It is not a secret that websites are of undeniable importance for successful digital marketing. A website is the "business card" of a company, that is, the main means by which users discover more about the activity they choose to rely on. It is a fact that every entrepreneur would like to stand out on the market by offering their services in a completely original way compared to the competition. This is the main reason why you need to treat the development process of your website with particular care. If your goal is to learn more about creating a website, you are in the right place. In this article, we will talk about the five fundamental stages of website development that you absolutely need to know.
What is the website creation process?
Essentially, website development is the work that is needed to create a website, which includes various phases, from security to design, to facilitate the use of the site. In other words, it is the behind-the-scenes work to make a site look good and, even more importantly, to ensure that it functions correctly for a better user experience. Web developers are the ones who program the code that determines the functioning of the site; their task is to create a website using programming languages, always keeping in mind the needs of the client and the consumer.
Stages of the website creation process
Creating a quality website goes beyond simple coding, and doing it in a complete way is essential to guarantee a successful online presence for the client. Follow our five steps, and your clients will be truly satisfied with the result.
- Research and gather information: This phase is considered the most critical in the website creation process. Creating a website is not simple, and there are many aspects to consider.
Therefore, gathering information is essential to start off on the right foot. Before proceeding, you should have a clear idea of the objectives of your site.
For this reason, the developer, before starting the work, will ask you several questions to fully understand your core business and the needs of your site in order to organize it in the best way.
Among the main aspects to consider are the target audience, the purpose of the site, and the information you want to communicate to users. - Create a sitemap and a wireframe: A sitemap is a diagram that hierarchically represents the pages of the website. Wireframes represent the structure of a site in a way that users can easily understand.
Since there are various types of websites - a website for a business will be totally different from a website for a school - in this phase, the target audience is one of the fundamental factors to consider when organizing the structure of your web page. - Design the visual hierarchy: all visual content, such as photos and videos, are created in this phase. The design of a website is what users see and interact with, which means that visual representation is an essential element in the website creation process.
Like the logo, these visual elements are crucial to strengthen the identity of the brand. Not surprisingly, design itself is a specific discipline, and there are in-depth studies to make it expressive and effective. - Develop or code the website:as you decide how to proceed in developing your website, you have several options at your disposal. You can choose a standard or a customized solution. If the first option still requires customization or does not meet the company's needs, it is better to opt for the second.
The standard solution is based on the use of pre-defined themes, such as WordPress and Drupal, which are characterized as ready-to-use and created to be used by as many people as possible. The customized solution, instead, involves a CMS (Content Management System), which is specifically created for a specific site. Techopedia defines the CMS as "an interface that allows users to publish content directly on the web." In fact, this solution is more flexible and can be modified as needed, but being highly customized, it will have a higher cost than other options. - Testing, review, and launching the final version of the site: at this point, every page and link has been carefully checked to ensure that everything works best and that there are no bugs.
These checks relate to the proper functioning and use of the platform, performance and security testing, etc.
For example, performance testing includes a load test of the web application to verify its functional capacity by subjecting it to both normal and maximum loads; in case the site crashes due to excessive load, it is necessary to understand how the site reacts to such an event and solve the problem. Another test that is performed is security testing, which is fundamental, especially for e-commerce sites, since they contain users' personal data. This test aims to discover weaknesses and risks and prevent harmful attacks by hackers. In this case, it is a matter of identifying all the possible weaknesses of the site that can lead to the loss of information or profits.
In conclusion
Creating a website does not start with coding and does not end with launching your site.
This process requires a well-defined scheme of actions to be taken from start to finish to complete your digital project. Therefore, the organization phase is crucial to obtaining a successful site.
The aim of this blog is precisely to help you propose your services on the web in an effective and original way compared to the competition.
In conclusion, if you follow the five stages described here, your customers will be satisfied with the results. Let's build your site by putting user attention at the center of the project. Adalot Networks is at your disposal to assist you in every phase of the process, whether you are thinking about a new project or need support during a particular phase. We speak your language, so talk to us!
