file and the “Open in VSCode” option opens the selected file. If you think that this extension is not so useful, the next hack may be more useful.

For example, if we have the following repository: https://github.com/testuser/testrepo it is enough to add only “1s” in the following way: https://github1s.com/testuser/testrepo and the complete online repository opens. It should be borne in mind that this is not an official project supported by GitHub but an open-source project that can be used as needed.

Available at: Open in VSCode

Web Developer

The Web Developer is one of those extensions that was primarily developed for the Firefox browser since Firefox is also a great browser for developing. The extension adds a toolbar button to Chrome that provides various web developer tools. The Web Developer extension can also be used by people involved in digital marketing.

Available at: Web Developer

Picture-in-Picture Extension

For some it will be a useful extension, for others, it may not. Picture-in-Picture is a Chrome extension that allows you to watch videos in a floating window on top of other windows. It’s great for following tech talk or maybe tutorials while using other sites. This extension was developed by Google.

Available at: Picture-in-Picture Extension

Window Resizer

As a developer, it is important to test your application and apply responsive design. Windows Resizer allows you to mimic different screen resolutions so you can test the design layout. It is possible to set specific test resolutions that can later be exported and imported to another computer.

Available at: Window Resizer

Amino: Live CSS Editor

The Animo extension is like CSSViewer but more advanced. Allows you to write custom CSS code for any website and displays changes in real-time. It is possible to customize colors, fonts, and layout. Custom CSS code can be saved and used on other devices using Chrome. Animo is considered the best Chrome extension for custom CSS. As with the CSSViewer extension, some options already exist built into Chrome DevTools, so someone won’t even need this extension.

Available at: Amino: Live CSS Editor

Yet Another Lorem Ipsum Generator

You’ve probably heard of Lorem Ipsum by now. This extension represents the Lorem Ipsum Generator which provides lorem ipsum text that can be copied and used on the website most commonly as a text placeholder. With this extension, paragraphs of different lengths, titles, dates, email addresses, and links can be added.

Available at: Yet Another Lorem Ipsum Generator

Clear Cache

In each browser, there is an option to clear the cache, which can be configured. The Clear Cache extension allows you to set all the options once, after which just a mouse click is enough to perform the complete cleaning process in a few seconds.

Available at: Clear Cache

PerfectPixel by WellDoneCode (pixel perfect)

The PerfectPixel extension allows you to use a semi-transparent image over the website so you can perform a pixel-by-pixel comparison between the website and the image. This is a very useful extension for developers because it allows you to create a website exactly as it was designed.

Available at: PerfectPixel by WellDoneCode (pixel perfect)

Image downloader

Image Downloader is a great and useful Chrome extension that allows you to download all the images from a specific website. Images can also be downloaded from websites where images are hidden for download. With this extension, it is possible to extract the image link as well as download the image directly. A good alternative to this extension is: Image Downloader

Available at: Image downloader

GoFullPage – Full Page Screen Capture

The GoFullPage extension captures a screenshot of the current page without some additional permissions. This extension is very useful for web developers because with one click it provides a full overview of a webpage that can be shared later.

Available at: GoFullPage

Page Ruler Redux

The Page Ruler Redux is a very useful extension that provides a ruler for measuring pixel dimensions and positioning. It is possible to measure the width, height, and position of any element on any website.

Available at: Page Ruler Redux

LambdaTest

One of the key steps in the software development process is to test the application. The LamdbaTest extension provides a cloud-based platform for performing cross-browser testing on 2000+ real browsers and different browser versions for different devices. Such tests help make a website or web application cross-browser compatible, and therefore more robust.

For desktop devices, it is possible to test on Windows and macOS, and for mobile devices, it is possible to test on Android and iOS. It is possible to perform a screenshot testing over 25 devices in a single go. LambdaTest is one of the better extensions for developers, designers, and of course testers.

Available at: LambdaTest

Ghostery – Privacy Ad Blocker

Ghostery is a privacy extension that aims to prevent all intrusive ads that are usually on websites which is why it has a built-in adblocker. It also has built-in tracking protection to protect your data and block 3rd websites from being tracked, a page speed booster, and an optimizer to make the browsing experience more enjoyable. Ghostery has a dashboard with which the user can adjust their settings.

