Best IDE for Javascript HTML CSS

There is a ton of tools available for a web developer to use. It can be a confusing process trying to find the best IDE for jQuery, best IDE for CSS, and best IDE for HTML.

Each language has their own best IDE, so it’s important to know which is the best IDE for Javascript, the best IDE for HTML, and the best IDEs for HTML5. In this article I cover some of the top IDEs that I’ve used and share my thoughts with you on my thoughts about each one.

Microsoft Visual Studio

Undoubtedly, this is the top IDE for web development and one of the best-integrated development environments, it can be used to develop pretty much everything from complex computer programs to simple websites and lightweight web apps.This IDE uses a few of the most popular Microsoft software development platforms, such as Windows API, forms, and presentation foundation. With its help, you can produce both native and managed code.It comes with a code editor that supports IntelliSense — a smart code completion tool that provides intelligent code suggestions to allow developers to quickly complete the code. What’s more, its integrated debugger can debug both the source-level and machine-level code.Apart from this, the Visual Studio includes a code profiler, designer for building GUI applications, web designer, and class designer. You can also expand its functionality by adding various plugins ranging from source control systems to toolsets like editors and visual designers.In all, it supports 36 distinct programming languages. With its flexibility and ease of use, it is certainly one of the best-integrated development environments available out there on the internet.ProsCons

Amazing functions

Seamless workflow

Easy to use

Quite expensive

Requires a lot of resources to function optimally

Atom by GitHub

A free and open-source text editor, Atom is a desktop application developed using web technologies. It offers support for Node.js plugins and comes with Git Control, built by GitHub.Atom, a code editor for web development is written in CoffeeScript and Less and is based on Electron — a framework enabling cross-platform desktop apps using Chromium and Node.js. It was first released in June 2015 and is fully customizable in HTML, CSS, and JS.Atom comes with a built-in package manager to allow you to install new tools and themes for expanding its functionality. That’s not all, out-of-the-box Atom offers several pre-installed themes and works across various operating systems.ProsCons

Flexible & easy to use

Scalable with plugins and various packages

GitHub integration

Slow performance

Functions are limited

Eclipse

Eclipse is certainly one of the most popular Java Integrated Development Environment (IDE). While it was originally developed as a Java environment, today it supports various other languages, including C++, Python, and PHP.Whether you are just starting out or a pro at web development, this framework has got you covered with its easy to use interface and exceptional features for web development.Out-of-the-box, Eclipse offers debugging tools, a plugin development toolkit, and Git/CVS support. With the support of a strong and vibrant global community, the IDE today has numerous extensions – making it highly customizable and easy to use. Whether you want to add modeling or testing functionality, you will find a reliable solution via Eclipse Marketplace Client.ProsCons

Supports multiple language support

Wide range of plugins available

Fast compiler

Steep learning curve

Lacks advanced functionality

Sublime Text 3

Here’s a lightweight code editor supporting various popular languages, including HTML. Sublime Text comes with everything you’d expect from the best editor for web development. It offers numerous distinct features; a few of them include goto anything, multiple selections, command palette, and goto definition.That’s not all. The IDE comes with 23 unique visual themes right out-of-the-box. You can download additional themes and set them up with the help of third-party plugins.Sublime Text was first released in January 2008 by Jon Skinner and has been maintained ever since. Version 3.2.2 was the last stable release of the software in October 2019. While you can use the software for free, you should purchase its software for continued use. You can purchase a personal license at $80 USD (one time) which grants you regular updates until 3 years; post which you will need to upgrade if you wish to receive further updates.Today, Sublime Text is certainly one of the most preferred IDE software among web developers – thanks to its powerful API and plugin support.ProsCons

Efficient development with its distinct features

Lightweight & easy to work with

Fully customizable

Lacks advanced functionality

PyCharm

Built for Python, today PyCharm also supports many other popular programming languages. Developed by JetBrains, this cross-platform web development IDE provides code analysis, a graphical debugger, and an integrated unit tester to minimize the hassles of web developers.While PyCharm is commercial software, it also has a community edition with a limited set of features. Today, it is mostly used for professional web development projects – thanks to its comprehensive coding assistance and highly customizable command-line interface.However, according to some, the free version of PyCharm possibly be buggy, especially the autocomplete feature.With its intelligent features, PyCharm can automatically complete the code and prevent errors. You can also integrate it with Git and Mercurial – which is again an added advantage. Moreover, it comes with an integrated Python debugger and unit testing with line-by-line code coverage. Thus, if you are building cross-platform technology projects, PyCharm can be ideal for you.ProsCons

Easily customizable

Can be used for cross-technology development

Intelligent web development IDE

A few performance bugs

The community edition has limited features

NetBeans

Backed up by a vibrant community globally, NetBeans is undoubtedly one of the best open-source web development IDE software for developing programs based on C++, JavaScript, and Java.Doesn’t matter if you are editing an existing project or creating something from scratch – NetBeans will make the process hassle-free with its drag-and-drop interface. You can develop high-performing applications from modules. The web development IDE can seamlessly run on various platforms, such as Windows, macOS, Linux, and Solaris.NetBeans offers several integrated modules to assist your software development process. A few of the most useful modules include NetBeans profiler, GUI design tool, and JavaScript editor.That’s not all. Out-of-the-box NetBeans comes with several project templates and an integrated debugger. Today, it supports all the major operating systems and compilers, including Cygwin and GNU.ProsCons

