The Ultimate Website Development Guide [2023 Update]

It is an all-inclusive term for building a website. This comprises markup, coding, scripting, network configuration, and CMS development.

Website development has more things under the hood than meets the eye. It includes client-side scripting as well as server side scripting, server and network security configuration, eCommerce development, and content management system (CMS) development. 

After reading today’s blog, you’ll be able to understand the process of building a website.

 

We are going to divide our web development guide into 4 sections:

1. Basics of web development

2. Types of web development

3. Process of web development

4. Resources for web development

 

What is the importance of web development?

The use of the Internet is booming every second and we can safely say, it is going to be here for much longer than anticipated. In the present state of things, the Internet has become the portal for everything. From research to networking to social networking to education to entertainment, it has got us wrapped around its fibers.

With the ever increasing use of the Internet, the web development industry has taken the market by storm. The employment index of web developers is expected to grow by 13% by the year 2030, which is way faster than most other careers related to tech.

 

What are the basics of web development?

1. What is a website?

2. Define IP address

3. What is the meaning of HTTP?

4. What do you understand by the word coding?

5. What is front end and back end?

6. What is a CMS?

7. Define cybersecurity

 

1. What is a website?

Files stored on servers are called websites. Servers are the computers that store files i.e. websites. The servers, in turn, are connected to a wide mesh called the Internet.

Websites are loaded via Internet connections using browsers, which are computer programs. Examples of such browsers are Google Chrome or Opera or Internet explorer. The computers used to access these websites are called ‘clients’.

 

2. Define IP address

Internet Protocol (IP) address is a must to access a website. An IP address is a one of a kind array of numbers that makes a system stand out in a crowd of billions of websites and devices connected to and by the Internet. 

To find the IP of any device, simply type in the address box, ‘what’s my IP address’.

 

3. What is the meaning of HTTP?

The protocol (a set of rules) that connects your request to the remote server (that houses all the data) to you, is called HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP).

HTTP defines the way messages are to be sent over the Internet. It helps the user to jump through pages of a website and websites too.

When a user types a website address into a web browser or searches for something in the search engine, HTTP helps with a framework that helps the client computer interact with the server in a common language that helps them to communicate with each other through requests and responses over the Internet. HTTP works as a translator between the user, that is, you and the Internet. It reads the website requests made by the user, reads the code that the server has replied to in a code, and translates the same for the user, in the form of a website.

 

4. What do you understand by the word coding?

When a specialist writes codes for servers and applications using programming languages, it is known as coding. These are called languages as they too have vocabulary and grammatical rules, special commands, abbreviations, and punctuations that can be read by devices and programs communicating with each other.

All coding languages vary based on platform, operating system, and style. Every software uses at least one coding language. There are two categories of coding languages: front-end and back-end.

 

5. Coding Languages

Front-End 

Front-end (or client-side) of a website or software is the side that a user sees and interacts with. When website information gets transferred from a server to a browser, the front-end coding languages take over and help the website to function without the compulsory help from the Internet.

This coding language allows users to interface with websites, play videos, enlarge or shrink picture files, and more. Front-end coders work on client-side development, mostly.

 

Back-End

Back-end (or server-side) is what a user cannot see while using the Internet. This includes the digital infrastructure, which is mostly a bunch of letters, numbers and symbols to non-developers.

In comparison to front-end coding, back-end coding languages are more in number because browsers have a specific set of language that they need to understand, but servers, on the other hand, can be taught to understand pretty much anything. 

 

6. What is a CMS?

A content management system (CMS) is an application or an array of programs that creates and manages web content. 

Even though a CMS is not required to build a website, it can be useful. It can help the developer with building blocks to create structure with code. CMSs are mostly used for e-Commerce and blog sites, but they can be helpful for all types of websites.

 

7. Define  cybersecurity

Vulnerabilities are the easiest way to bring down an entire system and along with it, give out private information, steal data, and crash servers. Cybersecurity acts as a sentry that secures data, networks and computers from external threats. 

