Developer Resources Worth Bookmarking (and Actually Using)

Most "developer resources" lists are just names with no context, fifty links you'll open once and never visit again. This isn't that. These are four sites that earn a real spot in your bookmarks bar, the kind you actually open mid-task, not just once out of curiosity.

Why a short list beats a long one

Bookmark folders are where good resources go to die. The more you save, the less likely you are to open any of them again. A handful of references you actually trust and reach for is worth more than a hundred you forgot you saved.

So instead of a wall of links, here's what each of these is genuinely good for, and when to reach for it.

The list

web.dev
Google's own hub for web development guidance. The part worth bookmarking specifically is their performance and best-practices content, clear, practical, and not trying to sell you anything. Open this when a page feels slow and you're not sure why, or before you ship something you want to double-check.

OWASP
The open-source foundation behind some of the most referenced security guidance in the industry. You don't need to read it cover to cover. Bookmark it for the moment you're handling user input, authentication, or anything touching sensitive data, and want a second opinion on what you might be missing.

Can I Use
A simple question, answered fast: does this CSS or JavaScript feature actually work in the browsers my users have? Faster than searching and hoping the answer you find is current. This is a "keep it one tab away" kind of bookmark, not a once-in-a-while one.

Roadmap.sh
Less a reference, more a map. If you've ever wondered what you're actually missing to go from "I can code" to "I'm a backend developer" or "I'm a DevOps engineer," their interactive roadmaps lay it out visually. Useful both as a beginner and as a reality check later, when you want to see what you've skipped.

How to actually use a reference site

Bookmarking isn't the finish line. A couple of habits that make these worth keeping:

• Open them when you have the actual problem, not before. Reading OWASP's guidance in the abstract doesn't stick. Reading it while you're building a login form does.
• Keep the ones you use often somewhere faster than a bookmarks folder. A browser's new-tab shortcuts or a pinned tab beats digging through folders.
• Revisit Can I Use and web.dev periodically, not just when something breaks. Browser support and best practices both shift over time, and what was true a year ago isn't always true now.

A mistake worth avoiding

Treating a reference site as a substitute for understanding. Looking up browser support on Can I Use is fine. Copying a security pattern from OWASP without understanding why it works is how bugs survive code review. Use these to check your thinking, not to replace it.

Quick answers

Do I need all four?
No single one is essential, but together they cover four different moments: performance, security, compatibility, and direction. Keep whichever matches the kind of work you actually do.

Are these free?
Yes, all four are free to use, no account required for any of them.

Which one should a beginner start with?
Roadmap.sh, honestly. It's the one that helps you figure out what to learn next, which matters more early on than any single reference.

Where to go next

We keep a growing, curated collection in our Developer Resources district if you want more than these four.