Website development is the process of creating a fully functional website and making it available on the internet. The process involves a lot of activities that range from creating a simple home page, to developing an application that is used online.

The tasks that will be involved in developing a website include web design, content creation, client-side scripting, network security configuration, and much more. The activities involved will vary with the client’s requirements.

As mentioned above, web development is a process, not just coding, as many people think. In this article, we have listed all the steps that are involved in creating a working website.

1. Gathering Information And Planning

This is the essential step of the whole process. The primary objective of collecting data is to know the purpose of the website you will be creating.

The questions you need to ask yourself in this step include what goals you want to achieve with the site, and who will be the target audience.

Answering such questions will help you with the planning, and avoid additional expenses such as changing the design, or adding other functionality that was not planned for.

After getting the information, you will figure out a layout of what the website will look like. This will help you ensure that all goals are met, and no information has been left out.

2. Design

This is now the step where you start working on the website layout. You create all the images, videos, and photos to be used. Remember to keep in mind the target audience. You can decide to start with a graphic sketch, or go ahead and do the actual visual design. The primary purpose of the layout will be to help visitors get around more easily.

3. Content Writing

This is a step that many people tend to underestimate, but it is a critical step. Here you will get to write catchy headings and articles. This is to ensure that the language used will attract the right audience, and to make sure that all you want to communicate to visitors/customers is in writing.

4. Coding

At this step, you can now finally build and deploy the website. Use the graphics that have been designed in the previous levels. You will start by creating the homepage, then add all the other sub-pages.

After all the pages are created, you can now add unique features. It is essential to understand all the technology that will be used in this step. Also, remember to optimize the website elements to rank the site higher in the search engines.

If you aren’t coding, you’ll most likely be using WordPress or something similar to add graphics and content to your site. However, you can still also add some code into their customizable themes.

5. Testing, Review, And Launch

In this step, you will confirm that all the links are working and none are broken. You will also run a grammar check to ensure that there are no typos, and use a coding validator to ensure that all the codes follow the web standards that are in place.

After a thorough examination, you can now upload it to the server using FTP (file transfer protocol). After uploading, run a final test to make sure that all files are properly installed.

6. Maintenance

The website will need changes every now and then. Adding a feedback system to it will significantly help deliver the best to your audience. The feedback system will also help you know what problems the users are facing. It is essential to keep your website updated.

Conclusion

As you have seen, the web development process does not start by coding, nor end after you launch the site on the internet. You have to gather information and plan all the activities to have a website that will achieve your goals. Maintenance is also essential to ensure that everything is running smoothly.