There are multiple ways hackers can bring the firewall down and threaten the integrity of a functional system. Scarily, the way these threats are evolving cybersecurity needs to be equally prompt and robust in order to secure the files, networks, servers and the computers. The first step to this is analyzing the security threats and the vulnerable points. To counter this, a basic understanding of cybersecurity and the best practices becomes unavoidably crucial for effective web development. Cybersecurity audits are equally crucial. 

Here is a list of various web development guides that you can find in this resource.

 

Types of Web Development Guide

1. Front-end web development guide
2. Back-end web development guide
3. Full stack web development guide
4. Complete website development guide
5. Desktop development guide
6. Mobile web development guide
7. Game development guide
8. Embedded development guide
9. Security development guide

Assembling a team, or planning to fly solo, whichever is your plan, understanding the types of web development is important. Understanding it, followed by gaining insight into each type can help you understand which sector/sectors of web development resonates best with you and interests you to take it a notch higher. 

 

1. Front-end Web Development

Front-end developers work with the user-facing side of website development. It includes programs, software, design, graphics, everything that the users see. 

To build an attractive, interactive, and intuitive interface for its users, to make their journeys smooth, is the main focus of the front-end developers. 

 

2. Back-end Web Development

Back-end web developers, as the name says, work in the background and on the background aspects. They work on servers of the websites, the programs, the software and other behind the scene aspects to ensure that everything is in order for the users to experience maximum productivity.

The back-end developers work with servers, operating systems, application programming interfaces (APIs), and databases to keep the code for security, content and site architecture (the way the website is designed to bring out the maximum helpful usage for its users). The back-end and front-end users work hand-in-hand to bring their products to the customers and make sure they are being able use the website at its full potential.

 

3. Full Stack Web Development

Different technologies handle different functionality of a website, like one for video player, one for the background music, one for images and how they circulate, server, interface, and many more. This is referred to as the stack. Full stack developers are also versatile in terms of development. They work in both front-end and back-end development with equal precision.

Because of their versatility in experience and expertise, full stack developer is a sought after role in the field of information technology. Their knowledge makes them adept at finding glitches before they occur, optimizing performance of server, website, program, and application.

 

4. Complete Website Development

Website development is about front-end, back-end, or full-stack development. But these are limited to website development only and not mobile, desktop software or video games.

 

5. Desktop Development

Developers who work on software applications that just run locally on a desktop or device are desktop developers. Sometimes these developers work on programs or software which can run both online and offline.

 

6. Mobile Web Development

In the present day, applications for mobiles and tablets are at vogue because of their security capabilities and ease of use. Mobile developers build these applications for mobile devices and tablets. These applications or apps operate differently from the desktop programs, software, and/or websites. The development of these applications needs a skill set and knowledge of a dedicated programming language. 

 

7. Game Development

Game development, like other branches of web development, has a unique coding language. Developers who practice coding for game development for PC and/or mobile games have common grounds with mobile development. 

 

8. Embedded Development

Embedded development deals with electronic interfaces, consumer devices, IoT devices, real-time systems, and more, i.e. everything other than a conventional computer. 

All interconnected systems and devices like smart appliances, bluetooth technologies, and virtual assistants, embedded development has quickly taken a prominent position.

 

9. Security Development

Security developers are the ethical hackers, who try to intentionally break into the latest firewall and security methods and procedures guarding a software program or website. Their intention is to find the chink in thearmour of the security methods, identify the weak points and vulnerabilities, without intending to harm the system, rather plug those holes with stronger security blocks. Not only do they try to take preemptive measures, but also build systems and programs that identify and mitigate security vulnerabilities.

 

Website Development Process

Website development is easy but might not be a cakewalk because it requires a lot of small but critical decisions like the kind of website you would like to build, the programming languages, and last but not the least, resources.

Here’s a brief description of the process of web development to give you an idea how the road looks ahead, if you choose this path. 

 

1. Plan

Before moving forward with anything related to website development, the first step is to develop a plan involving your teams at your workplace to build a website.

