With Internet Explorer 10 paving new roads in the way that our computers handle the web, it’s possible that we’re in for a new era of design standards and priorities; until then, though, there is the always trusty Firefox and its fantastic library of add-ons and plugins that make life easier for web professionals to rely on.
Whether you code or design for the web, check out these three awesome web development plugins for Firefox:
1. Firebug for Firefox
| [adsense_id=”1″] | Easily the most important plugin for web developers using Firefox, Firebug gives you the ability to inspect and debug web content with minimal effort, neatly separating your work into easy-to-see and investigate chunks of data, all visible as an overlay when looking at the page in question.
If you’ve ever run into a CSS problem or a broken DIV that you simply couldn’t narrow down and solve with tired eyes and raw code alone, Firebug is the tool that you need to jump those kinds of hurdles quickly and efficiently, allowing you to focus on what you do best. |
2. HTML Validator
While I realize that many developers aren’t as concerned about validating their code as they once were, there are still many of us that don’t like to finalize any project before we know that it meets the standards set down by the W3C. If you’re one of those kinds of developers, consider letting the HTML Validator plugin for Firefox do the dirty work for you.
Besides offering end-of-the-line validation options, this nifty tool can also test your code as you write it, giving you an instant heads up when something’s not right, and allowing you to fix mistakes before you get too far ahead of yourself.
3. IE Tab 2
Didn’t I say something above about Internet Explorer 10 potentially becoming the browser of choice for web surfers in the future? While a possibility thanks to Microsoft’s sheer popularity, the vast majority of us wouldn’t touch it if we didn’t need to inspect our code and designs for cross-compatibility across browsers, and the IE Tab 2 plugin for Firefox makes even that usage unnecessary.
Once installed, this nifty little tool will allow you to see what your web page will look like in multiple versions of Internet Explorer without ever needing to leave the comfortable confines of Firefox – simply right-click and select “View Page in IE Tab” to get an instant look!
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