The Web Application Development Process

If your company is pursuing web application development projects, whether in-house or through an outsourced development team, it's important to take the time to learn what the process is like.

As you probably know, web application development is important for businesses with diverse purposes and needs, regardless of the specific field or niche. But first, you need to understand what exactly a web app is, how it differs from other web-based projects, and why you need one.

What is Web Application Development?

Web applications are interactive computer programs that store and manipulate data. Users access them through an Internet browser, usually with a login or sign-up mechanism, and then use them to perform a wide range of tasks, such as customer management, accounting, purchasing, or searching for information.

A web app development project, when carried out successfully, can not only transform your digital presence but also transform your entire business.

Web Apps, Websites, and Progressive Web Apps

The web app development process is closely linked to web development, as you can imagine. But the terms involved, including websites, web apps and progressive web apps, which are the newest among the three, are actually quite different. Here, we detail the distinctions and characteristics.

Web Application

Features: Apps that can be accessed through mobile and desktop devices require authentication

Benefits: Responsive on any device, interactive elements, high browser capacity, no download required

Disadvantages: Sometimes less secure, no push notifications, lower performance

Website

Features: Consists of web pages with content,

Benefits: Fundamental for any company to have a digital presence, important for branding purposes

Disadvantages: Data cannot be manipulated or changed, user interface (UI) may be missing

PWA

Features: Websites that look like native apps, functional without internet connection, connect website and native mobile app experience

Benefits: Requires no downloads, can work offline, offers excellent user experiences, is as fast as native apps, adaptable, employs push notifications, updates in real time, generally secure, discoverable

Disadvantages: Cannot be accessed in app stores, has lower performance than native apps, and is difficult to use with legacy devices

Now, let's take a look at the steps involved in web application development.

By understanding the steps outlined below and why developers use them, you can gain a useful overview of web application development. You'll gain more control over projects and be better able to provide input and feedback to developers along the way, leading to the best possible end products – strong, attractive, attractive and engaging web applications.

#1 Define and plan

The first step in this web development process is to define the problem you want to solve with a web application and then gather relevant information about it. A well-defined problem will provide good direction for the project and support the best solution. This step includes clarifying the purpose and end goals of the web application.

Remember: you don't want to create a problem that will be solved with the web app. You need to identify one that already exists, even if users aren't aware of it yet. Your goal is to make their lives easier with your product.

Developers and their teams will identify and research the target audience you hope will end up using the app, which could include your employees or customers. If the audience is made up of employees, developers can count on their help in the planning phase. They can also perform a competitive analysis to find existing apps that appeal to the same audience, to ensure yours stands out.

During the planning phase of a web application development project, developers will try to answer the following questions:

• What does the application need to do to solve the defined problem?
• What features and functions will it have?
• What resources will be needed to build it?

In this step, web application developers will choose the appropriate tools, platforms and frameworks – web technologies – to build a web application.

The tools will be appropriate to the type and scope of the project, and their cost must be within the established budget. Developers will also work with you to determine realistic deadlines and milestones for web application development.

#2 Design and Build

The design step involves creating a wireframe or prototype to communicate the solution to target users. Developers will base the design on elements that provide a pleasant user experience for this audience.

Developers will present the wireframe to potential users, record their feedback, and make adjustments until they are satisfied. The following video explains more about wireframing and how it fits into the web application development process:

Once the design is ready, it's time to build the application. Several steps will happen during this phase:

1. Create a database: Developers will determine what data and data types are required for the application to function properly and create a database for storage.
2. Front-end development: Developers will create the front-end of the application, based on the elements that users approved during the wireframing process.
3. Backend development: Developers will create interaction between the user and the server.

Developers can code from scratch or use front-end and back-end frameworks to create web applications. If you learn what each approach is best for, you can better understand the choices they make.

Coding from scratch

As you can probably imagine, this means you are building web apps entirely from scratch, without using pre-built components or snippets in the web app development process. There are some advantages to using this approach when creating a web application, as well as some disadvantages:

• Offers the greatest flexibility
• Requires longer completion time
• Requires a high level of specialization

Front-end frameworks (Javascript)

Frameworks can be fundamental in the development of a web application, speeding up the process, making it easier and improving development. There are separate structures for the front-end, the part that users can see and manipulate, and the back-end, which represents the inner workings of the web application.

To react

React is a popular, free, and open-source front-end JavaScript library released and maintained by Meta, formerly Facebook.

You'll notice that we said library, and that's because React is not, in fact, a framework, but a powerful library that is often called a framework. Its main purpose is to build interactive UI components.

• Powerful library to build UI
• Suitable for large-scale projects

View

Vue is another JavaScript tool, but it's actually a framework, open source, and model-view-viewmodel. Just like React, it is used to build single-page UIs and applications and allows you to extend HTML with attributes called directives.

