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INTRODUCTION:

You don't have to be a coding geek to start learning about web development. We all know, a master was also a beginner once. This blog will help you know about developing web applications, web application software, and much more.

First of all, What is a Web application?

A web application or web app is generally defined as a client-server coding that the client runs in a web browser. Few common examples of web applications are webmail, online retail sales, online banking, and online auctions.

Why do we need a web application?

It can change your organisations' outlook in three ways:

• Increases Competitive standards
• Enhanced Customer support
• Gain Publicity and branding

Developing a web application exclusively for your organisation helps your organisation reach new customers and let them know about the organization and the services provided by it.

Web applications is plays a significant role when it comes to the branding process. It becomes easier to manage and handle a proper communication channel between potential customers and the business organization.

Did you know there are five different types of web application?

Here are five different types of web apps

• Static web application
• Dynamic web application
• E-commerce
• Portal web app
• Content Management System (CMS)

Know that we understood the basics of web application, we will learn what are the basic software requirement used to develop Web Application Software -

You don't need numerous software to start as a web developer. Besides from a basic computer, PC/laptop and an internet connection, the other elements you would need to develop a website are software programs.

You might find a few software programs which are already present on your computer. If not you will need an FTP client to upload files to your web server, a text or HTML editor, different web browsers and a graphics editor.

How to choose a basic text or HTML editor?

One can simply choose a plain text editor such as a Notepad to write HTML in windows 10/TextEdit and Sublime Text on a MacBook. You can choose Vi or Emacs if you are using a Linux system. Initially, you should write the HTML codes for the expected pages, save the document as a web file and open it in the web browser to make sure it looks like it is supposed to look.

If you feel you need more functionality than compared to a plain text editor, you must choose an HTML editor. This HTML editor verifies the code and can recognize coding errors before you launch the files. Using an HTML editor is better as they add closing tags if you forget and highlight broken links. These HTML editors understand and support different coding languages such as CSS, PHP, and JavaScript.

There are plenty of options available in the market to select an HTML editor, from basic beginners to expert professional levels. If you just began coding for web pages and are new to writing web pages, you can choose the one which you find the best accordingly. Few text editors display only code while the others allow you to toggle between coding views and visual views. Here is a list of some HTML web editors available:

Komodo IDE and its user-friendly interface which fits both beginners and masters of web developers. Komodo IDE's autocomplete masterpiece is exceptionally handy when you are writing code for basic factors such as links. This software supports colour coding of other coding languages like HTML, CSS and many others. Komodo IDE works on Linux, Windows, and Mac.

CoffeeCup HTML Editor: It is particularly very useful for the new developers, who are more passionate about learning to code than in a visual interface. This powerful editor comes with templates and has validation checkers to assist you to keep your code free of coding errors. It covers the code completion feature and recognizes other coding languages you might use in combination with HTML. This software highlights errors and describes why they arrived and notifies you how to fix the errors in the code. CoffeeCup HTML Editor is compatible with Windows.

Mobirise: It is a simple HTML editor for users who don't want to get entangled with code. It is all about choosing a theme and then dragging and dropping elements on the page. You could add text just like you would add in any regular text editor and also insert images, videos or any icons, all of these without writing any code! Mobirise web builder does that part for you. Mobirise runs on Windows and Mac, and it is available for free.

Web Browsers

Usually, the websites designed with reference to a browser can vary its functionality when run on a different browser. It is very much important to test your web pages to make sure they function and look, as expected.

You can test them on most popular browsers such as Chrome, Firefox, Opera, Safari and edge.

You will also need to test your pages for its functionality and appearance in mobile browsers too. Maximum desktop browsers allow the ability to view websites in differently sized windows. For instance, In Google Chrome there is an abundance of testing tools available.

• Go to Google Chrome
• View
• Developer
• Developer Tools

There will be a smartphone icon in the upper left of the developer window, Choose the smartphone icon to see any page in differently sized windows and mobile os.

Graphics Editor

You can choose the Graphics Editor depending on your website. The popular and the best Graphics editor is Adobe Photoshop. But you might not require that much powerpack and moreover, you might just need a vector graphics program for logo and illustration work.

Here are a few graphics editors for basic web development:

GIMP: It is a free and open-source raster graphics editor. You can use it for image retouching and editing, you can also do the free-form drawing and the most convenient one is converting between different image formats and more specific tasks. GIMP gives several of the features of its more expensive competitors. GIMP supports Linux, macOS, and Microsoft Windows versions.

Photoshop Elements: It is for the Mac and PC is a simple version of its namesake but has loads of features packed in it.

Corel PaintShop Pro: It is for PCs, it has almost all the tools you find in Photoshop. It also has an easy-to-use interface.

Inkscape: It runs on Microsoft Windows, macOS and Linux is a free vector graphics editor. This mighty version is an alternative for the costlier Adobe Illustrator. It also has more than enough functionalities for simple design work and web graphics.

FTP Client

FTP stands for file transfer protocol, and you will need an FTP for client to transfer your HTML files and graphics to your web server and supporting images. FTP is accessible via the command line in Microsoft Windows, Macintosh and Linux systems, but a dedicated FTP client is more convenient to use.

Here are some of the top FTP clients:

FileZilla: It is available for free on Microsoft Windows, macOS, and Linux systems. It obeys drag-and-drop file transfers and has a pause and resume speciality for uploading large files.

Cyberduck: It is free and open-source, cross-platform software. It is known for its flawless integration with external editors and its attractive and engaging user interface.

Free FTP and Direct FTP: Both of these are made by the same company. Free FTP is a normal and minimalistic client that satisfies basic file transfer needs. Direct FTP is a premium version that extends advanced features and functionalities. Both versions are supported by Microsoft Windows 7, 8 and Vista versions, but Direct FTP runs only on Windows 10.

Transmit: It is a premium version, Mac-only FTP client. It helps remarkably fast transfers. Transmit also supports Amazon CloudFront.

Cute FTP: It is a powerful premium version of FTP client, where you can use to make up to 100 transfers in the same period of time. It is recognised to be one of the most secure FTP clients available.

For more queries Contact Techasoft a leading Software Development Company which also provides software training for passionate learners. We even do serve as a Web Application Development Company in Bangalore. For more details on Web Application Software, get in touch with us.