Website development or Web development is the process of building and maintaining a website. Which includes ideation and a website development plan, design, selection of web services, development (creation), content creation, security, error (bug) or UI or UX testing, search engine indexing, installation of data analytics system (code), launch and promotion, and maintenance.
In general, a group of static or dynamic web pages is a website. A website that only contains HTML/CSS files is a static website. The content of that website does not change on its own or does not require change or update too often. It’s read-only for visitors. They can see the content but do not able to interact with content such as posting, editing, or deleting. You do not need to have a database or backend for such a website.
While a dynamic website has more functionality for its owners and visitors. Even dynamic websites can also contain static web HTML/CSS pages such as about us that do not need to be changed or required updates. Dynamic or fully functional websites have a backend, front end, and database.
Currently, people and mobile-friendly, dynamic, fully functional, quick to get loaded in user browsers, interactive, good user interface, and experience are the latest website development trends.
10 easy steps to create a stunning and successful website for business:
1. Ideation, Thinking, and Planning for Website:
This is the 1st and most important step in designing and building any type of website, blog, web application or mobile app. In this first step, you consider researching the idea of making a website. In research, you have to consider the below answers in your ideas, strategy, thinking, and on the web.
- That is, why do you want to make a website?
- What do you want to achieve in your business and industry through the website?
- Who are the people who will visit your website?
- How will you help those people with your website?
- What do you want to show on the website?
- What kind of features, pages, images, and designs do you want to give to your website?
- And what is your goal for the first year?
- And how will you be able to achieve this goal?
- How much budget do you have for this website project?
- And when are you planning to launch the website and start marketing?
When you have the answers to such questions then only you will be able to build or get a successful website done. You have to think about these questions and do research.
If you are doing business for years. And if you are thinking of making a website to increase business, then you know many of the answers. But if you have a different idea or thinking of starting a new business online, then you can consult with a website consultant or your partner. So that a basic road map can be prepared. That is important for a successful website development project.
2. Design or blueprint or mockup:
People will visit your website for specific goals, challenges, and hopes. They expect to get solutions from your website. That’s why it’s important to consider that your website design makes it easy for them to find solutions.
But some of them in the target audience might not be very techno-friendly. They will not know how to use the website and what options to use. So, it’s important that your site layout, design, navigation bar, buttons, contents, headings, and images must guide them to access the data and information or application.
Traditionally, website design contains a header, navigation bar, body, sidebar, and footer.
In the header, you display the logo or site title and branding. So that visitors immediately know the name of your business and logo. Along with that on the right or below the header or inside the header, you can display a navigation bar. In which you can display menus or links to different pages such as service page, blog page, about us, contact, etc. So that visitors know to get the direction as per their goals.
In simple, designing a website is like showing a step-by-step path to the visitors to get data and information or solutions or services or products.
When your website design and content guide the visitor or users effectively, they will be interested to do business with you.
In the design part, you must know what they must see first, then second, and third. Or what they first must do such as sign up to access the tool or private pages.
What they do last before exits such as share your blog post or contact you or comment or buy.
Each type of website needs a different design. The website is created to sell products online and needs a different design than a blog website. eCommerce website design is different from the portfolio website. Social media website design is different than search engine websites. The travel agency website design is different from the listing portal.
Why?
It’s because solutions, products, and services are different and goals are different behind every business.
But for an idea, all search engine websites look similar and have many common things. Similarly, different travel agencies’ websites have common website designs. Almost all blogs have similar designs.
It means each business is different, but there are many common things in one business niche or industry.
Similarly, in cars or vehicles most mechanical and electric parts, engineering is similar in all cars but their sellers, manufacturers, and designs are different.
For example, A truck is designed to deliver 1-ton or 20-ton material by all kinds of roads and conditions. While a car is designed to carry 5 passengers.
The configuration and designs of vehicles depend on their applications. And it’s similar in website design. How you can solve the customer or visitors’ problem easily, effectively, and faster than a competitor has to be a goal.
So, in this step, you have to consider to researching the need to create a blueprint or sketch, or mock-up that suits best your target audience. Which include layouts, sections, headings, forms, buttons etc.
