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| 5 Steps to Web Development Developers Must Go through |
The overall impression of a website depends on the quality of the design.
The first impression when users visit your website greatly affects their assessment of the website as a whole. Whether the user is impressed or not after visiting the site depends on the layout and visuals. This makes the web development stage one of the most important keys to building a successful online image.
Every major website project that I work on, must go through certain steps from initiation to completion. This is important to do, so that development can be directed and produce a website that has value. Although the exact stages of the web development process vary, the basic steps that must be followed are the same.
Here I'll tell you a little about the five important stages of the website development process that will help you understand how a website is designed and developed professionally.
Step 1: Project Planning
Project planning serves to determine the goals and objectives of a web development project. This stage is arguably the most important stage because it determines the final result. It is further divided into the following subsections.
Requirements Analysis – needs analysis serves to find out the exact requirements of a website. This includes specifying the target user, the purpose of the website, detailed features, and other similar information about the website.
Project Summary – a project summary summarizing the website requirements. This document is usually brief, and serves as a point of reference throughout the web development process.
Determining Required Resources – The project planning phase also defines the software and other resource requirements for the website project. In this step, any third-party media needs are identified. All resource requirements are then added to the project budget.
Key performance goals – The site planning stage also involves defining key performance goals. Project deadlines, budgeted costs, and page speed are some of the website design and development goals set at this stage.
Competitor Analysis – Finally, this stage also involves conducting competitor analysis. Which is the business rival of your website? How many visitors will visit the website? What will be their bounce rate? Other important things considered at this stage include visual branding, calls to action, navigation, and layout.
Step 2: Define Project Scope
The next stage of the development process includes determining the scope of the project. Determining the scope of the project properly will help in ensuring that the website project ends on time and within the stipulated budget. One of the best ways to describe the scope of this project is to use a graph. Graphics can provide a visualization of the project. The graph shows the activities involved in the project. It also shows the time frame for completing each stage. This helps in determining the scope of the project. Apart from that, it also creates accountability between the website design team.
Step 3: Website Design
The next important stage of the website development process is designing the website design itself. In this stage, the development team focuses on choosing the theme, colors, layout, features, and other aspects of the website. During this stage the site designers incorporate various elements such as a company logo, colors that reinforce the brand identity, a theme that reflects the company's product portfolio, and an elegant and attractive layout. The site designer will create one or more prototype designs for the website. Then the prototype is sent to the Partner to be reviewed and the desired design selected.
Step 4: Website Development
In this development stage, the development team divides each element of the website and uses it to create a functional website. This stage includes; front page development after the basic framework (shell) is complete. The website shell contains the navigation structure and layout of the site without web content. After the site owner provides the content, which is then distributed throughout the site in accordance with the previously formed Shell. On the technical side, the website development process includes elements such as designing interactive contact forms, implementing a payment gateway, and selecting a CMS (content management system) such as WordPress, Joomla, and Magento.
Step 5: Testing and Deployment Website
The last stage of this development is testing. In this stage, the site designer adds finishing touches to the site and tests the site prior to release. The designer will test the complete functionality of the site to make sure that all the features run smoothly without any errors. The site designer will test all the main scripts and forums, ensure that the site can display content properly on different devices and platforms (eg Android and iOS based smartphones), verify internal links, and other similar tasks.
The website designer will also validate the site code to ensure that all meet the latest website standards. This ensures that the website can run smoothly without any problems. This website is then shown to the Partner for final approval of the site. After final approval, now is the time for the developer to provide the site to Partners.
Finally, the website development team adds fine details to the website to optimize functionality and performance such as plugin installation, SEO optimization ( Search Engine Optimization ), and page speed optimization.
Finally, along with this article you should know that the web development process takes a lot of time and effort. Designing a website to be visually appealing is a tough task. However, we hope that the payoff will outweigh the effort, cost, and time it takes to create a beautiful piece of website art.
