Software development has always been a complex field. Developers have to constantly adapt themselves to the varying market trends and customer expectations. Typically, a payment application such as Gpay is built using around a million lines of code. With that being said, one could not fathom the number of lines of codes on advanced applications like Instagram and Facebook.
One of the best ways to get started with software development is to begin freelancing. A freelance developer usually works individually or with a team of two to three developers. As much freedom as it offers to work at a person’s own phase, freelance developers are not usually provided with the necessary tools. Especially in the beginner stage, as most tools with advanced features come at a higher price.
Beginning a career as a freelance developer is often very intimidating. Particularly during this pandemic time where It is quite difficult to keep track of all the things such as project management, error-free and efficient codes, finance, a proper relationship with the client, etc. Whilst programmers in big corporate industries have teams to handle each of the above-mentioned tasks. This article focuses on providing the 5 most important tools that a beginner freelancer should use.
Best free tools for beginner freelancer developers
Trello
As an individual freelancer, it is very important to manage your time and deliver the final product before the deadline. By managing your tasks, delivering the project within the given time would be pretty doable. Trello can be helpful in this regard. This application, being cross-platform compatible, manages all the project-related tasks such as deadlines, checklists, links, documents, etc… This application is found to be flexible and very effective for developers who work on a continuous development phase.
Github
Github is the most popular online platform when it comes to software development. Github enables teams to collaborate with each other and share their codes on a common platform. The ‘release’ feature in Github, allows developers to launch their projects online by versioning them and necessary changes can be made whenever it is required. Github can also be used to automate workflow and review codes. This application is capable of effectively syncing with remote work tools like Azure, Slack, and Jira.
Getlua
As a freelance developer, you are not backed up with a huge team to correct errors or make any necessary changes to the code. It is all pretty much the job of a single developer when it comes to freelancing. Hence it is highly recommended to draft down the idea into a document. If the developer is working in a team, the document can be converted from word into a pdf or any other format using online converter tools like Getlua as needed. Getlua also lets you share these documents among your team members easily post-conversion.
Mint
Another most daunting task that a developer faces is finance handling. It is important to plan the budget while working on a project and also ensure that the transaction with the client is seamless. Having the right finance handling tool such as Mint will make the task much easier. Mint is an online budget planner application that can sync the user data between web and application. Using this application, developers can keep a track of their own expenses and create their own budget limits, set reminders, etc… This app provides end-to-end encryption ad multifactor authentication for additional security purposes.
Netlify
For beginner freelance developers, hosting their projects often becomes a hard task as many applications require a huge amount of money to get a domain name and host the application online. With Netlify, freelance developers can have the advantage of hosting their projects online with a free domain name. This can be done by syncing Netlify with Github, where the code is available. Netlify also offers drag and drop functionality where the code files from local storage are uploaded.
Online tools offer many advantages for WFH project managers and developers in terms of flexibility, mobility, online support, and accessibility. Using these applications freelancing can be less troublesome work. As a beginner freelance developer, there will be difficulties in understanding the clients’ needs or meeting their expectations. But consistently learning from past experiences will eventually provide exceptional results.
