What Is Website Development?
Web Development is everything that goes into creating, making, and maintaining a website. That includes technical aspects like coding and programming, as well as creative elements like user experience (UX) and design.
Websites are files that live on servers, which are computers connected to a giant network called the Internet. These servers have software that allows clients, or devices like your computer or smartphone, to connect and view those files. These websites are then accessed via browsers, which are programs that load those files into your device’s memory. Each browser has a unique address, known as an IP address, that lets it identify and communicate with the server hosting the website it is trying to access.
Each page of a website contains content and images that are linked together using HTML. Web designers are responsible for the layout, color scheme, and typography of these pages. They also have a strong understanding of user interface (UI) design, which is how users interact with the content and images on your site. This is the most important part of website design because a frustrating experience will keep your users from coming back.
After the front-end and back-end are built, the website can be made fully functional. This can be accomplished by implementing the CMS, or creating the site manually in code. The CMS approach is preferred by many companies because it provides the flexibility to change content easily and without having to worry about preserving a particular layout for desktop or mobile versions of a page. However, hand-coding a website can provide greater control over the end product and often takes longer to complete.
During this phase, the team will test and review the website to make sure it is functioning correctly. This is a critical step in the process because it is during this time that errors can be found and fixed before they go live. The QA process typically involves several rounds of testing with different groups of users. This testing helps to make sure that the website works for all users and is consistent with the original vision for the site.
Once the website is tested and ready to be launched, the team will put together a strategy for transitioning users from the old site to the new one. This can be as simple as changing the URL on the domain, or as complex as migrating to a completely new domain entirely. The goal of this migration is to ensure that the migration is smooth and seamless for the user so they can quickly find what they are looking for.
Whether the site is being developed from scratch or with the help of a CMS, it is imperative that the team follows best practices for both front-end and back-end development to ensure a high-quality product. There are a variety of coding languages that can be used for both the front-end and back-end of a website, each with its own specific functions. Understanding these coding languages is key to becoming a well-rounded web developer.