The 10 Best Windows Phone 8 & Windows RT Apps for Designers and Web Developers
Alex Marshall
The best apps for Designers and developers on Windows Phone and Windows RT.
At IDR Solutions I’m always busy with web development and designing new things for our website and our blog. Previously rather than looking for software for Web Developers and designers for use on Windows PC, OSX and Linux, I decided to take a different spin on things and ended up looking for Android apps that I thought could be used for Designers and Web Developers and wrote and article on ‘The 10 Best Android Apps for Designers and Web Developers‘
Being a gadget lover and having a keen interest in technology I don’t try to restrict myself to any particular OS and like to experiment (I tried a variety of mobile OS’s such as Symbian, Android, Windows, Blackberry OS10 and iOS) and decided it would be a good idea to revisit Apps for Designers and Web Developers, however this time it would be on Windows Phone 8 & RT.
And so I grabbed my trusty Nokia Lumia and Windows tablet to see what I could find that would help me with my work.
Surprisingly there are alot less choice of Apps available on the Windows phone and Windows store. However I found some that were suited for my needs, so after installing and trying, and using some for designing and web development I have comprised a list of what in my opinion no Designer or Web Developer should be without.
Code Editor a viewer and editor of text and source code for Windows Phone. It is available as a Paid and Free application. Code Editor has two types of editors, one of which is the Simple Editor for developers who need to change things whilst on the move. The other editor is the Advanced editor which is capable of providing specific functions such as viewing highlighted code and options for searching, undoing and redoing code and also can be used to analyze and highlight the grammar of the language, themes and styles.
The file types that are supported included: txt, asm, cpp, cs, py, rb, java, php, vb, basic, logs, config and many others.
HTML Pro is a HTML editor that is used for text editing on your phone and is available as a Free application. The Apps have smart buttons that allow for addition some common tags quickly and using custom buttons. HTML Pro also includes a file explorer to view, edit or delete your existing files. For newbies this application also contains great tutorials and try it yourself examples.
Additionally there is also a built in color picker and HTML color list with hexadecimal values for all colors.
Code Writer is a free text and code editor app for Windows RT tablets such as the Microsoft Surface (but also can be found on ARM, x86, and x64 devices) and comes with active syntax highlighting that updates as you edit documents and supports 20 file types including HTML, CSS, JavaScript, JSON, XML, C#, VB, C++, ASP, PHP, Markdown, Perl, Python, Ruby, SQL, and many other common languages. Code Writer allows you to navigate via tabs and allows you to switch quickly between documents. Color is used frequently used for color coding code, and the editor included options such as font size, code outlining, syntax errors, text formatting, quick info, color previews, auto-case correct, etc.
HTML+JS+CSS IDE is the advanced Integrated Development Environment for writing and debugging HTML ,JavaScript ,CSS codes for Windows Phone and is a paid application. It is a Code Editor with syntax highlighting and extended editor and keyboard options fantastic for those that need to code in HTML. HTML+JS+CSS IDE supports HTML5 and JavaScript and CSS code syntax along with full screen mode. The editor includes options like undo ,redo ,clear ,search and the ability to share the code via email and for those who like to customize this application supports changeable backgrounds.
Colour Picker is a free application and is a simple color picker that useful for web developers and designers for getting ARGB and HEX values for a specific color, and the colour picker is capable -of displaying ARGB code and showing HEX code.
6. NotePad RT
NotePad RT is a sleek, fast and clean text editor for Windows RT and supports text manipulation. There are also features and functionality such as syntax highlighting, creating, editing, and modifying plain text, HTML, CSS, Javascript, PHP, C#, C/C++, Java and also support for HTML, CSS, JavaScript, PHP, Python, Ruby, C/C++, C#, Markdown, and many more languages. It is also useful also since whilst coding automatic indention, line wrapping, and code folding functionality.
Our website is based on WordPress and I’ve found having access to WordPress essential if I need to make tweaks. This app is available for Windows Phone and also Windows RT and puts the power in your hands.
It is easy to create and consume content on the go and its very easy to Write, edit, and publish posts to your site, check stats, and get inspired with great posts via the built in reader.
WordPress for Windows Phone supports WordPress.com and self-hosted WordPress.org sites running WordPress 3.5 or higher and also is open sourced.
Analytics is for Windows Phone and is a simple app that can be used for getting Google Analytics stats whilst your on the move and this application is free and without any ads and uses the secured Oauth login. Analytics allows you to analyse your websites data, using graphs and charts.
It is easy to choose any period you want, and group data by day, weeks, months, years, hours of the day, if you wish to see a full view of each chart it is also available and also it shows general data such as visitors per country, mobile visitors, systems characteristics of visitors (screen resolutions, OS, network…) etc.
Vector ArtStudio is a simple touch-friendly vector graphics and illustration tool and is fantastic for web developers and designers. This application is an exclusive application available for Windows RT and Windows 8. This app allows you to draw canvas from simple predefined shapes such as rectangles, ellipses and lines to complex free-shaped figures that can be drawn by hand or created in spline editor.
You can can also insert pictures set various options such as paper size, measure units, grid and snap settings for the page and contains the ability to do unlimited undo\redo, grouping and arranging of shapes, solid and gradients fills, various line dash patterns and can save to .png, .jpeg and .svg formats.
Photo Editior is a photo editor that can be used for a easy way to edit your photos on the go and features one-tap auto enhancements of photos, gorgeous photo effects, fun stickers, crop or rotate your photo. You can also adjust brightness, contrast, and saturation, sharpen and blur images and draw and add text. There are also cosmetic tools for fixing fix redeye, remove blemishes and whiten teeth which are useful for photos for publications on your website.
Hopefully this guide as given you some useful ideas of what you can use and do with your Windows phone or Windows RT Tablet in terms of designing and web development.
Do you use your Windows phone or Windows RT tablet in a similar way? let us know what apps you use.
