In present times Web development is at its peak. Be it Business, trade, Technology, Marketing or be it any organization, there is too much competition.
Everyone wants their marketing or business agenda to thrive and eliminate the competition. The question is how to beat the competition and grow the business?
The answer is a reliable website or web application.
According to a survey, 60% of businesses have an online presence in form of websites, but still, some of them couldn’t generate business through the website.
The website creation or web application requires proper project management and Web development process. To ensure high quality and smooth development of the website or web app, we follow 7 steps of the Web development life cycle.
As Webbybutter, we have our web development experts, who precisely follow the Web development life cycle and end up developing the best quality project that helps you achieve success in the business.
So, let us guide you to the overview of the Web development and Web Development process that we follow for our projects.
Content flow:
- Web development
- What does the web development cycle mean?
- The seven steps of Web development Life cycle
- Requirement Gathering
- Planning and strategy
- Wireframe and Design
- Coding and Development
- Content Creation
- Testing and QA
- Deployment and Maintenance
What is Web development?
Web development is a Process for building websites and web applications. It included simple static websites to a dynamic and highly complex web application.
We can summarize web development in:
- Developing Wireframes, Mockups OR UI/UX
- Coding the website logic
- Integrating Databases
- Hosting websites
- Maintenance of the websites with regular updates
Methods of Web Development:
Different Web development methodologies are followed for developing a suitable web app.
Agile, Waterfall, Iterative, Scrum, and Incremental are some of the methodologies.
All the methodologies have their own pros and cons, therefore we need to choose them correctly based on the project requirements.
Different layers of Web Development
Client-side (Front-End)
The Front-end layer deals with the presentation and designing of the web. Designs developed are converted into HTML pages with appropriate effects. To make it more interactive different technologies such as JavaScript, AngularJS, ReactJS, etc are used.
Without a proper visual representation, customers or website visitors are likely to have less interest in the website despite the quality of services provided.
And thus there are more chances that they will leave the websites without having seen all the services. Thus, the front-end plays an important role in web development.
Server Side (Back-End)
The Back-End layer deals with all the processes involved with the database. The interactive features designed at the front end are powered up by the back-end.
Developers use Server-side Applications to integrate with the business logic.
Full Stack Development
A merger of Front-End and Back-End will provide us with a Full Stack. The stack includes the complete Web development process.
This means that a full-stack developer needs to have a strong practice of both Front-end and Back-End.
What does the Web development process mean?
The web development cycle includes all the necessary steps for developing a website or web application. The cycle takes a developer or a developing team through 7 steps to transform an idea into coding features and then into a full-fledged working website.
The cycle helps to develop a project with utmost optimization and minimizing the scope of errors.
The 7 steps of web development life cycle
After having an overview of “Web development”, let’s have details about each step involved in the web development life cycle. It will help you understand the systematic steps that need to be followed for developing a streamlined website with no loopholes and bugs.
Step 1 Requirement Gathering – Gathering requirements and defining the scope of work
The first and foremost step is requirements gathering and analysis, which is the base of the whole project.
Experts believe that you need to invest as much time as required in this phase. Getting clear requirements in the initial phase will smoothen the further phases.
For requirement gathering, you need to have a proper communication channel with the client.
The client may not be clear regarding the requirements, so the developing team can gather proper requirements by asking the following questions:
- What is the purpose of the website?
- What is the target audience?
- What is the category the domain will fall in?
- What is the budget?
- What features does the client want?
This can be simplified as a Project definition.
The majority of developers don’t realize that this step acts as a base for any application development process. Ignoring this step can lead to miscommunication within a team and the respective client.
A feasible solution can only be achieved if the developers on the team have a clear idea regarding the project definition.
Step 2 Planning and strategy – Strategizing various aspects of the website
This step requires smart strategies for covering all the aspects of the website including design, technology, Research and Analysis, Information gathering, content, and marketing.
On the basis of the gathered information, a team can be formed with various required skills set. This distributes different roles in the team.
This step represents the hierarchy of the website that is to be developed.
