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Recent times have pushed businesses to bring up their digital marketing game. Focusing on website development being one of the things that needed to be worked on. Well, how could it not? Social media is indeed a major awareness booster. But if you really want to increase conversion rate, don’t stop with the bare minimum.
Once customers have inspected a businesses social media account, it’s likely that they’d like to see the products or services in a more organized fashion. That being said, a website is a good way to do it. It allows businesses to showcase products and services in an orderly way, and lets customers get a feel of the company’s brand.
Ready to learn about website development for beginners? Read on to know more!
Website development is about the work that goes into building and maintaining a website. This could be anything from creating a single plain-text webpage to developing a complex website or social network. It’s basically all the work done behind the scenes in order to make the website look neat and work properly.
Typically, when building a website, the company will be guided by what the customers needs and wants. This is done to ensure the website can deliver excellent user experience that doesn’t confuse customers
The Internet has become a gateway for research, connection, education, and entertainment in the world. It is here to stay. As of 2021, there were 4.66 billion global Internet users, representing more than half the world’s population.
The rapid development of web development is in line with the growing number of Internet users. Web developers are expected to see employment growth of 13% by 2030, much quicker than other technology professions.
Source: Unsplash
After we introduced you why the website development is important, now is time to know the fundamental of website development.
The Web is made up of three interrelated components.
Every website has a frontend (client side) and a backend (server side). The frontend includes everything the user sees and experiences when they visit a website. The backend is the part where information is stored, sent, and received behind the scenes.
The content you’re viewing right now, including everything you see on the website, is composed of HTML, CSS, and Javascript files. A web developer must master those fundamental languages in order to build web pages.
Source: Unsplash
A person who works on website development is known as a website developer. To be a good website developer, one must be familiar with the different kinds of website development. So that they are not limited to only being able to do one type of web development.
Front-end development focuses on building User Interface (UI) that helps web visitors fulfill the reason they are on the website in the first place. In other words, a front-end developer has to make sure web visitors can easily interact with the page.
To put it simply, if front-end development is what customers see while using the website, back-end development is what they don’t see. A back-end developer’s job is to manage a website, program, and software so that all the website features work properly. Back-end development focuses on things like server, system operation, API, and database.
Full-stack development is basically a combination of front-end and back-end development. Full-stack developers are expected to be able to build a website, apps, or software programs from start to finish. The word “stack” refers to the various technologies they will handle on the same website, such as servers, UI, etc.
This type of web development exists as an answer to the needs of customers who prefer to open applications and websites via their smartphones. A mobile developer builds mobile friendly apps for smartphones and tablets. Applications on mobile phones have different operational processes from websites and other software programs, thus requiring a completely different set of knowledge and skills.
The web development work process isn’t an easy thing to do. Each kind of web development has its own work process, as well as different resource needs.
However, generally, here are some of the common processes that a website developer goes through:
Before writing or typing, you must first connect with your teams and personnel to create a website plan.
Before starting on your first site draft, consider these questions:
You must interface with your web development, marketing, and financial teams to determine your priorities and make informed choices in answering the questions.
Creating a roadmap at the start of the process is much simpler than going backwards when you hit a roadblock.
A website’s blueprint is known as a wireframe. It provides a vision for the site that both you and your developer(s) can use to gain direction and start working. You may draw it on a whiteboard or create it using a tool like Figma.
You can get a sense of how your content will appear on the front end by using blank boxes and “dummy text.” Wireframes are strictly visual tools that will help you determine where text and images appear on individual webpages. Your developer should be familiar with your vision after you create wireframes together.
Sitemaps (not to be confused with sitemap.XML, a XML file that helps search engines crawl and discover your site) are the next step. A sitemap describes your objectives and outcomes in the same way that a business plan does for an investor in order to help developers fulfil your dreams. You may create your sitemap yourself, or with the assistance of your developer(s).
It is worth consulting with other departments within your company when developing your linking structure and page categorization. If you have an SEO or content marketing team, they will play a critical role in providing input.
Once you’ve decided on a design and functionality, the coding phase is next. Developers use different coding languages on the front-end and back-end of websites as well as for different website features (such as design, interactivity, etc.). These (HTML, CSS, JavaScript) languages combine to create and operate your website.
Nearly every website uses HTML, CSS, and JavaScript in some way. Those three languages are fundamental to website development knowledge. There are other server-side languages like Java, C++, Python, and SQL, but comprehending these three is critical.
Although coding is one of the more complicated aspects of web development, it is just one part of the process. You also must build your back-end and front-end website structures and designs. Let’s start with the back-end.
The back-end handles the data required to operate the front-end. For example, Instagram’s back-end stores the photos so that the front-end can display them.
A back-end is slightly tangential to web development if you don’t need one to save information. A back-end is used to save and persist user-entered data. Imagine logging into a website. How would they remember your login information if they didn’t have a back-end? What about your account settings? To obtain this information, you need a back-end.
Having dabbled in web design or toyed with a website in WordPress, Squarespace, or Google Sites, you’ve already experienced front-end web development. Visitors, customers, and users see the front-end stuff, it’s critical. It’s what they see and how they utilize your website.
A front-end development comprises JavaScript, HTML, and CSS. It controls components like typography and fonts, navigation, positioning, browser compatibility and responsiveness, as well as other JavaScript-based features. This part will emphasize your initial website vision and what you conceptualized in your wireframe.
Now your website has an IP address. In addition, it requires a domain name, a memorable website name that your visitors can use to find your site.
Domain names can be purchased from sites like GoDaddy and Niagahoster, which help you register with ICANN (the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers). When you register a domain name, it is usually valid for one year before you must renew it.
Once you’ve linked your host to a domain name, you’re close to releasing your work to the world.
However, there are still a few things you must finish before your site goes live. These include arranging your team’s duties, checking your website thoroughly for errors, optimizing it for search engine optimization (SEO), and ensuring everything is in order before flipping the switch and releasing it to the public.
Website development takes a lot of time to learn. If you need a website developed urgently and don’t have the time to learn, don’t worry. Contact us at Pixie Digital and let us do the magic for you.
Pixie Digital is a full-service digital marketing agency and consultant based in the tropical paradise of Bali.