• Smaller and easier to learn than React
• Good for most project sizes
• Easy to implement in a project

Slender

Svelte is a compiler for JavaScript, rather than a framework. It is used to create “cybernetically enhanced web applications,” allowing developers to write less code.

• A compiler instead of a framework
• Easier to learn
• Good for small to medium sized web applications
• Unproven with large applications

Backend frameworks

Backend frameworks, just like frontend frameworks, facilitate faster and more efficient development of web applications. Remember that backend refers to the server side, so these frameworks apply to languages ​​that backend developers use to create web application infrastructure.

Rails (Rubi)

Ruby on Rails, also called RoR or Rails, is one of the most popular web frameworks in the world. You're unlikely to hear about Ruby without discussing the framework as well. It became enormously popular and even influenced many other frameworks and libraries in programming languages.

Just a few of the Ruby on Rails applications are updating databases, keeping web pages alive, and rendering HTML templates. But it has plenty of use cases.

• Good for metaprogramming and database-oriented web programming
• Suitable for small projects

Django (Python)

Django is called “the web framework for perfectionists with tight deadlines.” A high-level Python web framework, Django allows for rapid development. It also makes it possible to use less code and create a clean, simple design. It is free and open source.

• Good for scientific programming and data manipulation

Laravel (PHP)

Laravel is “the PHP Framework for web craftsmen”, offering expressive syntax. A free and open-source framework, it is easy to use and offers an abundance of tools to support development.

• Offers authentication
• Strong security

#3: Test and Implement

Quality assurance (QA) testing for the web application, whether automated or manual, is an ongoing process throughout the software development lifecycle. The QA team will test functionality, usability, compatibility, security, and performance with rigorous testing designed to eliminate bugs and ensure the application works flawlessly and flawlessly. Testing can also identify possible improvements and updates to be made in the future.

Once testing determines that the app works well, you can finally implement it in your business or launch it to your customers. If you are using the app internally, you can offer it to your employees and provide training on how to use it productively. For customer apps, you'll need to create a communications strategy and decide the appropriate time to bring the app to market.

#4 Host and Maintain

To create a server location for the application, you must purchase a domain and choose a hosting provider. You can choose between shared hosting (you share the server with others), dedicated hosting (you have full use of the server) and cloud hosting (consisting of a system of multiple connected servers).

Post-implementation application maintenance includes the following components:

• Continuous quality control testing
• Correcting errors as they are identified
• Adding new features based on user feedback
• Providing periodic updates and technical support

What does each of these steps involve? Let's take a closer look.

Continuous quality control testing

From performance testing to functional testing, the quality control process is never one and done. It must be an ongoing process because software development and web development are constantly changing and evolving. Therefore, web developers must continue to work with QA experts to keep the application updated and functioning optimally.

Bug fixes

Part of the QA testing and analysis process involves QA specialists watching for any bugs or errors and alerting the development team to the issues so they can resolve them.

It's important to keep in mind, however, that fixing errors is not all the QA team does. Your responsibilities include rigorous testing for various aspects of the web application such as performance, user experience, load and capacity, and more.

Add new features

Features bring the web application to life. They go from a basic product to an attractive and dynamic product that users want to interact with.

Before adding features, the team must map out the core functions of the web application and determine what will enhance and enhance the user experience of the product. It's important to be aware of feature overload, which occurs when the development team adds so many features that they only distract the user and detract from the overall appeal of the product. Instead, they should focus on the most important features and keep the app clean and usable.

The company's budget will also play a role in determining what features they can include in the web application. They may need to incorporate only the most important features at the beginning and add others in a later version.

Periodic Updates

A web application is never fully complete. Thanks to the ever-changing nature of all technology, the development team will need to continue releasing new updates, addressing glitches and issues, security vulnerabilities, and more. They may also decide to give their web applications a design or other type of update to make them more modern and attractive to attract more users and meet the needs of their current user base.

Learn the web app development process before developers get started

If your company is pursuing web application development projects, whether in-house or through outsourcing, take some time to learn what the process is like. If you understand the different steps and why developers use them, you'll know how and when to provide feedback to help ensure the final product is suitable.

Web Application Development Process FAQ

How do you plan web application development?

Planning the development of a web application involves many different steps. First, the development team must identify the purpose of the product. Next, they should conduct market research and a competitor analysis to see what products already exist. The next multifaceted step is to plan the design and development of the product itself, including key team members and their responsibilities.

How are web applications developed?

The web application development process involves a series of important steps and functions, including planning, market research, forming a team, the development itself, user experience (UX) design, testing, deployment and maintenance.

What is a web application development lifecycle?

The web application development lifecycle includes several key stages before you can release your final product to the market. They include:

• Ideation
• Planning
• Market research
• Codification
• User Experience Design
• Quality Control Test
• Product launch/deployment
• Maintenance and updates

How do you document the web application development process?

Documenting the web application development process involves keeping careful records about the actions that developers and all team members take, updating notes, and clearly outlining the steps, functionalities, components, and other aspects of workflows.