Today, we are going to be going over some of the best tools that you can use when creating a full-stack web development project. There are so many tools out there that it can seem overwhelming at first, so don't worry, I got you! We're going to be going through the best tools for you.
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Database
So, what does it really mean when I say creating a full-stack web development project? Well, it means that you are handling coding the databases, servers, and platforms—you're handling everything end-to-end.
HarperDB
If you're thinking about creating your first full-stack development project, I'm assuming you already have some coding under your belt. So, let's go next to databases. Of course, a database is essential when creating a full-stack project, so I'm going to share with you my top pick of choice, which is HarperDB.
HarperDB is a distributed database that combines the power of SQL and NoSQL and exposes it to you through a REST API. The best part is you don't need to learn a new database language to work with it. You can do everything you need to do with your existing skills.
HarperDB is entirely focused on speed and ease of use. It's built for devs of any skill level and is great for those who are learning how to code. The HarperDB Management Studio enables users to install, design, cluster, and manage databases without writing a line of code in one sleek interface. The studio includes resources like example code, SDKs, and drivers such as this great React hook for accessing HarperDB.
IDE (Integrated Development Environment)
Okay, next up, you need a really good IDE or Integrated Development Environment, and that really can vary based on what programming language you're working with and what your end goal is. So, I'm going to talk about a very popular one and one that I personally love, which is Visual Studio Code.
Visual Studio Code
Visual Studio Code is great for anyone who is looking to build a full-stack web development project that you can both write and debug code in. There are so many different plugins for VS Code too, so pretty much anything that you need or want, you can add or install a plugin for, and there you go!
Once again, though, it really depends on what language you are learning. For example, if you are learning PHP, you can use PHPStorm. If you're using Python, there are specific IDEs for Python. So it really varies, but having a proper one that is going to help support you in your development process is essential.
Version Control
GitHub
Okay, next up, you have your database, you have your IDE, well, where are you going to store and commit your code to? That is where you need a platform to do that. Everyone’s favorite is GitHub.
There are a ton of different other though. Off the top of my head, I know Bitbucket and GitHub, but what else? I'll put some up here. Anyway, GitHub is definitely the most popular one, and for good reason.
GitHub is an open-source repository hosting service that hosts your source code projects and keeps track of source code changes. Using GitHub is essential for keeping track of the changes you made to your project, especially if you are building your first full-stack development project.
You want to see what changes you made and when, and commit those changes often. A lot of times when you're learning how to code and creating your first full-stack development projects, way too often, you won’t use a platform like GitHub. You’ll make all these changes, break the application, and not know exactly what change broke the application.
APIs (Application programming interface)
Okay, so next up, you're definitely going to want some APIs connected to your project. And how do you test these APIs? Well, my personal favorite is Postman.
Postman
Postman is a well-known HTTP client which allows you to share, test, and document APIs.
It has a really friendly user interface, so whether you are just beginning, and it's your first full-stack development project, I feel like Postman is a great way to go because it kind of directs you from step to step. You can select whether you're getting, deleting, updating—all of the above you can do with Postman.
Everything is a great way to visually see what data you are getting back as well. Also, I really like how you can export collections with Postman, so if you are working in a team setting, you can easily share those API requests.
Hosting
Okay, so now we have Postman, our testing platform for API calls. What's next? Well, we need a place where we can host this, and there are so many different hosting platforms out there.
Heroku
One of the popular ones, especially when you are just starting out, is Heroku. Heroku is a cloud platform as a service (PaaS) which allows you to deploy your web application. Heroku gives you a ready environment for application deployment, so you don't really have to worry about the underlying things that are going on or the infrastructure.
You can simply connect your project to Heroku. They have pretty much a step-by-step tutorial on how to do it. It's really exciting, especially if you're creating your first development project, to see it come on screen and come to life.
When you create your first one, the first person you’ll probably send it to is your mom. It might be so slow, like it takes five to ten seconds for the site to load. You’ll be like, “Mom, just wait. This is going to be amazing.” And it’ll be this really, really... you might not even know if you still have it. If you do, you’ll show it, but it’s not good. You've got to start somewhere, it's just a really good feeling when you deploy your first project.
pixicstudio.Medium
Optimization
That last point I made about my site running so slow brings me to my next topic, which is optimization tools. You need to have some tools on hand that you can utilize to ensure your site is acting at the optimal speed and user experience.
PageSpeed Insights
The first one I want to talk about is PageSpeed Insights. PageSpeed Insights reports on the performance of a page on both mobile and desktop devices and provides suggestions on how that page may be improved.
This is something I clearly did not have when I first started my full-stack project, and I wish I did. Honestly, I don't know what the statistic is, but I think it's after one or two seconds, if the page doesn't load, the user will just give up on you completely. So it's very important that you're optimizing and checking the optimization of your page or your site.
Image Optimization
One of the main reasons that your site might be taking forever to load is oftentimes unoptimized images. If you have large images that could be optimized to a smaller scale, it will actually make a huge impact on how quickly your site will load.
There are two resources for this that I really love and still use today. One is TinyPNG and the other is TinyJPEG. These online tools let you optimize your PNG and JPEG images.
The resulting images require fewer bytes to store the data, and the effect is nearly invisible to the user but will make a huge difference.
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