Highly functional debugging

Cross-platform software

Free to use

Supports custom plugins

Occasional performance lags

PHPStorm

PHPStorm is one of the best web development IDE for HTML, CSS, and JavaScript and best web IDE for commercial and cross-platform PHP apps. While PHPStorm is written in Java, it can be used for other languages by installing relevant plugins.The intuitive user interface and amazing functions make PHPStorm an ideal coding environment for developing projects of any size and scale – without worrying about typos and manual errors.A few of the major functions include a rich code editor (with syntax highlighting), code autocompletion, coding style support, and an easy-to-configure visual debugger. PHPStorm also supports some of the most popular frameworks like WordPress and Symfony. It also allows you to customize the IDE with different themes and extensions.ProsCons

Highly functional IDE

Framework support

Easily customizable

Smart code navigator

Refactoring and debugging tools

Command line tools

Commercially-sold software

WebStorm

The smartest JavaScript IDE, WebStorm stands tall amongst other Integrated Development Environments with its smart code editor. A few of its significant features include intelligent code completion, on-the-fly error detection, and powerful navigation. It is a closed-source software developed by JetBrains.It boasts a modern yet minimal UI packed with amazing features in and out. Being a commercial software, it’s being billed on a monthly or yearly basis. You can either purchase its license for a year at the US $129 or pay a monthly fee of US $12.90.It is super-easy to use and very lightweight web development IDE for developing web applications that stand out. WebStorm is certainly best code editor and one of the most used JavaScript IDE with exceptional features that will help you build applications like no other. Let’s now look at a few pros and cons of WebStrom.ProsCons

Support for code refactoring

Smart autocomplete

Easily customizable

Comes with ample built-in tools

Support for numerous plug-ins

High memory usage

Commercial software

Komodo Edit

Komodo Edit is one of the best open-source text editors for dynamic programming languages. Developed by ActiveState, it was first introduced in November 2007. While Komodo is mainly used for JavaScript projects, it supports the majority of the languages.A few features that make Komodo stand out include auto-complete code, multi-language editor, multiple selections, projects & places manager, skin & icon sets, minimap, commando, unit testing, and debugging.While the community edition of Komodo IDE is free to use, you have to pay if you wish to use more of its features. The pricing starts from $84 per year per user and goes up to $5,880/yr for 10 users. The paid versions have extra features that give you more flexibility and control over the code and the development process.ProsCons

Highly Customizable UI

Multi-user editing

Accessibility to several add-ons for expanding the functionality

Comparatively expensive

Limited functionality in free version

NOTEPAD++

Initially released in 2003 by Don Ho, Notepad++ has become one of the leading text and source code editor primarily used with Microsoft Windows. It was previously hosted on SourceForget.net – and was downloaded over 28 million times. Notepad++ has also been recognized with SourceForge Community Choice Award twice for Best Developer Tool.Being a source code editor, it offers syntax highlighting, code folding, and autocompletion for programming, scripting, and markup languages. It can highlight the elements of 78 syntaxes. Notepad++ supports plugins and allows users to extend its functionality. So far, there are over 140 compatible plugins of which 10 are included in the Notepad++ by default.ProsCons

Easy coding in multiple languages

Wide-range of plugins available

Free and open-source

More options can be overwhelming at times

Cannot handle large volumes of data

Brackets

Developed by Adobe Systems, Brackets is undeniably one of the best web development IDE. It empowers the developers with visual tools like an inline editor and live preview to execute things efficiently. The editor comes with an elegant user interface and intuitive navigation.That’s not all. With Brackets’ real-time connection with a browser, developers can instantly see all the code changes on the screen. Moreover, if you work with preprocessors, you will enjoy working with Brackets – as it makes editing your LESS and SCSS files seamless.A few features that make this cross-platform IDE stand out to include inline editors and preprocessor support. What’s more, it’s open-source and free to use. Let’s look at some pros and cons of using Brackets.ProsCons

Lightweight

Built for web development

Real-time preview

Lacks advanced IDE functionality

Can get slower post plugin installation

AWS Cloud9

An open-source IDE, AWS Cloud9 supports multiple programming languages, including C, C++, PHP, Ruby, Perl, and Python. While a good part of it is written in JavaScript, it uses Node.js on the back-end.Because Cloud9 was acquired by Amazon in 2016, now it can only be accessed through an AWS account. Some of the most useful features include code completion, syntax highlighting, a built-in terminal (with npm), and an in-built image editor.ProsCons

Scalable

High performing

Allows you to write, debug, and create code all from a web browser

Intuitive & user-friendly

May underperform at times.

Lacks support for various plugins

Code folding

CodePen

Here’s a thriving community of over 330,000 registered users and 14.16 million monthly visitors. The online community boasts user-generated HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. CodePen is just like an online code editor where developers can create code snippets and test them.CodePen was initially established in 2012 by Alex and Tim — two full-stack developers and a front-end designer Chris Coyier. Today, CodePen has become one of the largest social development environment for front-end designers and developers. People come here to take inspiration, design test cases, develop new creative designs – and connect with like-minded individuals.ProsCons

A vibrant community

Great platform to learn ideas and share insights

A novice might get a little overwhelmed at the beginning

Conclusion

There are times when I find myself wishing there were something like a super IDE that could do everything. I want to be able to write CSS, HTML, JavaScript and PHP flawlessly and not have to switch IDE.