While if you’re using a website builder or CMS such as WordPress to create a small business website. Then you will get thousands of pre-designed templates and themes for each type of website. And you can customize these templates and themes.
Please read these posts for more on this topic:
Top 7 things to consider while building a website
Top 5 objectives to consider when building a website
Basics of Lead Generation Website: All of your What and How?
3. Tools and Technologies to use:
There are so many tools and technologies which is used to create and develop websites. You have to choose the best-suited tools for your website design and development project.
There are different ways to build each type of website.
For a blog website, you can use WordPress. For simple basic eCommerce websites along with payment options and others you can between Squarespace, Wix, and Zyro.
If you want to build a more functional and dynamic website without writing code, then you can use webflow.
If you want only a landing page to get online bookings for services then you can use landing page builder services or website builders.
If you want to develop a website to showcase data and information for analysis, visualization, and calculation then you can use Python, Django, and SQL.
If you want to create a dynamic or fully functional website without the use of WordPress, Website builders then use HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and mongo DB or SQL for the database. And PHP or Python or Ruby on the rails for the backend.
Not just that if you want to use WordPress then you also have to select the best hosting for WordPress. You have to study and analyze the benefit of shared, cloud hosting, managed and VP hosting for WordPress. Read more: What is Managed WordPress Hosting: Website Hosting Basics Or What is the difference between shared hosting and WordPress hosting
If you use website builders then you do not have to choose to host. Read More: Top 10 Advantages and Disadvantages of using Website Builders
But for WordPress and custom web development or to host your website you have to research and need to buy the best and most reliable hosting solution. The latest, beneficial but more costly is cloud hosting or managed cloud hosting services.
So, in this step, your goal is to figure out the best website design and development option. Might be you do not need custom web development and you can build a website using a website builder.
Or if you want to go with a WordPress CMS then a pre-designed theme or custom theme development can solve your problem.
But if you looking for unique and competitive advantages then custom web development or coding a website is best the option.
Each type of website has monthly or yearly fixed costs and liabilities such as domain renewal and hosting for subscription renewals. Each type of website needs to be maintained and updated. This also brings maintenance, security, and customization costs.
So, whatever you choose. It must be good for the long-term as well as for the short-term success of the business. It’s because the website is the foundation of your business on the internet.
4. Development (Creation):
This is the real work to convert your static design or PSD into a web page or HTML page or WordPress website.
If you use Website builder then you have to use or need to edit pre-designed website templates. The design and functionality options in website builders are limited. So you have to compromise on certain points or features. This is similar to WordPress, but in WordPress, you make changes to the code such as in function.php or create a new function.php file. Read More: What is WordPress Website? A Quick Intro for Beginners OR What’s Better for Website: WordPress.Org or WordPress.Com?
And if you want to build a custom website or you want to code each part of the website as per the design and website goals, then you have to convert PSD (Photoshop) or Figma to HTML. Read more:
For front-end development HTML, CSS and Javascript are mostly used. But if you also need a database and backend then you can also Javascript frameworks such as react, angular, next etc.
Similarly, if it’s a data analysis website then you can use Python, JavaScript, MySQL or Mongo DB and Django framework. Read More: Top 5 reasons to learn Python programming language
If you do not have time to learn to code or can’t code then you can hire a web developer as per the website. For example, if you have chosen WordPress + WooCommerce plugin for eCommerce or online store websites then you have to hire a WordPress Woo Commerce expert on contract. Learn more: How to hire someone who is an expert to build a business Website
There are various types of website experts and developers such as:
Full Stack Website or Web Developer -> This type of developer can be able to create a website for you with the use of any technology and tool.
Front-end web developer = This type of web developer is more expert in front or client or user side of the website. He/she can design and develop front or visual parts and features of the website.
And Backend developer is used to creating the backend or writing server-side code and managing the database.
WordPress Developer -> This type of developer is more expert in WordPress website custom development, theme creation and customization, and plugin development.
etc.
While you can learn any of the techniques and quickest methods to build a website. But it’s always good for a business to have a team of developers and marketers to run an online business. Read More: Top 5 benefits of hiring freelancers for your next project
5. Content Creation and Addition:
Content creation and addition to a website are important steps to make a website engaging and reach new customers. Website content increase website visibility on search engine. This is the way you will get traffic to your website. Read More: Top 5 SEO strategies to get more organic traffic to your website
The use of keyword research tools and analyzing consumer behaviors help to write good quality content for the home page, about us, FAQ, services or products description as well.