 

Things to ponder about before creating the first foundation:

1. Goal of the website
2. Target audience and what you want them to do once they reach your website
3. Type of website: informational, membership, ecom, etc.
4. Type of content and frequency with which you are going to post them
5. Purpose of the content
6. Website navigation
7. Budget

Once you get a clear picture about all of these questions, it would be easier for you to journey forward, or else, the movement becomes restricted because of going back and forth with these actions based on changing decisions from various departments and teams.

 

2. Wireframing

Wireframe is nothing but creating what we call a skeleton structure before adding detail on it. Initially the skeleton structure is tested to see whether it has enough potential to stand on its own. There’s nothing official about this step, it is about visualizing how you want your website to look like, that can help you and your fellow developers with an idea or vision to start picturising the end goal.

Wireframes are essentially just visual tools that help to visualize the position of text and images on hypothetical webpages. The image boxes and dummy texts help developers picturise the front-end.

 

3. Writing Website Code

As has the discussion been so far, website development eventually comes down to writing the codes.  Coding languages can be different for the front-end and back-end of a website, design, interactivity, etc. All of these when integrated properly and run smoothly gives you a working website.

 

Here are some common languages:

1. HTML (HyperText Markup Language): It has been the building block of all websites since the 1990s.
2. CSS (Cascading Style Sheets): This language helps in adding design elements like typography, colors and layouts to websites making them look more attractive and appealing.
3. Javascript: Javascript is used to add special elements like animations, automated tasks within pages, interactive features to make the users feel more attached to the website.

 

4. Building the Back-End

Coding may seem to be the most important and difficult part of web development, but it isn’t. There are other components which take more effort, like developing the back-end and the front-end structures and design.

Back-end handles the data that empowers the front-end to function properly. For example, the food that you take in (back-end codes), nourishes you, stores and provides you with vitamins and minerals whenever you need them, and in turn, keeps you healthy, fit and glowing, that is, keeps you front end in impeccable condition, running smooth. 

 

Here are two key elements:

i. Databases: As the name suggests, they take care of storing, organizing, and processing data that can be recalled whenever required.

ii. Servers: While databases store the data, servers work on sending, processing and receiving the data retrieval requests from the databases. These are located somewhere between the database and the client or browser or the one making the request to get the information from the database.

 

Back-end developers ensure that these components work together and keep the system up and running without glitches; they achieve the same by establishing three things, logic code, database management, and infrastructure.

 

5. Building the Front-End

Front-end, simply put, is the window display of your shop. The more attractive and functional you can make it in addition to relevance of information, the more traffic your website would see. There are thousands of websites, offering the same information, why would a user choose your website to access the same data? Because of the way you present it, the arrangement, ease of use, access, and understandability. The components that make front-end more attractive for usage are typographies, fonts, colors, design elements, animations, navigation, responsiveness, browser compatibility. This is the step where the wireframe image of the website will take shape.

This is also the most volatile and dynamic end of website development, as trends, choices, technology and consumer preferences change fast and become outdated, and hence needs regular course correction. 

 

6. Working with CMS 

There are various Content Management Systems (CMSs) that work really well, in reducing the work of website developers. It just simply reduces the mammoth task of creating a website from scratch. It is cost effective, reduces investment by less than half, is fast and can launch websites really fast

And yet some prefer to choose to build their own websites from scratch. Honestly, this is a personal preference. While CMSs give you easy delivery, manual development from scratch gives you the option of more customization thus increasing the functionalities manifold.

Both options have their pros and cons, the choice always lies in your hands to choose which style fits you the best.

 

7. Acquiring a Domain Name

A domain name for your website is like your own name, it is going to stay with you forever, through thick and thin, so choosing an attractive domain name is important. The one that goes with the trend and yet stands out to be an individual.

 

8. Website Launch

When all of the above steps have been thoroughly checked and have been found to be functional and the domain name has been linked to your IP, it’s time for you to launch your website. To ensure your website gains the traction it was meant to receive, optimize it for SEO, run final checks for glitches. If all seems okay, it is time for your website to go live. 
 

There are multiple resources available online to make sure that your interest for web development can be fueled. With the Internet backing us up, every step of the way, web development has become easy. One no longer needs to wait for special courses or classes. You can design your own courses, study at your own time and start working.