Available at: Ghostery – Privacy Ad Blocker

Session Buddy

Since Google Chrome is known to require a lot of RAM during operation, an extension such as Session Buddy comes in handy. This is an extension for developers and designers and provides help with managing browser tabs. It enables bookmark manager, saves sessions, and returns them later as needed thus relieving the browser and freeing up a lot of memory. Session Buddy allows you to manage all tabs from a single page, organize them by topic, and offer a quick tab search. If a system crash occurs Session Buddy will restore all your tabs as you left them.

Available at: Session Buddy

Conclusion

Extensions are great and you should use them and explore new ones as they appear. However, it is recommended that you use fewer extensions as more extensions can be distracting. Also, you shouldn’t trust extensions completely as they may not be available tomorrow.

It’s best to choose between 5 and 10 extensions that will work for you, and add a new one or remove an old one from time to time. Play around with the extensions and see which ones work best for you.

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7 new rules of project management

COVID-19 has greatly affected the future of work and how teams collaborate to get projects done, resulting in significant changes in the skills and strategies necessary to succeed as a project manager.

The past year has led to major changes in the way people work. Before the pandemic, according to a recent study by Pev Research, about 20% of adult employees worked from home. Today, that number is 71%, and 54% of them want it to continue. The pandemic has accelerated what is beginning to look like a mass migration of office workers to distributed, remote work settings. This has affected every worker – 1.25 billion worldwide.

It is a huge change that has led project managers to strive to find new strategies for maintaining projects, and workers to be healthy and productive in the midst of the stress and chaos of this great change. And not just project managers. Everyone is struggling to keep work on their way. According to Asana’s research, we spend 60% of our time coordinating work, and not on qualified, strategic jobs that we are engaged in.

What are the new project management rules and what new skills do project managers need to progress?

1. Clarity is elusive — and expensive

One thing became apparent last year: Cooperation without physical proximity means that it is harder to achieve clarity. Asana’s study Anatomy of Work found that every fourth deadline is missed every week due to a lack of clarity.

The quick transition to work from home moved everyone to isolated workspaces, connected only by the Internet – a dangerous situation in which every member of the team could quickly become a silo for information. Early in the pandemic, Zoom Meetings provided some remedy as to a substitute for face-to-face meetings and quick conversations, but a year later, it is clear that we need better tools to clarify who does what, when and what the big picture looks like.

A study by Asana found that casual conversations in the office to speed people up to have been replaced by unnecessary video meetings at a high cost. Meetings interrupt focused work and take a lot of time. They cost 157 hours of individual productivity last year and led to people working an average of two hours each day with a delay. Project managers and information technology directors are trying to implement new tools and methods that bring clarity without paying such a high price.

2. Your ‘source of truth’ has never been more important

There is a wide range of project management methodologies, and although each offers its specific benefits, the key is to choose one and dedicate yourself to it all.

This source of truth can be a central project management tool that provides a job management framework, or it can be a project manager in a leading role or a work philosophy.

“The old rule could be: ‘Do it, no matter what is needed, and the new rule reads:’ Let’s agree on how we look at this and put it in a frame. ‘ “

3. Synchronous communication is a scarce resource

One thing she taught us last year – often the hard way, in missed deadlines and lost productivity – is that in the new world order, synchronous communication is a precious commodity.

In the new world, you can’t count on people being at their tables at the same time. You can’t count on them being in the same time zone. Some could work late at night, others early in the morning. Perhaps a schedule of child care or household chores should be considered.

All this adds one brutal fact about teamwork: gathering everyone at a meeting is expensive. It will bother someone, add to the already existing epidemic level of combustion, and suck the time out of already overworked working days.

Project managers need to adopt asynchronous tools that not only help achieve clarity but also better facilitate asynchronous communication.

4. Your work plan must be debugged

Creating a complex work plan requires a lot of work. One mistake, in the middle of hundreds of planning lines, could easily disrupt all or part of a project and cost an entire fortune. And the chance that someone will notice that mistake before the deadline, or something completely deviates from the rails? Infinitely small.

