We often visit a website to seek information, buy merchandise, watch videos, pay utility bills, and perform sundry other activities. Ever wondered how these websites are created? This blog will tell you the basics of website development, the process of creating a website, and offer insights to expand your knowledge.
What Is Website Development?
Website development is an umbrella term for all the work that goes into building and maintaining a website. From designing and publishing to programming and management, it includes everything that makes an application aka “website” to run on the internet.
Table of Contents
- Website Development Basics
- Types of Website Development
- The Website Development Process
- Website Development Resources
Website Development Basics
It is a common assumption that website development is about coding alone. However, it encompasses activities such as scripting or coding, network security, server configuration, eCommerce development, management system development, and others. The term website can cover a wide range – from a single webpage to a complex web application (social media site, ERP, or CRM). The basics to develop and navigate a website include the following:
- IP Address
- Browser
- Server
- Protocol
- HTTP
- Coding
- Front-end
- Back-end
- CMS
- Cybersecurity
IP Address
IP or Internet Protocol Address is an identifier comprising a special string of numbers assigned to every device connected to a network. It connects one computer to the other and thereby to the internet. An IP address identifies each device on the internet and ensures the sharing of information between them.
Browser
It is a computer program that enables a user to view, interact, and navigate through various web pages on the World Wide Web. The common browsers are Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Opera, Mozilla Firefox, and others.
Server
It is a piece of computer hardware and software that provides all resources, data, programs, and services for use by other devices or computers. It accepts and responds to requests that are made by clients over a network. The clients could be various devices to access the internet, such as phones, laptops, desktops, and tablets. It is called a server as it “serves” other devices called clients by offering functionality.
Protocol
It is a set of rules to connect, communicate, route, address, and transfer packets of data among electronic devices to ensure they reach the correct destination across networks. Some of the popular protocols include hypertext transfer protocol, file transfer protocol, and transmission control protocol.
HTTP
The full form of HTTP is Hyper Text Transfer Protocol. It is mainly used to secure data transfer and communication between a website and a web browser by creating an encrypted link. It protects data against hackers, so much so that even if they trap the data, they will not be able to read or modify it.
Coding
Also referred to as computer programming, coding is how we communicate with computers. Coding is writing a code (or a set of instructions) that tells the computer what actions to take.
Front-end
The front-end is also referred to as the client side of the website that you interact with or see when browsing a website. Although it may seem to be a technical term, we encounter the front-end of the website every day. It’s a combination of two main elements: graphic design and user interface.
Back-end
Back-end development refers to developing the architecture of a website and focuses on stuff that is not visible to the users on the website. Here, developers focus on APIs, databases, architecture, servers, and back-end logic.
CMS
CMS or Content Management System is a software that allows users even without any technical expertise to create, change, and manage content on a website. Although it’s mostly used to build eCommerce and blogging websites, it can be used to build other types of websites as well (information, membership, enterprise-level, etc.)
Cybersecurity
Cybersecurity refers to the practices and technologies aimed at defending servers, data, computers, and other electronic systems from malicious programs unleashed by threat actors or hackers. It is designed to combat threats from both inside and outside of a system.
Types of Website Development?
The various types of website development are mentioned below:
- Front-end Development
- Back-end Development
- Full Stack Development
To help you get a better understanding of web development, we have discussed how different types of web development play an important role in offering web solutions.
1. Front-end Development
When developers work on the user-facing aspects of a website, it is called front-end development. It mainly entails the visual aspects of the website, including graphics, logo, navigation, search bar, layout, and other aesthetics.
2. Back-end Development
Also known as server-side development, back-end development deals with scripting, databases, and website architecture. When it comes to back-end development, it is primarily focused on how a website functions. That’s why developers write code to ensure the smooth functioning of the website or web application.
3. Full Stack Development
It refers to both front-end (client side) and back-end development (server side). Here “Stack” indicates different technologies that are responsible for the various functions of a website or web application. People who are full-stack developers have the skills to design and develop a complete website and web application using a range of technologies.
What Is a Website Development Process?
Developing a good website is easier said than done. It involves different stages and processes to achieve the desired results. Furthermore, the choice of the development path would depend on the type of website to be built, the programming language to be used, as well as, other resources to leverage. Given below is a brief overview of the web development process along with a short introduction to various languages and CMS alternatives.
Step 1: Make a plan
The success of website development is based on sound planning. Hence, it’s significant to brainstorm with your teams cutting across functions or departments to get the ideas and objectives to develop a website.
