Do you know why most businesses fail to generate ROI through their website?
Reasons are:
- Lack of a proper strategy, and unknown target audience before the process of web development.
- Wrong choice of an IT solutions provider that does not meet their requirements.
- Unfriendly website with unnecessary features and complex functionality.
To address this, follow the correct strategy for developing a business website.
Strategy and planning processes involve a systematic approach of setting goals, gathering information, and developing strategies to achieve those goals. It is important to consider all stakeholders when creating a plan and making decisions. This includes resource availability, development environment, and value for the stakeholders.
For a website to function properly, various skills are required including graphic design, user interface, user experience, coding, SEO, testing, maintenance, etc. Let us see these in detail.
Key Phases in Web Designing and Development Process:
- Requirement Gathering
- Creation of sitemap and wireframe
- Design
- Content Creation
- Development
- Testing
- Launch
- Maintenance
Phases of Web Design and Development Process
Phase 1: Requirement Gathering
- Set goals for the website
- Define the website’s target audience
Understanding the scope, purpose, target audience, expectations, and available resources for the project involved in this process. This begins with a 30 min initial call with the client for a formal understanding of client’s needs. Both parties talk about their goals, design, and development, leaving no room for ambiguity. . Post this discussion, the developers work on a detailed proposal and project timeline.
Phase 2: Creation of sitemap and wireframe
- Sketching of the site map
- Creating wireframes
- Choice of the technology stack
A sitemap lays out website’s architecture, organizes web pages, and provides a plan of action for all website elements. Wireframes are used to define each page’s look, functionality, and elements related to users, web crawlers, and web services. It outlines all the key parts, such as headings, CTAs, and subscription boxes.
A wireframe is a visual representation of the interface you’re planning to build, and they don’t have any design elements such as colors, logos, etc. It just describes what will be added to the page. Also in this phase, you’ll choose a tech stack, including programming languages, frameworks, and databases.
Phase 3: Design
- Creation of colorful page layouts
- Review the layout
- Get the client’s feedback on the layout
- Adapt the layout accordingly
Now, this is the most important phase, and it is time to decide the look and feel of the website. The UI and UX layout primarily act as the information structure to visualize content and display basic functionality. Layouts have colors, logos, and images and can give a general understanding of the website.
After that, the client can review the layout and send his feedback. If the client wants to change the design, the concerned designer should change the layout and send it back to him. This cycle repeats until the final design is approved by the client.
Phase 4: Content creation
- Develop new content
- Ensure that content is ready for migration
Content writing involves creation of information related to the company, product, or service on the website. It is better to produce all website content before/during website coding.
Phase 5: Development
- Front-end development
- Back-end development
Here comes the difficult part. Development must cover both front-end and back-end development. A website’s front end interacts with its users. The initial designs are converted into animations and effects by using selected technologies and tools, and functions are added based on these choices.
Back-end development enables interaction between the user side and server side, interfacing with the whole website. A backend code handles the server, database, and business logic depending on the purpose of the website.
Phase 6: Testing
- Evaluate the designed website
- Rigorous testing
Once the website is developed, it undergoes rigorous tests to remove any bugs. The QA testers repeatedly perform various tests such as unit testing, load testing, and stress testing to ensure website’s compatibility, performance, usability, and functionality.
Also, quality assurance testers perform testing of the website’s usability and functionality such as
- Cross-browser testing: Testing the website on latest versions of major search engines such as Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Safari, Firefox, and Edge.
- Cross-device Testing: The compatibility of the app is tested on multiple operating systems such as Mac, Windows, Android, iOS, and tablets.
- Functional Testing: Repeatedly checking the features according to client requirement ensuring successful delivery.
Once testing is completed, your website is ready to be launched on the server. You need to send the prototype link to the client so that they can test and review the website from their end.
Phase 7: Launch:
- Server launch
- Change of Code if any
For launching the website on your server, you will use FTP (File Transfer Protocol) protocol It is important to test everything once more, to ensure that all files are installed correctly after going live.
Phase 8: Maintenance
- Fix bugs
- Regular software updates
An online website requires routine maintenance and enhancements. To meet dynamic market needs, you must change the design, incorporate new features, and redesign according to new versions including maintenance, post-delivery support, future updates, etc. Therefore, regular maintenance is essential to ensuring it is up-to-date and functioning properly.
Conclusion:
Overall, creating a successful website requires a careful balance of planning, development, and testing. By following the web development process, web developers can ensure that the website meets the needs of the users and provides a great user experience. With the right resources and a good plan, web developers can create a visually appealing, functional, and secure website. Follow this web development process to create an impactful business website that meets your goals.
Interested in developing a website but don’t know where to begin? Speak to our business analysts at info@appstekcorp.com today. They will guide you about the right approach that will address your business need.