What is meant by web development?

The process of developing web application and websites which works using the internet is known as web development. Web developers need to use scripting languages at both the server and client end. A content management system is necessary to create a static website (one page) to a full-blown web application. Website development includes the coding of the application logic, designing the user interface, incorporation of database and managing the user queries, hosting the website on the server, and maintaining and updating the website.

Layers of web development

Server-side

Server-side or backend development can incorporate all the processes which are behind the website. The major components of server-side are servers, logical components, and databases. A website will become an empty page without any kind of task when there is no strong development team for the backend.

Client-side

Client-side or frontend deals with the website designing and visual presentation of the site. Client-side developers will work on developing a seamless user experience using a responsive webpage (using HTML, JavaScript, and HTML).

Full-stack

The full-stack is the combination of client-side(frontend) and server-side(backend), which encapsulates the web development process. This layer deals with the whole stack of tasks and technologies used in the website development life cycle. The full-stack engineering is adaptive at database manipulation, server hosting, UI-UX designs, and coding.

Web development tools

Web development tools will help the developers to debug and test the websites. Nowadays the web development tool comes with the browser as add-ons. Most of the browsers have a built-in tool for this purpose. The popular tools used for web development are Codepen, JQuery, Angular.js, Visual studio code, TypeScript, etc.

Web development life cycle

Web development life cycle contains all the stages of building the websites, starting from formulating the idea, coding, designing, developing, deploying, and maintaining. Web development life cycle is a methodical or a standard step to follow to achieve a well-functioning website. It involves frameworks, modeling tools, languages, and methodologies.  The following are the seven stages or phases of the web development life cycle.

Research and analysis

Most of the developers skip this important phase in web development. Gathering information related to the client and project is important as the information ensures that your website design and development are on the correct path. To provide the right solution, the developer needs to have a complete idea of what are the requirements and what they are working on. The common questions asked during the information gathering phase are,

Purpose

• What kind of website it will be – like commercial, informational, service, or product-based?
• How is your target audience?

Objective

• What will be the major goal of website development?
• Whether the website is informational or promotional?

Planning and strategy – sitemap and wireframe

The planning stage or phase involves strategizing the aspects of the website, which involves technology, marketing, content, and design. The features and structure of the website are decided based on the information gathered in the last phase.

In the planning phase, the developer will decide the content, structure, software development methodology, wireframe (rough and schematics design), technology stack (framework, software, and programming language) for website creation. The important parts of the planning phases are developing a sitemap, defining deliverables, resource allocation, and estimating timelines. Before moving to the next phase, the planning phase needs to decide the website branding.

Designing and wireframing

The web design phase involves designing the layout of the website and brings creative UI-UX designers to the forefront. The designing layout is a rough sketch and the layout's purpose is to enable a visual tour of the content, features of the client, and provide information structure. The wireframe designed in the last phase will be transformed into tabs, buttons, dashboards, typography, color themes, graphics, and menus to develop the website-based layout.

When the website design is mundane, the website cannot capture the target audience. Without diverging from the purpose and branding of the website, the design must attract the audience by including color, graphics, audio, etc.

Content creation

Content creation is the important phase of the website. The main aim is to create a communication channel using the user interface. When the website is unable to communicate with the reader, then no fancy design can help you to reach the top result of google search. Content writing involves providing relevant details in an attractive and easy-to-understand manner.

Adding calls-to-action, formatting, writing, updating, and editing text goes on throughout the web development life cycle. This phase allows you to define the purpose of the website using content.

Code and development

The development phase is the actual building of the website. This is the most time-consuming part of the web development process.

Front-end

The design made in the above stages is converted into interactive elements of the web page. The functions and components are integrated into a website skeleton using development tools and frameworks. CSS, HTML, and scripting languages (JavaScript) are used to create user-friendly sites. For java script, different front-end frameworks are available in the market. The latest market trend is to use mobile-friendly elements in the website design.

Back-end

The actual feature of the website or application is developed during this phase. Developers use different programming languages and technologies in this phase, back-end encompasses the process of creating a database, developing server-side applications, developing application logic, business logic, etc.

Quality Assurance and Testing

Once the website is developed completely, then a set of tests are conducted, which eliminates the bugs. The quality assurance (QA) team will perform some repeated testing methods like unit testing, load testing, and stress testing to check the functionality, compatibility, performance, and usability of the application. It is crucial to test that the features of the application work on all platforms and devices. Developers and testing engineers will work in a loop till the website is completely ready to deploy.

Deployment and Maintenance

Once the QA team approves the web app or website, then it is ready for deployment. The file transfer protocol is used to host the app or website on the server and it is available to the audience or users. The feedback from the user will help to improve the scope. According to the feedback the development life cycle is performed to make necessary changes. The post-deployment and maintenance cannot be neglected.

Features of web development

Good web design

The design of the website needs to be professional and simple. The web design needs to have a mix of text and images to attract the target audience.

Content of the website

The website needs to provide unique and quality information to the target audience or readers. The website needs to blend the content with images, infographics, and videos. The content of the website should be optimized so that the site can appear in the top result of google search.

User-friendly navigation

The web design needs to be user-friendly and the website needs to have a simple navigation scheme, which allows the user to navigate the website quickly. The website needs to link all the major content

Website compatibility

The website needs to be compatible to run in various browsers, devices, and platforms. The site should be well-built and must display across various resolutions and screen sizes.

Context and Applications

This topic is important for postgraduate and undergraduate courses, particularly for,

• Bachelors in computer science engineering
• Associate of science in computer science.

Practice Problems

Question 1: ____ is conducted to eliminate the bugs in the website.

1. Testing
2. Planning
3. Designing
4. None of the above

Answer: Option a is correct.

Explanation: Testing is conducted to eliminate the bugs. QA team will perform some repeated testing methods to check the functionality, compatibility, performance, and usability of the application.

Question 2: Who will decide the content structure of the website?

1. Stakeholders
2. User
3. Developer
4. Tester

Answer: Option c is correct.

Explanation: The developer will decide the content structure, software development methodology, wireframe, technology stack in the creation of the website.  

Question 3: How many stages are there in the web development life cycle?

1. 4
2. 7
3. 9
4. 6

Answer: Option b is correct.

Explanation: The web development life cycle is classified into seven stages. The stages are research, planning, designing, content creation, development, testing, and maintenance.

Question 4: Which is the most important phase in the web development life cycle?

1. Designing
2. Planning
3. Research
4. Testing

Answer: Option c is correct.

Explanation: Most important phase in web development is research. Gathering information related to the client and project is important as the information ensures that your website design and development are on the correct path.

Question 5: Which of the tool(s) is/are used in web development?

1. SASS
2. Angular JS
3. Sublime Text
4. All the above

Answer: Option d is correct.

Explanation: Web development tools will help the developers to debug and test the websites. The popular web development tools include Codepen, JQuery, Angular.js, Visual studio code, Sublime Text, TypeScript, etc.