Both small businesses and big firms are tilting towards the web because of the many benefits it offers. These companies are willing to create effective and user-friendly websites to sell their goods or services. This has led to the growth of the web development industry. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the employment of web development professionals is expected to grow by 13 percent from 2020 to 2030.
If you want to thrive in the web development field, you need to master the relevant web development processes and methods. This guide will highlight five steps of the web development process that you should know as a web developer.
What Is Web Development?
Web development involves building and maintaining websites. However, the definition is broader than just building and maintaining. Web development involves the work behind the scenes that makes a website perform well and look great. The web development process also includes using popular programming languages to create functional websites.
Web development is divided into backend development or server-side development and front end development or client-side development. The front end developer is responsible for the website design, interactivity, and layout. The backend developer handles everything behind the scenes that ensures that the front end works properly. Full stack developers handle both front end development and backend development.
What Are the 5 Components of Web Development?
Web development and web design require many crucial elements to progress smoothly and produce the desired result. There are several components, but this guide will list the five most important components of web development. These components are usability, content, aesthetics, interaction, and visibility.
Usability
Usability is a highly important component of web development, as it ensures that the user can easily navigate the website. The website’s user interface must be intuitive, mobile-friendly, and accessible so that users can find what they need on it without any hassle.
Users need to be able to access pages within the site without having to leave the entire site and use a search engine. Usability helps developers to anticipate what visitors to the site are thinking and lead them to their ultimate goal without much effort.
Content
Content is an essential component in web development because of the role it plays in search engine optimization (SEO). According to BrightEdge Research, SEO drives over one thousand percent more traffic to sites than organic social media, so SEO content creation is integral to a site’s success.
Relevant content helps draw in visitors to your website and this is why the site needs first-class content including high-resolution imagery, videos, and relevant information to make it more interesting. You should invest in compelling content writing with internal links because it will keep users on the site for longer periods and encourage them to come back.
Aesthetics
Aside from content structure and usability, a visually impressive website is important and should be prioritized during the design phase. At the same time, the website must maintain the image of the brand and reflect the work of the company or business. This component allows the website to connect with the audience through visual elements.
Interaction
Web developers must ensure that the website can engage with visitors, keep them interested, and direct them to other parts of the website where they can contact the business. Most businesses create websites to generate leads, increase sales, and, ultimately, meet business goals. So, a site needs to be interactive and engage users in the right way.
Visibility
No matter how good a website looks or how user-friendly it is, it’ll be a waste of time without visibility. What good is a website that cannot be found? This is why the visibility component of a site is very important.
With social media, SEO, and email marketing, a site can have a stronger online presence. There are a lot of factors that determine how a website will be found through a search engine, so web developers must use the right SEO and digital marketing tools and methods to ensure that the site is seen by the target audience.
What Is a Web Development Process?
A web development process is an outline of steps that are taken from the beginning of web development to the end. It includes the steps required to complete a web development project, and these steps are crucial to creating a useful and relevant website.
The web development process categorizes and divides the development tasks. Next, it breaks them into different sections that are used as a project roadmap. This process outlines the role each member of the web development team has to perform, in order, before the project is done.
What Are Web Development Processes Good For?
Web development processes help ensure that the website project starts and finishes at the right time. Having a development checklist also reduces cost, saves time, and ensures that the finished product meets the expectations of the site owner or business.
- Reducing cost. Following the web development processes in the right order will help save costs. For instance, when the client requires a certain type of website for their target audience, conducting some research will reduce the chances of creating a website that doesn’t suit the needs of the client. Also, running sketches by the client in the initial stages helps ensure that resources are not wasted on creating a site that cannot be used.
- Saving time. Web development processes save time in so many ways. The processes outline the steps at each stage of development, meaning that developers do what they need to do before the website will be tested. They won’t need to revisit unfinished site aspects before the launch date, thereby saving them time that would have been wasted.
- Improving clarity. Web development processes also provide clarity to developers regarding the needs of the client. With a clear idea of what the client wants, they can follow up and check in at different stages of development. This way, the client will get a website that suits their preferences.
What Are the 5 Steps of the Web Development Process?
A typical web development process can be divided into five main steps. These steps are planning, design, development, launch, and post-launch. Some processes may take longer, depending on the specific needs of the website owner. However, the main steps will be discussed below.
