Ever played Grand Theft Auto? If you have, then you might be familiar with "Nuttertools". Nuttertools is one of the many cheat codes in the video game which gives your character a set of weapons. In this article, I'll share some cheat codes of my own with you. A special group of websites that will make you stand apart from any ordinary web developer. I call these my Nuttertools.
1. webpagetest.org
With this website, you get to run performance, lighthouse, core web vitals, visual comparison, and trace route tests on your website. It can simulate a wide range of internet connections right from 2G to cable in various locations around the world. The tests are recorded and so can can playback to see how your website gets displayed on the browser and also share the recorded results if you wish to.
2. validator.w3.org
This W3C markup validator checks for areas of improvement and errors in your website HTML syntax and suggests how these can be addressed. As you can see in the image above, I have some of my own I can fix.
3. wave.webaim.org
The internet has a very large number of users who are diverse in many of ways. This tool comes in handy if you wish to create a website that is accessible to a wide audience, including those with visual, audial, physical, and cognitive impairments. It helps you identify implementations that may not be favourable for impaired individuals and how these can be can corrected. An example is colour contrasts that may not be distinguishable by people with colour blindness as well as they would be for normal users. This way you can promote inclusivity even in your web solutions.
4. whatsmydns.net
Let's say you've gotten a new domain and/or made a couple of changes. These changes can take a some good time, up to 72hours to reflect worldwide on the all the Domain Name Servers. This website helps you check the DNS propagation.
5. websitecarbon.com
Last but most definitely not the least, is a tool that calculates how much carbon is released into the atmosphere whenever a user visits your website. You can then see how much your website contributes to global warming and also suggests how you can reduce the carbon footprint. If there's at least one take away from this article, I hope this be it.
Do you know of any other "Nuttertools" that aren't on this list, do share in the comments section. I'd love to learn from you too.
Cheers!