Not just ad textual content and slider, but also include videos. You can include customer testimonials, feedback, and how-to tutorials and showcase the process of how you’re helping your clients or customers.
This is the most important step in the website development process that everyone has to follow to stay ahead of the competition.
6. Website Testing:
Before you launch or make your website public it’s important that website, navigation, contact forms, product pages, payment options, security, login/signup, etc. are working correctly and as expected.
In this step, you also have to read the website content once again. Also need to test the website’s speed and responsiveness. It’s important that the website is mobile-friendly and loads quickly without errors.
By performing website testing regularly, you can improve website traffic, ranking, and overall customer experience, and increase online visibility.
Read More:
Top 3 Powerful uses of website heatmap tools
How can businesses benefit from using analytics on their website?
7. Security and spam protection:
Website security is as important as the security of your home. Before opening your website and business to the public, it is very important that you have fulfilled all the security criteria.
You have given links in the footer of the website to get and give information about not only security but also the terms and conditions of users’ data and privacy.
Website security is important so that your business continues to run and grow. That is why before spam, virus, fake referral traffic, and fake comments start coming to your website, it is right to secure it.
For this, you can try backup services and plugins, antispam features, and disallow fake bots or link tracking through robots.txt, google captcha, secure managed website/application hosting, two-factor authentication, SSL, and CDN security services.
And most important if you want to get more traffic from search engines such as Google. Then it’s really important that it always remain spam free from the beginning. And it’s also more important if you’re using shared hosting. So that website characters and website folders/files in the server remain safe and virus free.
Read More:
Secure WordPress plugin installation Guide for Beginners
How to stop bad bots traffic on a WordPress website
You can develop or code these security features on your website. If that’s too costly. You can try third-party website security services, premium security, premium managed hosting services, and backup plugins or auto backup features by the hosting service provider.
8. Search Engine Optimization:
Optimization of content help to reach the website’s intended audience from search engine and social media. You have to optimize your content for people not for search engines. On-page SEO is focused on the people and Technical SEO is focused on search engines. Here you can learn more about it:
Do not over-optimize your website for search engines. If it’s perfectly optimized only for search engines but not for people who visit this then it’s not a good SEO.
For example, in a perfect SEO case, if you include internal links just because any SEO tool is saying you to do that then be careful. Make sure where you’re adding the link to internal or external posts/pages is relevant and important for SEO.
9. Launch and Promotion:
Launching a website is like launching a product or a new Car. But I haven’t seen many business owners for website design companies launch their client’s websites like it needs to. The website launch needs to be big and great. So that it attracts or generates curiosity in people to search on Google.
For example, instead of just changing the maintenance page index to the actual website index page. The better way to create a proper banner and brochure is to launch it like a brand-new car.
As a user guide, you can create videos, images, and short videos that guide or teach visitors or target audiences to start using the website or start getting the solutions from day one.
This will also create momentum and surely be noticed by search engines faster than normal.
10. Update and Maintenance:
Keeping the website updated and maintained is as important as you take care of yourself and your car. Just like you have to protect yourself from diseases, similarly, you have to protect your website from getting sick.
A sick website loads slowly, its plugins and technology are not updated, it has lots of spammy comments, its database is not optimized and it is getting a lot of fake referral traffic. Neither traffic nor business comes in this kind of sick website.
So, it’s important that you continuously monitor your website traffic sources, and comments and block unwanted or fake sources. Update plugins on the time if it’s a WordPress website.
Read and understand technical guidelines from google search central. Use Google Optimize, Microsoft clarity, Google Analytics, Bing webmaster tools guidelines, and google search console for data analysis and direction. Make changes to the website as per the analysis.
Overall, a website especially a business website or a website that is created to earn or make money or to expand or grow a business is not a one-time website project.
A website project is not a one-time project, it continues to evolve or needs to be evolved. It required time, effort, and money to grow an online business. Starting a website is not a big deal at this time, every third business has a website. But the website is built and maintained effectively by following the process and the system gets traffic and grows your business online.