WebStorm, a AAA IDE that is perfect for any Javascript project, particularly Angular and NodeJs projects
November 26, 2019

WebStorm, a AAA IDE that is perfect for any Javascript project, particularly Angular and NodeJs projects

Tim Hardy | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User

Overall Satisfaction with IntelliJ WebStorm

We use WebStorm to develop our Single Page Application (SPA) projects, particular Angular projects. We also use it for any NodeJs projects. WebStorm is perfect for any Javascript project. It is a AAA IDE with support for all major frameworks, source control systems, package managers, testing tools, and a host of plug-ins.
  • Angular development - built-in support for tslint allows your team to code to a single standard.
  • NodeJs testing - Mocha and Chai testing is a breeze for my Node unit tests.
  • Emmet support for HTML makes for speedy prototyping.
  • The file difference utilities are some of the best I've used for my Github merge conflicts. They are really focused around source control conflict scenarios instead of the "can be used for" mentality of other IDEs.
  • The popup file search sometimes frustrates me. It caps the number of results, and sometimes it isn't clear that it simply stopped looking. I also used to have trouble finding string occurrences that I knew were in my project, but I think they've made improvements in this area recently.
  • Being a AAA IDE, WebStorm can be a memory hog. If I don't kill it every few days, it can get really slow. I would love to see performance improvements.
  • Speaking of performance, WebStorm can take a long time to launch. I'd like to see improvements in launch times.
  • Our UX guys love the Emmet support provided by WebStorm and enjoy cranking out prototypes quicker than they could before.
  • I love the standardization provided by the tslint support. When all the devs code to the same standard, it makes our code more maintainable.
  • The test support makes it easier to write and execute tests, lowering the barrier to entry of creating test suite around our code. Testing makes maintenance of any codebase far more effective and efficient.
For Javascript projects, particularly Angular projects, WebStorm is superior to any other IDE I've used. WebStorm has been easier to pick up and learn straight out of the box. Visual Studio Code might be able to do some of the same things, but not without a lot more setup and configuration. The paid versions of Visual Studio are better for .Net projects.
The community behind WebStorm is sufficient to solve most every problem I've encountered. Speaking with JetBrains directly has been less productive. They're alright, but they are slow to develop feature suggestions or address issues that a ton of the people in the community have submitted.

Do you think WebStorm delivers good value for the price?

Yes

Are you happy with WebStorm's feature set?

Yes

Did WebStorm live up to sales and marketing promises?

Yes

Did implementation of WebStorm go as expected?

Yes

Would you buy WebStorm again?

Yes

WebStorm is perfect for any Javascript project. It is particularly good for Angular projects. We used to use Visual Studio Code for our Angular projects, but after trying out the free trial of WebStorm, I've converted and never looked back. I bought a personal subscription, and I got a few colleagues to join me. Now, we berate our Visual Studio Code coworkers who don't honor the default Angular tslint rules. "Stop screwing up our code and code to the standard!" It takes them some effort to see all the "red squigglies" that the default Angular tslint provides. The only projects I don't use WebStorm for are .Net projects. I still prefer some form of Visual Studio for those.