State of the art but with a steep learning curve
Use Cases and Deployment Scope
Chrome DevTools are an invaluable suite of web development tools for us at HarryAdney Internet Services for debugging, optimising, and enhancing our clients' websites. They make identifying any coding errors that may lead to slow or bloated websites. We use the tools extensivley in our web deveopment work to monitor and fix any errors or display issues which can arise.
Pros
- The Elements panel is usually our first port of call to inspect and modify HTML and CSS in real-time.
- The Issues panel helps us to identify and resolve problems like cookie issues etc.
- The console panel allows developers to see the log output created by their website in real-time.
- Lighthouse helps us identify any issues with accessibility
Cons
- They are tied to Chrome-based browsers, so don't give a reliable overview for user using other browsers, such as Safari or Firefox.
- There are so many "panels" it can get a bit overwhelming to use.
Return on Investment
- As a professional design and development agency we need to provide quality services to our clients. Chrome DevTools helps us deliver on that promise.
- We use Chrome DevTools on 100% of our client websites in combination with other more specialist tools for specific scenarios not adequately covered by Chrome DevTools.
- There's a definite learning curve to using Chrome DevTools, as you'd expect with such an extensive suite of tools. It's not unknown for "word blindness" to kick in, occasionally.
Usability
Other Software Used
Microsoft Visual Studio Code, Windsurf, Bitwarden, Google Drive, Malwarebytes


