Introduction

Did you know it takes most page visitors 0.05 seconds to develop an opinion about your website? The web development process is critical as it influences how users interact with your brand. Creating a functional web is a cycle that involves planning, research, and design. Consider the full range of professional development services to build custom software development solutions including robust web and e-commerce applications, ed-tech products, digital asset management solutions, and more.

A comprehensive web development life cycle allows you to create an intuitive, responsive end product that reflects your brand’s voice. Are you wondering how to plan a web development project? Continue reading to discover the key processes.

Five Crucial Phases of a Web Development Project Lifecycle

The web app development process ensures websites meet business needs. The cycle also focuses on improving experiences for front and end-users. The vital steps to follow in your web development project are:

Step 1. Evaluate Your Existing Site

Assessing your current site is the first step in a web development process cycle. This phase allows you to test the functionality of various pages and identify what you need to improve.

Evaluate your website by checking if other brands use your domain name or a variation. If yes, consider altering it to prevent confusion and ensure potential clients land on the correct pages.

The next step is to revise your URL structure. Ideally, each link should be relevant to the page it directs a user to and contains a primary keyword. Further, you should follow a standard URL structure and use hyphens to separate words.

More tips on reevaluating URLs during web development are:

  • Avoid using stop words
  • Ensure URLs are readable
  • Use the HTTPS protocol

Once you revise URLs, assess website content. Check if your blogs and website copies reflect your brand’s voice. Further, ensure the content is up to date and relevant to the target audience.

Step 2. Determine What Functionality You Need

Defining the needed functionalities is the next step in the web design and web development process. Identify the features you require by outlining the website’s purpose and goals.

For example, do you want page visitors to buy a product? Alternatively, do you want them to provide contact information for marketing? Answering such questions will help you prioritize primary website functions.

Another vital aspect of identifying key website functionalities is studying the audience’s needs. Involve your clients to determine why they mainly visit your website. After that, ensure you provide information and tools to help them achieve their goals.

Step 3: Design and Develop

Designing a website is relatively straightforward if you have a detailed web development project plan. When defining your layout, focus on how you want pages to appear on the end-user. Besides, ensure that each section engages page visitors and provides valuable content.

Developing a website can be complex since it focuses on the back and front end. If you don’t have coding skills, it’s advisable to outsource website development services. The best solution here is to hire a top rated software development agency that provides a superb development process, based on adaptive planning, project updates, the latest technological advancements, and communication tools.

Step 4. Create a Great User Experience

User experience (UX) will determine if your website helps you achieve business goals. Create a winning site by eliminating page redirects that can frustrate users. Besides, place information relevant to searches at the beginning of your pages.

More tips on creating a great user experience during the web development planning process are:

  • Revise the information architecture
  • Use appropriate visual design concepts
  • Make your page accessible
  • Optimize page load speed
  • Use engaging call to actions

Improving UX when designing your website has many benefits. First, it increases the time visitors spend on the website, leading to high conversion rates. Moreover, it strengthens your brand image and provides memorable browsing or shopping experiences.

Step 5. Launch and Maintenance

When a website is ready, prepare for launching. Test all pages beforehand and fix identified bugs. Further, check if all links are functional and verify that the site is compatible with most devices. Once you confirm the website offers seamless experiences, launch by transferring it to a live server.

Website maintenance is unending due to technological changes and evolving customer preferences. Monitor your pages regularly for broken links and fix them accordingly.

Additionally, add new features and revise existing ones based on user feedback.

Final Thoughts

The web development process is comprehensive and practical for various types of websites. Every website development step is important, no matter how small or big the project is. Custom web development services help to ensure you stay ahead of competitors and leverage advanced technology. As a result, knowing these steps gives you a possibility to stay aware of the entire process, makes it clear why and how things developed, and gives you control over the project.