The number of online shoppers has been growing over the past few years. In 2023, there will be 80 million more digital buyers than there were in 2022—a 3.1% year-over-year increase. And it is set to continue increasing, rising to 2.71 billion in 2024 and 2.77 billion in 2025.
And in the day and age of technology, a website showing your products and services is one of the must-have channels no matter what industry you are in.
If you’re interested in learning more about important web page development tips and how to create a website you’re proud of, this guide is for you.
I. Initialisation
Whether you develop your own website with an internal team or outsource it, the first step is really important. Consider why you want to create a website and what you hope to achieve with it. Are you creating a website for your business or personal brand? Is the website intended to sell products, provide information, or simply showcase your work? Defining the purpose and goals of the website will help guide the rest of the development process.
Moreover, it’s essential to define your target audience and create user personas. Identify who your website is intended for and create fictional profiles of typical users. Consider their age, gender, interests, and other demographic information. This will help you create a website that resonates with your target audience and provides them with the information they need.
A domain name should be easy to remember and reflect the purpose of your website. Once you have chosen a domain name, you’ll need to select a hosting provider to host your website and a content management system (CMS) such as WordPress, Joomla, and Drupal.
A sitemap is a visual representation of the structure of your website, including all of the pages and their relationships to each other. It’s important to create a sitemap before you begin building your website, as it will help you determine the layout and organization of your content. Take a look at the SETA website sitemap for example.
Additionally, wireframes are the visual representation of each page, which gives an idea of the layout, placement of elements, and functionality of the website.
Defining the scope of the project is important to ensure that you have a clear understanding of what is included in the website and what is not. This helps avoid scope creep and keeps the project focused. It can involve identifying the features, functionality, and design elements that will be included in the website.
After that, you can begin to set project timelines and budgets. This involves identifying key milestones in the development process and estimating how long each milestone will take to complete. Setting a budget will help ensure that the project remains within financial constraints.
II. Design
Selecting the appropriate design elements is critical to creating a visually appealing and effective website. Consider the purpose and target audience of your website when choosing design elements such as typography, color schemes, and imagery. Additionally, ensure that the design elements are consistent with your branding and overall website goals.
With a growing number of users accessing the internet via mobile devices, it’s crucial to develop a responsive design that is compatible with different devices and screen sizes. Responsive design ensures that your website looks and functions well on devices of all sizes, from desktops to mobile phones.
Visual prototypes and UI designs are an essential part of the design process. They help to visualize the look and feel of your website and ensure that it meets the needs of your target audience. Visual prototypes can be created using tools such as Sketch, Figma or Adobe XD, while UI designs can be created using software such as Photoshop or Illustrator.
If you are a vendor outsourcing to a software development services provider, you should not skip the testing UX/UI phase to ensure that your partner makes sense of your idea and shows up in the designs.
The output of this step includes visual prototypes and UI designs that represent the look and feel of the website. Additionally, a style guide can be developed to ensure consistency in design elements such as typography, color schemes, and imagery. These outputs serve as a reference for the development team and help ensure that the website is visually appealing and effective.
III. App Development
In the App development step, the website’s front-end and back-end are developed using programming languages such as HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and PHP. Some businesses who have light experience and knowledge in development look for IT services companies for useful consultation of the programming languages, frameworks and techstacks that are suitable. The front-end includes the user interface and design elements, while the back-end includes the server-side programming that supports the website’s functionality.
Custom functionalities and integrations are developed to enhance the website’s functionality and user experience. These functionalities can include features such as user registration and login, payment processing, and social media integrations.
Implementing SEO best practices is essential for ensuring that your website is visible and easily discoverable by search engines. This involves optimizing website content, keywords, meta descriptions, and other elements to improve website ranking and visibility in search engine results pages.
Website security and accessibility are critical factors in website development to protect user data and prevent unauthorized access to the website and ensure that the website is accessible to users.
IV. QA & Testing
In this step, the website is subjected to rigorous testing to identify and eliminate bugs, glitches, and other errors that can negatively affect its performance. This includes testing for compatibility issues, performance issues, and functionality issues.
Cross-browser testing involves testing the website on different web browsers to ensure that it is compatible with various browser versions and configurations. This step is important because different web browsers can interpret website elements differently, leading to display issues and other errors.
Ensure that the website meets the intended goals and objectives after testing the website’s responsiveness, ease of use, and accessibility. User experience testing can involve user feedback and input to identify any areas of improvement.
V. Deployment
The website is deployed to the live server, making it accessible to the public. This involves transferring the website files and database to the server and setting up the necessary configurations for the website to function correctly on the live server.
Analytics and tracking tools such as Google Analytics, heatmaps, and user behavior tracking tools are important for tracking the website’s performance and user behavior. Analytics and tracking tools should be set up and integrated into the website to monitor website performance and user behavior.
Server settings and security measures such as SSL certificates, firewalls, and backup solutions are essential for ensuring the website’s security and preventing hacking and cyber threats. In this step, server settings and security measures are configured to ensure that the website is secure and protected from cyber threats.
VI. Maintenance
Once the website is live, it is important to regularly monitor and maintain its performance and security. This involves regular website backups, security scans, performance checks, and fixing any errors or issues that may arise. To ensure the website’s security and performance, let’s implement regular software updates and security patches.
Keeping the website’s content and functionalities up to date to maintain user engagement and website traffic. You can add new content, update existing content, and add new features and functionalities as needed.
To make sure you don’t miss anything and do work on time, grab this checklist:
The tips you should remember are strictly following the plan and focusing on your business target. Moreover, always keep your website clear and friendly with users and easy content to read. And let’s connect to trusted partners that have strong experience in website development to help you launch your website.
SETA International has 14 years of experience in building websites and applications for clients worldwide in various industries. Do not hesitate to contact to SETA’s expert via contact@seacinq.vn for more useful and promptly consultation.