Planning
This is the most important stage of web development, since this stage gives shape to the other stages of the project. The planning stage involves client interaction with the development team to get a full idea of what the client wants. During this stage, the team will discuss the target audience, goals, development methodology, and site feature requests with the client. Also, they may need to offer their own suggestions about the project using their professional experience.
During this stage, the development team also creates the site map that will be used to help users find information quickly. The site map is like a bird’s eye view of the website and it determines page lists and placement, as well as how pages relate to other pages on the site. The site map has elements for both web crawlers and for the site users.
This stage also includes wireframe development. The wireframe is a rough layout of all the pages on a website.
Design
The design phase involves working on some of the outlined information in the previous stage. During this stage, the design team comes up with a visual representation and documented site structure. At this stage, the website will have a structure but may still lack the advanced features and content elements.
The design team plans the design elements and wireframe. During the design process, web designers create the site’s visual layout and it begins to look good. Also, this stage involves the review and approval cycle where the developers review, tweak, and approve mockups after running them by the client. After the design stage is complete, the developers can move to the development stage and write the CSS and HTML code for the design.
Development
This phase is where the main work happens. Developers write the code and load content onto the site for the client. They use the information from the planning stage to do this until the website takes shape. During this phase, the developers test on the go and build a development framework.
Web developers create the code templates for different page types such as the home page, blog posts, and general content. They also develop special features and test for interactivity. After doing that, the next step is filling the site’s pages with the content provided by the client’s content team. Next, the developers test and verify all links to ensure that they are in good working order and start a website review.
Launch
When the development phase is done, the next step is the launch stage. This stage helps prepare the site for public access. It includes final touches such as deep testing of features and interactivity, design element polishing, and user experience tweaking. Another crucial step in this stage is moving the website to a permanent web server. However, before this, it is essential to test the website in the production environment to know how it will perform when launched.
While testing, the website passes through many diagnostic checks including a spell checker, website health checks, code validators, and broken link checkers. The final cross-browser check involves running the website on Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Internet Explorer, Opera, and their mobile variants on operating systems (OS) like Android and iOS.
This test is important so the website can cater to users with different browsers and operating systems. It is often done more than once, to ensure that there are no rough layouts in any browser or OS.
Post-Launch
At this point, the web development team has completed the project and they need to take care of other little tasks before closing it. The stage involves packaging source files and providing instructions on how to use the code.
If training is required, the development team handles it to make the website easier to manage for the business. The team ensures that the client has all the information they need to continue. This phase involves predicting questions clients may have and committing to ongoing support. Also, the team will discuss any maintenance charges that may arise from supporting the website in the long term.
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When this is complete, the team will hand it over to the client and plan for regular site and software maintenance. The web development team is supposed to ensure that the client is satisfied with the website and that any contractual obligations have been satisfied.
All source files, documentation, and additional resources should be provided for the client, as well as details on languages, frameworks, and the site map in soft copy. This helps prevent any issues that may arise in the future when the client wants to work on the website.
How Can I Learn Web Development Processes in 2022?
There are so many ways to learn web development processes. However, the most prominent ways include self-studying, attending an online coding bootcamp, and enrolling in a college course. All three methods can be effective, depending on your needs, but coding bootcamps are especially helpful. They are intensive and built for web development so you can learn all you need to know about web development processes.
The programs are often flexible and many bootcamps offer the option to learn remotely or in person. The best part of these programs is that they are more affordable than traditional learning institutions and can be tailored to one specific subject. Within a few weeks, you can master the fundamentals of web development.
Web Development Processes FAQ
There are five major web development phases and they include planning, designing, development, launch, and post-launch. Different roles are set out in each phase and developers follow them to ensure that the website meets the requirements of the client and the purpose of development.
The web development life cycle involves the different phases of web development. It includes market research, understanding the needs of the client, design, planning, targeting audience needs, testing, development, and maintenance of the website.
The most important stage in the web development cycle is the planning phase. This is because it determines how the entire process will go. Developers plan by discussing with the client to understand their business preferences and offer recommendations for how to execute the complete web development process efficiently. This stage is also known as the discovery phase.
Yes, you can learn web development processes in a coding bootcamp. In fact, it is one of the best options when it comes to learning web development processes. Bootcamps focus on the fundamentals of full stack development. Learning these things can help you to understand what your client needs and how to deliver it.
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