Why? Because no one ever corrects mistakes in the work plan.

Once a plan is built – even when it is complex, expensive, and involves a huge number of moving parts, contributions, milestones, and results – it is followed on the assumption that it is flawless.

5. Everyone is a project manager, now

In the past, project managers have used factors such as budget, resources, and rough estimates to determine how long a task will take. This new set of managers relies on experience, knowledge of the people doing the work, and knowledge of the mental impact of each task needed to determine the duration and timelines. It turns out that these may be better measures.

Once you begin to understand people and consider them people rather than resources — and try to think of ways to circumvent the problems and uncertainties of the case.

6. The project manager has become ‘The Negotiator’

As projects become more complex and companies increasingly focused on building sustainable growth in the new climate, the project manager fell to become not only a planner but also a negotiator capable of bringing competing factions, work teams, distant associates and jointly investing stakeholders as the plan would progress. The role of the project manager is evolving and negotiation skills are becoming increasingly important.

In the old work paradigm, the project manager set plans, encouraged people, checked that everyone was on the right track, and organized meetings to keep everyone informed. But you can no longer rely on physical presence to create synergies, there are more moving parts, and those parts don’t always talk to each other.

It is now a more targeted approach. So, even when you don’t have that 20-person meeting, the project manager ensures that those 20 people have one source of truth.

7. Emotional intelligence is project management essential

When people work in isolation, family life interrupts them, and they record long and unusual hours. As a result, project managers increasingly need to step into unfamiliar territory to get projects back on track. One really important skill that project managers now need is emotional intelligence. Not everyone on the team is advancing in this new distributed workforce. Younger workers and parents are especially struggling. Millions of women left the workforce because they could not reconcile work and children.

The project manager must enable and constantly strengthen the psychological security of the team. They need to create a safety net that gives people the opportunity to feel comfortable sharing ideas and different points of view, without fear.

Increasingly that means the project manager acts as a sort of therapist, identifying what looks like stress and reaching out and helping team members to work through it, prioritize, understand that what’s going on is okay with the team, and to help find resources or a suitable schedule so they feel safe at work and able to come to work.

 “The leader can make a big impact by using these facilitation skills.”

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Best CSS Frameworks in 2021

Introduction

When we talk about web application development today, it is assumed that for every modern web application, many different technologies and tools are used to improve and facilitate development.

Technologies and tools play a big role in the development of web applications, so it is important to assess which technologies and tools will be used before the start of web application development. This is not always easy to assess, and in this article, we will focus only on one part concerning the CSS framework that serves as tools that will make it easier and faster for front-end developers to create user-friendly and browser-compatible websites and web applications.

What is a framework?

A framework is a software or platform that helps develop applications. The main benefit of using the CSS framework is that it saves time and that a new project does not need to start from scratch.

Why use CSS frameworks?

The use of the CSS framework is essential and comes as an integrated part of professional web development. This is because:

• Speeds up the development process.
• Helps make a website or web application cross-browser compatible.
• The implementation of the CSS framework increases productivity in the development workflow because it is much easier for developers to continue someone else’s projects because everyone uses the same code writing rules.
• It makes it easier to create clean and professional layouts.
• Enables good web design habits.

Tailwind CSS

Tailwind CSS is not a classic CSS framework because it works differently from standard CSS frameworks such as e.g. Bootstrap or Bulma. The idea is that the Tailwind CSS framework provides utility classes with which the developer can create various custom designs. In other words, this framework allows the developer to make the design he wants using already defined classes that serve as a utility, rather than as ready-made classes that represent components. This eliminates the need for certain styles to be overridden and thus provides a unique look for each component, which is not the case with standard CSS frameworks. With Tailwind CSS it is possible to create a complete site without writing your CSS code. Tailwind does not have its built-in UI component like other frameworks.

Benefits that Tailwind provides:

• After mastering the syntax, Tailwind is very easy to use.
• Custom design, each design can look different, there is no default theme that everyone will use and why every website or web application will look similar.
• It does not force a certain style that would have to be changed later.
• Utility-first framework. It offers an advantage at the outset due to a custom design that allows for a unique identity.
• It comes with a large number of already designed widgets that can be used to create a website or web application.

