Web Application Development

This step is all about generating an idea of what kind of web app you desire to make. An idea must be something that solves a problem or can cater to the user. Because if not, your web app will end up a failure, which would defeat the purpose of creating a web app.

That said, here are the main questions that should be answered in making a web app idea:

Making answers to these questions is very helpful. Your idea can be an improvement over something that already exists or something that no one has ever thought of before. What's important is that your idea gives significance, solves the user's problem, and caters to their needs.

Once you know what web app you want to make, it is time to understand your users and identify your target market.

In this step, you need to think about the potential market for your idea. You need to research the market to see if a similar product exists.

But don't worry if a similar product exists; this just leaves the fact that your idea's target market is there. And if it is otherwise, it is either you've hit the jackpot, or someone has ventured this path before and eventually hit a dead-end.

But you don't want your product to fail, right? That is why in-depth market research is needed for you to gather enough information and understand if there exists a market for your product.

The following tips will help you improve your market research:

Search about your web app idea, and it will reveal related trends. Google search trends can be handy for market research since you will learn what information the people int your target market are searching for.

Write a list of keywords relating to your web application. If the SEO tool shows that many people are searching for your keywords, that can be an indicator that your target market exists.

Present your idea through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or any social media platform. This way, you can gain valuable insight into your target users and gain more information about them.

If there's a local event in your area related to your target market, share your web app idea. If there is someone you know in your target market, approach them, explain your idea, and record their feedback. Because the more you talk and receive feedback and validation from your target market, the better.

Sketching your web app is your first step to web application design. What you need in this step is a pencil/pen and paper.

After steps 1, 2, and 3, surely you have an idea of what your web application is, who your target users are, and the features it will have. Your sketch doesn't really have to be detailed as long as it gives you the basic idea of your app's flow.

When sketching, be sure to include the following elements:

Additionally, this is also the step where you need to map out your workflow. For example, from the sign-up page, it will go to a page where the user enters her/his information and creates a user profile, and so on. In other words, get your sketches in order.

Once you have the basic workflow and layout of your web app, you can move on to the next step; wireframing and prototyping.

This is the step where you are finally getting on your computer and start working on your first models for your web app.

A wireframe is more like a sketch, but it is done through a computer and more structured. Wireframes provide you exactly how your web app pages will look like.

After making your web app wireframe, the next step would be creating a prototype. A prototype is basically taking wireframes a step further by adding more visual layout and an interactive display.

The general idea of creating a prototype is to provide a more realistic idea of your web app and demonstrate the design's functionality by adding animations, variables, and advanced interactions.

You can use various tools for creating wireframes and prototypes like Adobe XD, Balsamiq, Sketch, etc.

Now that you have your prototype that visually represents your web app, it is time to seek customers' validation.

Technically, you can start validating as soon as your idea strikes you. You can ask your colleagues or your friends and seek some feedback from them. But now that you have a prototype of your web app on your sleeve, you can get more solid and technical feedback from your users.

That said, start by asking some potential users and get them to try your web app prototype and ask for their feedback.

Those feedbacks will help you improve your app and make it more feasible for the users. Thus, when you begin the all-important development stage, you now have a solid foundation to build on.

Until now, we have been dealing with the soft stages of the web development process. But once you enter the development stage, more significant technical decisions are going to be made. Thus, this is where the real fun begins.

First, you need to choose the appropriate framework, platform, and library to build your web app. Now, what you choose depends on what functionality does your web app has and as well as your preference.

That said, there are several good web application development tools to choose from, so pick what best works for your application and what you are comfortable working with.

Back-end and Front-end Development

Elsewhere in this discussion, we have mentioned about the two divisions in developing a web application. The first one was the "front-end development", which is responsible for creating what the user sees and interacts with.

The second was the "back-end development", which is responsible for what goes behind the scenes. This includes databases, servers, and everything that the user can’t see within a web application.

Front-end is developed through the use of web programming languages like HTML, CSS, and Javascript.

For the back-end, popular back-end programming languages like Ruby on Rails and PHP are implemented.

In developing a web application, you can either code from scratch or use a front-end and back-end frameworks to build your web application. Still, it is best to choose what approach is best for your application.

For front-end development, you can use frameworks like React JS and Angular. And as for the back-end development, you can use frameworks like Rails, Django, and Laravel.

Again, choose what is suitable for your app and also your preference. If you're still having trouble with what framework you will choose, don't worry because later on in this discussion, we will discuss those frameworks mentioned and explain their strong points and what each framework is best for. So keep on Reading!

Okay, once you've figured out what technology you want to use for building your web application, you can now proceed into the process of writing your code. Once your code is complete, and your web application is ready, it is now time to create a server location of your web app.

In this step, you will need to create a server location for your web application. You will need to buy a domain and choose a web hosting provider.

There are several types of web hosting services:

• Shared web hosting - your website is hosted on a server shared by other websites;

• Dedicated web hosting - you rent one physical server from a hosting company and have complete control of the server; and

• Cloud-based web hosting - consists of a system of multiple, connected servers.

Then again, choose what's best for your web app.

From generating an idea, validating, designing, developing, and choosing a host. Finally! we are now at the last step.

In this step, you need to deploy your web application from your local machine to your hosting solution and deploy it. To do that, you will use a CI tool.

The following web app development tools provide continuous integration and will help you with deploying your web app to your host:

That's it. Your app is ready for your users. And without going further much into details, that’s the web application development process in a nutshell.