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Web Application Development: A Beginner’s Guide

Author
SPEC INDIA
Posted

April 28, 2023

Technology is broadening its horizons, becoming an integral part of business success. One such important wing of software development is web application development.

Web applications are a continuously evolving periphery that includes custom web application development for organizations of varied sizes and segments, based on their needs.

Web application development offers web-driven projects through the Internet over a network, keeping in mind enhanced user engagement and responsive workflow. It is more like a successor to traditional web development and is considered the next-gen big thing.

This exhaustive guide is meant for developers – novices and experts, product teams, students, engineers, marketers, etc. It throws light into the world of web application development and offers an in-depth understanding of the technology and various facets surrounding it.

What is Web Application Development?

Web application development refers to the process of leveraging server-side and client-side programming to create application programs that are available over the web browser. It makes web applications that interact with the browser after problem definition, solution creation, user engagement, tool selection, and app testing.

The applications reside over remote servers and are sent to the user’s device through the Internet. It need not be downloaded, instead, it is availed through the network. Web app development ensures compatibility with operating systems, identifies optimization metrics, and creates an innovative user interface.

Custom web application development involves the creation of a variety of web applications by a team of developers who are experts in custom software development. The web application task force is well-versed in various programming languages, frameworks, operating systems, etc.

Web-based applications are flexible enough to execute on any device with an inbuilt browser. These apps sync well with wearables, IoT devices, AI, and ML programs. The programs store and manipulate data, to perform multiple activities like shopping, bookkeeping, client management etc.

Web development applications are implemented successfully in many industry segments like education, eCommerce, transportation, media and entertainment, banking and finance, supply chain and logistics, travel and hospitality, manufacturing, FMCG, advertising, retail, life sciences, and others.

Web-Application-Development

Why Would Organizations Need Web Application Development?

The primary reasons why businesses worldwide need web applications are as follows:

  • Attract clients and increase branding reach
  • Gain a competitive edge by enhancing business popularity
  • Have an easy-to-use, attractive, and effective user interface
  • Customize features with the best use for clients
  • Access to varied features and components on all devices
  • Streamline business processes on all fronts
  • Enhance overall productivity and profitability

Key Features of Web Application Development

  • Mobile-first and responsive interface
  • Social media integration
  • In-depth reporting and analytics
  • Web push notifications
  • Live chatting feature
  • Web payment options
  • Search engine optimization
  • Document management system
  • User authentication management
  • Round-the-clock availability

Leading Web Application Examples

Before we plunge into the details of web application development, let us glance through the popular examples of web applications that have been highly popular:

Google Docs:

One of the most famous web applications, Google Docs is an online word processor that interacts directly with users for editing and changing documents. There is an automatic save feature once you edit the documents. It is considered ideal for building, updating, and deleting documents with security and ease.

Airtable:

Airtable is a cloud collaboration service that works as a low-code platform. You can customize workflow and use it as an online Excel software, creating powerful, flexible applications. As a superior web application, there are additional functionalities that make it better than Excel.

Notion:

Notion is a popular and all-in-one, productivity and note-taking web application that can be used as a to-do list, calendar, notepad, wiki, etc. Users can insert and update components from the web browser with ease. It has been getting increasingly prevalent in small segment businesses because of its flexibility and simplicity.

Mailchimp:

As a marketing automation platform, Mailchimp facilitates sending and receiving emails and mass emails with security. The user interface is so flexible that it is viable for everyone wishing to create an email marketing campaign. It is a complex web application that has a simplistic user interface for operations.

Salesforce:

As the world’s leading CRM solution, Salesforce is an ideal example of a robust web application that can integrate seamlessly with other technologies. As a leading SaaS model, Salesforce offers great customer service through its web application with features such as dashboards, reports, tables, and so on.

Custom Web Application Development Services Advantages

  • Greater visibility with a competitive edge
  • Increased security and efficiency
  • Performance, flexibility, and scalability
  • High portability and more convenience
  • Easy development with a single codebase
  • Faster deployments with instant access
  • Lower development costs and maintainability
  • Cross-platform compatibility
  • Works seamlessly in offline mode also
  • No need to download and don’t need space on device
  • Increased user engagement and download ratio

Different Types of Web Applications

Web applications could be of different types based on their nature and needs. Here are the different types of web applications that are prevalent:

  • Progressive Web Apps (PWA)
  • CRM Software
  • Web Content Management System (CMS)
  • Enterprise Web Apps
  • Web Portals
  • Cloud-Based Web Apps
  • Static Web Applications
  • Dynamic Web Applications
  • eCommerce Web Applications
  • Single Page Apps
Progressive Web Apps (PWA)

Progressive web apps are web applications that load in a web browser just like web pages or websites. It offers you an enriched mobile experience via native-like functionalities such as the competence to work offline, push notifications, and device hardware availability.

CRM Software

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Software is a type of web application that enhances customer service and retention with an increase in team productivity and efficacy. Enterprise CRM solutions can be leveraged by organizations of all sizes and segments.

Web Content Management System (CMS)

A web CMS is best utilized for creating, storing, managing, and displaying content through web pages. It simplifies content management and brings increased collaboration within teams. Content management is much more secure, accessible, and personalized.