Given below are a few important factors that you would like to check out first when making the draft for your website.
- The goal of the website
- Identifying the target audience of the website and the different ways they are likely to interact with the website
- The type of website (online store, membership, or informational)
- The type and volume of content you want to publish
- The structure of the site to offer the best user experience
- Budget
Once you base your complete website development plan on these factors, you’ll be making informed decisions at every stage of the development process.
Step 2: Make a Wireframe
Every successful website begins with a blueprint. Developers call it a wireframe. By creating a wireframe, you’ll be able to derive the following benefits:
- Save time and effort in the design process
- Visualize the layout of the content
- Improve the information architecture
- Refine navigation
- Check and correct usability problems
- Conduct fast prototyping of any page element
Here are the steps to create a wireframe.
- Collect all relevant data
- Recognize your user flow
- Determine the features
- Create the main layout (by sketching or using Adobe XD)
Step 3: Create a Site Map
A site map is referred to as a file where you offer data regarding the pages, videos, as well as other information and files on the website, and the link between them. It helps the search engine to crawl your website smoothly. Simultaneously, it tells Google about the important pages and files on your site, besides offering important data regarding such files. A site map will show the following:
- Individual pages the website should have
- Categories of those pages
- Order of the pages
- Linking one page with another
Step 4: Writing the Code
Writing the code is the most significant step in the web development process. When it comes to coding, most pages are written in HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language), which is considered the backbone of a web application.
Simultaneously, CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) is a type of coding that focuses on the appearance of web pages. On the other hand, JavaScript is used for implementing complex features on websites.
Here are the most commonly used coding languages.
HTML
Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML) is one of the most popular coding languages that is used to develop websites and web applications. It’s a language that tells your web browser about different parts of the web pages. In that way, the browser is able to understand how to structure the website when displaying it on your screen.
CSS
Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) are used to make stunning web pages by enhancing elements written in markup languages, such as HTML. Simply put, HTML is the foundation of a website and CSS is about the aesthetics of the website. In other words, CSS and HTML are closely tied to each other.
JavaScript
A programming or scripting language, JavaScript is used to add complex features to webpages. Whenever you see a webpage showing content updates, and animated 2D/3D graphics, you can be sure that JavaScript is involved. Overall, it offers your website a rich user interface that paves the way for increased user interactivity.
Step 4: Building the Back-end
Back-end development is one of the most significant parts of website development. Without it, one cannot run the website. The back-end is similar to an admin panel where you can edit and make sure that everything functions smoothly without any hindrance.
Database
It assists the admin in organizing, storing, updating, and deleting data on the server. To put it simply, it’s a repository that stocks all data inputs on the front-end, including email addresses, passwords, and usernames. There are different types of databases and each one of them is used as per cases. For instance, document-oriented databases help with semi/ unstructured data of software whereas relational databases are ideal for applications with well-structured data.
Servers
It consists of the software and hardware of a computer. Servers are responsible for sending and receiving client requests. They act as an intermediary between the database and the browser/client.
Applications
You must have heard that an application’s server side is known as the back-end and involves a host of activities. These include managing payments, user logins, order management, and so on. For the sake of interactions, the developers require appropriate APIs to link websites, databases, and servers together.
Step 5: Building the Front-end
The front-end is what your customers, visitors, and users see. It’s also the part that deals with how people will use your website. Front-end development isn’t a one-person’s job, for a group of professionals works on the website to make it look good and user-friendly.
Generally, such a group comprises front-end developers who are responsible for writing codes for the website, while the UI or UX developers focus on the visual aspects of the website.
Step 6: Choose a Domain Name
This is the part where your website gets an IP address. You need to choose a domain name for the website.
Make sure to choose a website name that your visitors can remember or use when finding your website.
In that case, you can take help from sites like Hover and GoDaddy for buying domain names.
Step 7: Launching the Website
After setting up your domain and linking it to the host, you are ready to launch your website on the web.
But wait! There are still things to check prior to officially launching your website. For instance, testing the site completely for any glitches or errors, assigning responsibilities to teams, and so on. Should there be glitches, they need to be identified and fixed, even if that means revising the code in places. This will ensure the functionalities perform as expected and the website delivers better user experiences.
Final Thoughts
If you’ve made it this far, you already know that website development isn’t something you can accomplish overnight. There are so many aspects to it that one can easily get confused. Nonetheless, it also makes web development intriguing and interesting. So, do research, learn, and execute to make your website the best it can be. Also, search and hire a web development company to do the job for you if you do not have in-house resources to develop a website.