Available at: https://tailwindcss.com/

Bootstrap

Bootstrap is the most popular and best CSS framework for developing responsive and mobile-first projects as it has great community support. The focus on responsiveness and the mobile-first concept makes it usable for devices of any screen size, making it also developer-friendly. Bootstrap makes front-end web development faster and easier. It contains a large number of ready-made components and utility classes that make Bootstrap one of the best CSS framework choices for web developers. It also has great JS components that can be changed and provides a CDN (Content Delivery Network).

Benefits of Bootstrap:

• Bootstrap offers a large number of different examples and ready-made layouts to start with.
• All components use the same style so developers can fit all the components and easily make a good design for a website or web application.
• It provides very detailed documentation for each component and layout so users can easily understand how to use them.
• Bootstrap is completely free to use.

Available at: https://getbootstrap.com/

Materialize

Materialize is a responsive front-end framework that is based on Material Design and offers a collection of UI components. Material Design is a popular design trend developed by Google. It is easy to learn and provides excellent documentation. Like Bootstrap, Materialize has a large community that supports it. It also allows for customization and provides an impressive set of color collections.

Benefits that Materialize provides:

• Materialize has strong documentation and is very easy to get started.
• This framework has a strong community that supports everything.
• It provides a large number of different components.
• It is responsive out of the box and has a minimal design.
• Cross-browser compatible and can be used to create reusable components.

Available at: https://materializecss.com/

Material Design Lite

Material Design Lite is a lightweight framework based on Material Design, ie it is a UI library of components. This is the most popular CSS framework for adding Material Design looks and feel to your website or web application. It is compatible with cross-device use, has excellent documentation and initial templates. Material Design Lite is completely free to download and use.

Benefits that Material Design Lite provides:

• Material Design Lite was created by Google and is easy to use.
• Can be used in combination with Elm, which is a language for graphical user interfaces (GUI).
• Provides a great out of the box look where there may be no need for customization.
• Provides blogging template which enables you to get a blog started in minutes.
• Material Design Lite provides a rich set of components.

Available at: https://getmdl.io/

Bulma

Bulma is a modern and responsive CSS framework. This framework is based entirely on CSS which means only one CSS file is required and JavaScript is not required. It uses the same grid layout style as Bootstrap and has advanced options that allow you to create an attractive website without using a bit of code. Bulma follows a modular design approach and is highly customizable. It has predefined responsive templates, which helps the developer focus more on content than the presentation layer. Because UI components have a modular structure, it is not necessary to import everything but only the components you want to use in your web design or project.

Benefits that Bulma provides:

• Free and open-source (MIT License).
• Bulma offers clean and simple settings that are preset which allows the developer a large selection of different themes.
• Bulma offers a large number of web components that can be modified.
• Bulma also has a strong community.
• Easy to learn and has excellent documentation.

Available at: https://bulma.io/

Foundation

Foundation is an advanced CSS framework. It uses a mobile-first approach and has a similar file structure as Bootstrap, Bulma, and Materialize. All components are fully responsive. This framework is commonly used to build large web applications. It offers initial templates with the help of which it is possible to create awesome websites and attractive user interfaces. It can be completely customized and has excellent supporting documentation as well as video tutorials. Foundation gives a lot of space for designers to show their creativity.

Benefits that Foundation provides:

• The most advanced CSS framework that allows users to create large web applications.
• It offers the possibility of customization so that the final website will not look the same as other websites that use this framework.
• Foundation CSS framework has a strong community that supports it.
• The framework is modular and consists mostly of SASS style sheets.

Available at: https://get.foundation/

Skeleton

Skeleton is an extremely light framework for basic UI elements, ie it is a small collection of CSS files that help in the rapid development of websites that look beautiful in any screen size. Skeleton is a tool for rapid development, if your website is small and straightforward then the Skeleton CSS framework is a good choice. It is easy to learn and has a good grid structure that allows easy customization for mobile devices. It is great for beginners who want to learn CSS and quickly start making beautiful yet straightforward websites.

