Learn how to use tools such as Webpack, Gatsby, and Materialize to accelerate the JavaScript development process and bring your skills to the next level.
Working in a team is undoubtedly beneficial, but it also leads to delays, conflicts, miscommunications, double-work, and other stagnations that steal the team’s most valuable resource – time.
Apart from setting clear and direct communication channels, thoroughly planning each step, and conducting regular meet-ups, the software development cycle can be accelerated with new technologies. These six prominent tools can optimize, automate, and accelerate the JavaScript web development process, providing both a competitive advantage and more enjoyable collaboration.
Decrease Application Size With Webpack
Application size began to increase with the introduction of JavaScript modules that allowed writing in small chunks of code. Developers would typically have as many as five times more files with this method, which decreased the application’s quality by making it slower and bulkier.
In addition to the large file size, there was a massive gap between the content developers wrote and what the browser could understand. To fight this, coders began to use polyfills – helper code that ensured browsers correctly understood the code.
A static module bundler, Webpack, was created to solve this problem. Webpack explores the package and creates a dependency graph using existing modules. After analyzing the modules and concluding which are essential to app functionality, Webpack creates a new package that contains the minimum number of files required to run the application.
Identify Errors With TypeScript
One of the most common problems that developers experience with JavaScript is dynamic typing. This helped when programs were simple, but it now complicates the development process.
Dynamic typing writes code that has total freedom to use objects and arrays, but this results in errors going undetected into the next stages. The later an error is identified, the more expensive the cost to fix it. Some mistakes can be buried so deeply that they will only be discovered by users after launch, spoiling first impressions and damaging the user experience.
TypeScript solves this issue with static typing. Static typing defines which variables will be used by running the program beforehand to check for mistakes. TypeScript is similar to JavaScript, but it allows users to define variables with types and compile TypeScript code into JavaScript with a special compiler. Timely error detection enables automatization in web development and leads to shorter sprints.
Increase Performance With Gatsby
With the increasing emphasis on better user experiences and customer-oriented businesses, web performance becomes more critical. Research has shown that users leave websites that take longer than three seconds to load. Any slower, and web traffic drastically declines.
After putting so much effort into gaining customers and convincing them to visit the webpage, slow performances will lose all that momentum. Potential clients will abandon the page before forming an impression about the product or company.
Gatsby is a static site generator that can significantly improve web performance. It speeds up the page load by two or three times, and it boosts user retention to improve the customer experience. Gatsby analyzes the code and compiles the better-performing Webpack configuration to build the webpage. This results in faster websites with speedy navigation and a fast click-through rate.
Accelerate Development With Next.JS
Next.JS is a framework that solves many common problems in the web development automation process. By providing reusable components, Next.JS cuts the duration of the development cycle and operational costs. It enhances user experiences and helps businesses attract new customers, and its higher performance and faster page loading increase SEO efficiency to support marketing strategies.
Its most important feature is Hot-Module Replacement (HMR), which accelerates web development flow. HMR shows the changes made to the code in real-time. The application immediately adjusts to changes and displays how they will look. Unlike most live-tracking methods, HMR only refreshes the parts that have been altered, keeping other elements static.
Reduce Coding Time With Materialize
Materialize is a library created with HTML, JavaScript, and CSS to ensure browser compatibility and higher responsiveness. The Materialize framework is lightweight, and it comes with various features such as parallax elements, flow texts, cards, hoverable items and objects, and more. The framework allows free use of grid-based layouts, depth effects, and responsive transitions.
Shorten the Learning Curve With Semantic-UI
Semantic UI is a framework that offers a broad palette of themes, JavaScript, and font files. This is known as the semantic method of web design. Semantic UI offers excellent customization properties to create unique design elements. Its organization helps users quickly locate necessary files and choose from a variety of options, including UI components for mobile and responsive solutions. Its standout feature is its simplicity.