Magento is no doubt a top eCommerce platform that many businesses have chosen. Why? It’s easy to use, comprehensive, and most importantly, always catch up with the latest technologies and trends. In today’s blog, we’ll show you the 8 best Magento 2 development tools that are making storms in the developer community.
As e-commerce continues to change, Magento 2 has become a powerful tool for building online stores with lots of features. This is a popular choice among both developers and merchants because of how flexible and scalable it is. To make the development process even better, a lot of developer tools have been made to improve workflows and make creating Magento 2 shops easier.
No matter if you have just joined Magento or are an expert in coding, this article will not be a waste of time. Let’s get started!
1. Magento Debug
The first name in our list of Magento 2 developer tools is Magento Debug, an effective assistant for Magento developers. The main purpose of this tool is to help its users understand the script easier by specifying request attributes.
Magento Debug is basically a developer’s debug toolbar like the Magento development toolbar, but with a different look. Other than that, both tools have almost the same features.
It is useful because it allows users to identify and track down errors that happen in the store. With this feature, store owners can avoid potential problems, saving a significant time and money on fixing issues. Moreover, the tool suggests solutions for fixing errors to guarantee customer experience as well as system performance.
2. PHPStorm
PHPStorm, a modern PHP IDE, can help you organize and handle many eCommerce projects at the same time efficiently. The PHPStorm Magento 2 extension is great for code auto-completing and generating from your existing Magento store. Additionally, it allows you to browse and navigate to the extensive source code.
It includes features like GraphQL navigation line markers, developing class methods, and examining declarations. The PHPStorm Live Templates tool comes in handy when you need to recreate the same code structure in different places without affecting code quality.
While choosing an IDE depends on personal preference, PHPStorm is commonly used for Magento development.
MageTools is another effective Magento 2 development tool, especially when creating Magento websites powered by Zend. Its greatest strength is reducing repetitive tasks, streamlining workflows, and eliminating the need to switch between multiple tools and the admin system.
In addition, this remarkable tool speeds up the development procedure by setting up controllers or modules and simplifies the process of moving data to the Magento admin and MySQL database. By enabling developers to execute commands seamlessly, it significantly boosts work efficiency.
4. Xdebug
Without a doubt, Xdebug rightfully earns its place as the top choice of the best Magento 2 developer tools. It’s a popular PHP plugin that assists developers in debugging and smoothly developing their eCommerce projects. This helps them identify and fix issues caused by challenges they encounter. In Xdebug, the var_dump() function in PHP has been enhanced.
Xdebug lets you insert breakpoints and pause the code execution at each one. This enables you to observe different outputs in just one run of the function. Consequently, you’ll save time that would otherwise be spent troubleshooting your code or performing other tasks. It employs the DBGp debugging protocol to aid in debugging PHP programs. This tool can also help you profile PHP script details.
5. Git
Git serves as the central hub for managing, developing, and deploying code for your Adobe Commerce websites and stores which are hosted on cloud infrastructure. Git is known as a distributed version control system. It humorously refers to itself as “the stupid content tracker” in its advertisements (man git).
Git doesn’t focus on the contents of files. Instead, it maintains a copy of every file in the directory where it’s installed. Whenever a file is modified, Git creates a new copy of it. Since all these files are stored locally on the same system as your website, they run exceptionally fast.
Being a distributed system, Git makes it easy to create remote copies of its database. It also provides efficient and comprehensive features for comparing different versions of the Git database to identify differences between them, as it is primarily a developer tool.
6. EcomDev PHPUnit
EcomDev PHPUnit is a Magento extension from a third-party source that seamlessly integrates the PHPUnit framework. This extension fastens the testing process for various components of Magento, including modules, blocks, controller actions, and layout rendering.
With the PHPUnit framework, you can conveniently test functions like modules, blocks, controller actions, helpers, and layout rendering using this Magento extension. It’s important to address the issue and encourage Magento developers to adopt test-driven development methods.
During runtime, you can observe how additional test objects gradually take control of the available systems and objects until a secure test database connection is established. This ensures that neither the Magento database nor the core files are modified or altered.
7. Magento Stack Exchange
While not a conventional “tool,” leaving Magento Stack Exchange out of the best Magento 2 developer tools list is such a pity cause this tool is too helpful. Basically, it’s a question-and-answer forum where Magento developers come to seek solutions for their concerns.
The primary purpose of this website is to provide answers, not foster discussions. There’s no room for small talk here. Responses are voted based on their quality, with the best ones rising to the top. Acceptance of an answer simply indicates that it was helpful to the person who posed the question, not that it was the best answer.
8. Easy Template Path Hints
Magento 2 Easy Template Path Hints is the last one in our list of Magento 2 developer tools. The tool enables template path hints for both the frontend and backend of Magento stores. Developers can easily locate and synchronize paths for template files and blocks with the theme using the path hint.
Once you start typing searches into the URL bar, it automatically turns on. It’s actually similar to Joomla, turning on the template path and hints.
The tool comes with some features like simplifying Upgrade Proof Module, using Joomla to enable template path hints, very easy to use, turning on/off path hints whenever you like, and adding an access code to enhance security.
Conclusion
In the dynamic world of e-commerce, Magento 2 continues to stay on top with a thriving and growing developer community. As we move forward, these tools will undoubtedly play a pivotal role in shaping the future of Magento 2 development, ensuring that developers can create exceptional online stores that meet the ever-evolving demands of the digital marketplace.
As you harness the capabilities of these tools, your Magento 2 development reaches new heights of efficiency, creativity, and innovation. Embrace these tools, master your craft, and unlock the door to unparalleled e-commerce excellence in 2024 and beyond.