Benefits that Skeleton provides:

• Lightweight and minimal framework with only 400 lines of source code.
• Easy to learn and mobile-focused.
• Responsive grid.
• Vanilla CSS.
• It is more like a boilerplate than a full-fledged framework.

Available at: http://getskeleton.com/

Semantic UI

The Semantic UI is a bit different from the others. It is unique because it uses the principles of natural language and aims to create a shared vocabulary related to UI. Its main advantage is that it helps developers and designers by making the code clearer to read and easier to understand. In addition, it offers the possibility of debugging, as well as many other things. The Semantic UI has a small community but the members are full of enthusiasm and loyalty. Semantic UI is a production-ready CSS framework and has collaboration for frameworks such as React, Angular, Meteor, and Ember which means it can be integrated with any of these frameworks.

Benefits that Semantic UI provides:

• It offers well-organized documentation, in addition to which there is a separate website where various tutorials are available.
• All classes used are human words written in plain text so this user-friendly approach makes it easier to understand the framework even for beginners.
• Looks like plain English while reading the code.
• Provides a high level of customization.
• It comes with amazing prebuild designs and modern templates that meet most of all the requirements a developer may have for front-end design.

Available at: https://semantic-ui.com/

Pure CSS

Pure is a set of small responsive CSS modules for all needs. Minimal and lightweight framework that provides layout and styling for native HTML elements as well as most common UI components. The idea is to provide minimal styles as a background after which custom application styles would be written on top of it. So, it allows you to create your elements and styles on top of existing elements provided by default.

Benefits that Pure CSS provides:

• It is designed so that styles can be easily overridden.
• The minimal look gives designers a great opportunity to create their unique design.
• Easy to learn and to change.
• It is straightforward to learn and maintain.
• Pure CSS is ridiculously small.
• It is responsive out of the box, so elements look great on all screen sizes.

Available at: https://purecss.io/

UIkit

Lightweight UI design CSS framework that offers almost all possibilities like other frameworks. It comes with many pre-installed components. Helps developers create clean and modern interfaces. It offers impressive capabilities, when it comes to design the UIkit has no competition. The UI kit focuses mostly on application development on Apple platforms and is easy to use.

Benefits that UIkit provides:

• A modular and lightweight framework that allows developers to develop fast and powerful web interfaces.
• UIkit offers a large number of pre-installed components.
• Helps develop responsive, powerful and fast web interfaces.
• Contains a collection of CSS, HTML and JS components.
• UIkit has strong support from the community.
• Easy to change and use.
• Clean and minimal design with a modern interface.
• Free and open-source framework.

Available at: https://getuikit.com/

Conclusion

The list of the mentioned CSS frameworks is arranged in a random order, since the choice is always individual, ie. depends on the project itself. This article is written as a guideline in deciding on choosing a CSS framework for your project. Each framework has unique features which is why you would choose that framework for your web application. To help with the selection, we will divide the listed CSS frameworks into a couple of categories:

Tailwind CSS and Semantic UI

These two CSS frameworks stand out because they use a different approach compared to the others. If the focus is on creating a unique design these two frameworks can be a good choice.

Bootstrap, Materialize, Bulma and Foundation

They provide a large number of different pre-built components that can be used immediately. Customization is also possible however they are better if the UI design is not so important but the priority is the speed of development itself. In such situations these frameworks are the right choice.

Material Design Lite, Skeleton, Pure CSS and UIkit

These are minimal and lightweight CSS frameworks that mostly take up little space and use few files to implement them. In situations where the size of the space is significant and when working on smaller projects these frameworks are the right choice.

In addition to this, here are some things to keep in mind when choosing a CSS framework.

• What kind of UI design did you imagine and do you want?
• Grid system.
• Which license does the CSS framework use?
• Is compatible with all browsers.
• Responsiveness.
• Does the framework have strong community support?

In addition to all of the above, of course there are others such as: Milligram, Spectre CSS, Base CSS, Material Design for Bootstrap (MDB), Tachyons, Tacit, Susy, etc.

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