Web Developers Laptops
Web developers are frontend developers who work on websites and frameworks related to web, mostly run on browsers. Frontend developement is different from backend development. Frontend development can be categorized into web development and mobile development.
Mobile development and backend development need higher laptop specs. When it comes to web development, we can manage with medium spec'd laptops.
Let us discuss different aspects to consider while buying a laptop for web development.
Display - Like UI/UX designers, web developers work on UI and its functionalities. So having a good display is recommended.
Processor - Processors Intel i5 11th gen or above, Intel i7 10th Gen or above are recommended. For AMD, go for AMD Ryzen 5 or above gen processors. Check CPU benchmarks to get an idea of the processor power.
RAM - Minimum 16GB of RAM is recommended. If you are starting and on a tight budget you can go with 8GB of RAM. But for future proof, go with 16GB of RAM. If you are going with Apple MacBook, MacBook Air with M1 chip or later and at least 8GB of RAM is recommended. Considering MacBook Pro model, fix on 16GB or higher RAM.
Storage - Getting 512GB of SSD storage is recommended. In web development or frontend development, you have to deal with npm or similar packages and have to install different applications. So having more storage is recommended. If you are on a tight budget, you can consider a 256GB SSD but have an external Hard Drive or upgrade storage in future, it's a personal choice.
Ports - For web development, you will open many tabs, IDE's, frequently switch between browsers and IDE's. So having a large inch display is needed. If you have an external monitor, you can connect to it. So an HDMI port which can connect to a full HD monitor or higher is recommended but not necessary.
Battery - Battery life is subjective. If you mostly work outdoors, having the best battery life is good. But battery life depends on various circumstances. If you are really concerned about battery life, go with MacBooks. They have the best battery life.
Above are a few points to note while buying a laptop for web development. Keeping the above points in mind, I listed a few laptops which should be added to your laptop buying list.
The best laptops for software engineers are MacBooks. These machines cannot go wrong in any place (price is what breaks the heart). But other than its price, they are the best devices to work on for frontend developers or backend developers.
This model with 16GB of RAM and 512GB SSD is best suited for web development as well as mobile development. If you consider upgrading your job skills from frontend dev to backend dev or want to work on mobile development with web development, you should get this amazing and powerful laptop.
This is a budget friendly option for Apple MacBook. This model is an old model with mostly 3 years of upgrades and it's not a pro model but with M1 chip, it's more than enough.
If you stick with web development for a long time, consider this model. Not useful for mobile development.
Best laptop for web development under $500(at the time of writing this post). This laptop is featured with AMD Ryzen 5 5500U Hexa-core Processor, 16GB of RAM, 1TB SSD storage and Full HD display.
Has many spec's options to choose from but if you are considering this model, go with 16GB RAM and at least 512GB of storage.
Above model has an AMD Ryzen 5 5500U processor whereas this model has an AMD Ryzen 5 5500 processor which has a very significant difference in performance. You can check their CPU benchmarks to know better.
15.6 Inch Full HD display, AMD Ryzen 5 5500 processor, 16GB of RAM and 1TB PCIe SSD are the specs to consider. A best deal of web development laptop under $550(at the time of writing this post).
Its 32GB of RAM, 15.6 Inch FUll HD display and 1 TB SSD storage are the specs to consider. This model is powered by Intel Core i5-1135G7, which is faster and better. This model is also good for mobile development.
This model is priced very less than its original price at the time of this post. So based on its specs of AMD Ryzen 5 7535HS processor, 16GB DDR5 RAM and 1TB PCIe M.2 SSD, I'm considering this laptop as one of the best web development laptops of 2024. A gaming laptop for web development.
This is one of the best windows laptops for web developers because of its specs. You are getting a 15.6 Inch Full HD display, Intel Core 5-1240P processor, 16GB RAM, 512GB PCIe SSD and other small features like fingerprint reader, backlit keyboard etc.
Conclusion
In the web development world, developers don't use power hungry applications most of the time. So, we can consider medium powered laptops. But storage and RAM plays an important role in web development.
So even if you are going for used or refurbished laptops, get models with at least 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage or higher.
If you consider switching to Full Stack development or Mobile Development or backend development, try to have higher RAM and storage for above models.