Depending on the structure, wireframe (tentative designs and schematics) and the programming language is chosen based on the preferred technology stack.
Sitemap, timelines, and deliverables can be monitored using different Software project management tools.
Step 3: Wireframe and Design – Website layout and creative UI/UX
The designing step prioritizes UI/UX and designing a creative website layout for the Front-End.
The wireframe is designed based on the requirements. The layout is then transformed into features: Buttons, Tabs, Menu, and graphics for the basic layout. The client will have a visual look and feel of the website. Also, a wireframe will lower the chances of revisions and loopholes.
Wireframe: A tentative representation (prototype) of actual application.
It is important to have a creative and interactive webpage or application, keeping in mind the audience’s perspective while designing.
Step 4: Coding and Development – Developing the client-side and server-side of the website
A code brings your idea to life, so no doubt it is one of the integral steps in the Web development cycle.
The Client-Server architecture is achieved during this phase of development. The coding of any project requires lots of effort and time. No wonder this phase is considered the most time-consuming phase.
Front-End Web development:
This phase uses the earlier developed designs in the designing part of the project and restructures them as interactive features on the pages.
The process is further supported by well-known technologies providing sophistication Ex: JavaScript, AngularJs. Proper development also covers the flexibility of the website or application it should perform the tasks at the same pace on mobile devices and other small devices also.
Back-End Web development
The database acts as a backbone for your responsive website. The database is the reason why the functionality of the page is proper.
Back-end deals with the actual working of the features and visuals developed in the Front-end along with the Database.
This part involves:
-
- Creating database
- Application Logic
- Client-Server Integration
Also Read – Difference between angularjs and nodejs
Step 5: Content Creation – Providing the relevant information about the website
By chance, the website developed is not meeting up the expectations then content will make up for that minor setback.
Your website may lack some creative visuals but if there is no content there will be no virtual communication.
Content writing will cover the information in a structured way and guide the user through your website.
This requires a lot of effort and an individual with the role of content writer in the team will need to make sure the following standards are met:
- Formatting
- Creative headlines
- Creative writing
- Content Reliability
Visuals and design will get user attention, to retain customer engagement, content is the way going forward.
Step 6: Testing and QA – Testing all the developer features and functionalities
QA refers to Quality Assurance. There is a dedicated team of QA and they continuously keep going through various Test cases and scenarios of Testing.
Test case: A set of conditions, test scenarios or data set that needs to be tested verify the functionality of the features
After manual testing, the QA team moves on to the next step which involves rigorous testing of the website or application via standard testing procedures such as Unit Testing, Stress testing, Blackbox testing, Whitebox testing, and load testing.
Tools like Selenium are very useful for automation testing. You can also test existing websites through Selenium for understanding it’s working.
There is a rare possibility that your project passes the first testing phase without any errors. If that’s the case then it’s an achievement for the developers.
But in most cases, the project will generate errors or not run effectively so developers will need to trace such errors and get them sorted.
Quality doesn’t mean testing itself, the documentation for any particular website or web app project is equally important. Nowadays SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is also an important part of the website for making smooth deployment.
Step 7: Deployment and Maintenance – The Web App is hosted on the servers and is available to the viewers.
It is important to note that this step is connected with the testing phase. Deployment is only possible if the testing team approves the project.
There is a chance that the testing generates a few errors that need to be fixed by the developers. After fixing bugs, it is tested again.
After complete testing, you can go ahead with this final step towards closing up the project- Deployment.
The deployment is not the end though, you need to be proactive and gather user feedback for proper maintenance. The feedback will allow you to make the updates and change features.
Conclusion
Web development is a complex process and to ensure the best results in form of a full-functional bug-free website, these 7 steps should be systematically followed. It seems like the seven steps are not the end of The Web development cycle.
The maintenance factor makes sure that the developing team is always on its toes. That covers all the steps, don’t worry.
We hope that this article was helpful in giving you a useful perspective and insight into the web development life cycle.
Looking for a dedicated team of web experts who can understand your requirements and transform your idea into a success story? You can contact us for technical assistance in developing custom and dynamic web apps.