Enterprise Web Apps

Enterprise web apps include web application development services especially for the enterprise, to cater to their specific needs. These mission-critical enterprise web apps monitor and manage the internal and external requirements of the enterprise.

Web Portals

Web portals are single-point access for any type of information or services, belonging to different industry segments or business units. It acts like a collaborative platform of interaction for all stakeholders involved.

Cloud-Based Web Apps

These are web applications for the cloud – highly secure, stable, scalable, robust, and cost-effective. They are meant for complicated activities, better collaboration, productivity, and managing workflows through cloud-driven services.

Static Web Applications

Static web applications directly show the content to the user’s browser without any interaction between the user and the server. They are created using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript for displaying content.

Dynamic Web Applications

These complex and exhaustive web apps interact with the client and come up with real-time information depending on user requests. There are different interactive components that deal with the users and their needs.

eCommerce Web Applications

This type of web app specializes in promoting shopping, buying, and selling through online shops or stores. They include specific features such as online payment integration, transaction integration, inventory management, mobile commerce, etc.

Single Page Apps

A specific type of web app that lets users communicate within a browser and executes logic on the browser rather than the server. It dynamically rewrites the existing web page with the data from the existing web server.

How To Develop a Web Application?

Developing a robust and enriched web application is almost like any other software development life cycle process. It needs a skilled task force and well-defined processes in place, to get an effective output. Here are the different steps that are involved when we talk about how to develop a web application:

  • Problem Definition

In the initial phase, the basic details about your idea, business, and clients are gathered. A comprehensive analysis of your problem areas and requirements, to help you further in the app development journey, is executed.

  • Discussion And Planning

The key goals and identification of scope is done by the team consultants and developers. This phase includes identifying use cases and selecting functional requirements along with a roadmap seeing time, resources, functionalities, and costs.

  • Wireframing And Design

Attractive, intuitive, and user-friendly user interfaces with perfect navigation and UI designs are constructed by UI/UX designers. Wireframes are designed, the response is collected, and designs are prototyped with a visual structure.

  • Development

The development occurs with chosen development methods, technologies, and platforms. Developers work on the frontend, APIs, and backend parts of the application and classify deliverable milestones.

  • SEO

The SEO experts help in initiating an interactive and attractive user experience to attract an aggregate number of visitors and gather more traffic via social media handles.

  • Testing

The testing teams test the app’s functionality, security, serviceability, and reliability among distinct platforms and screens. Separate types of tests are performed during this period to prove if an app is giving a positive response or not with several sets of inputs.

  • Launch & Support

Web apps are released on the suitable app store after realizing the suggestions and release environment. Once the app is installed and available, post-production support and maintenance arise.

Web Application vs Website

As we talk about web application development, there is a constant comparison between two terminologies that are often confusing – Web apps and websites. Though both look strikingly similar, they have their own set of differences and unique characteristics.

Web Applications Websites
A web application is dynamic A website has static content
A web app is interactive and offers user interaction A website is a single-directional information portal
Needs authentication May not need authentication
Higher and complex functionalities Simpler functionalities
Needs compilation before deploying Does not need to be compiled before deploying
Complex integration with other software Easy and simple integration with other software
Allows user data to inform iterations of the app Only the creator of the website can change it
Establishes dependencies in multiple projects Cannot establish dependencies in multiple projects
They are used for automating activities and achieving goals They are used for communication purposes
They allow data manipulation too They allow mere data visualization

Key Web Application Development Services

Here are the major service offerings by web application development companies worldwide:

Custom Web Development Services

Custom application development services offer tailor-made web solutions uniquely built for business-specific objectives. These web applications are meant for a range of industry domains and come up as scalable, reliable, secure, and flexible solutions that adhere to changing business challenges.

Full Stack Web Development

Full-stack web development services accomplish robust web applications with frontend and backend tools and technology along with knowledge about databases, servers, and hosting environments. These high-performing, modern web applications are created from scratch by a team of full-stack developers.

SaaS Development

SaaS application development has been affected heavily by cloud-based services, offering all advantages like flexibility, scalability, and cost-effectiveness. It includes the design, implementation, deployment, and maintenance of SaaS-based applications. Developers are proficient in cloud technologies and code modernized apps centrally located on the cloud.

Legacy Application Modernization

Modernizing legacy applications needs a planned and risk-free, step-by-step approach to ensure a successful migration. Tech and domain experts understand requirements closely and modernize the digital platform by establishing what methodology works best – rebuilding, rearchitecting, rehosting, or replacing.

Front-End Development

Web app development engineers the UI/UX of websites and mobile applications with the latest front-end technologies and frameworks. Responsive, appealing, collaborating, and unified web applications are created through user interface design.

Back-End Development

A robust and steady backend is constructed for web and mobile applications. Cloud-based and on-premises backend solutions for web applications are created and implemented. Migration of legacy backend to modern cloud platforms through a secure architecture, storage, and business logic is performed.

Web Application Development Technology Stack

Frontend:
  • React

A popular JavaScript library for building user interfaces. It is a top-rated cross-platform, flexible, and open-source library maintained by Meta.

  • Angular

Built on TypeScript, Angular is a component-based, open-source web application framework by Google.

  • Vue.js

Vue is a JavaScript framework to build captivating user interfaces with intuitive API, powerful features, and a declarative programming model.

  • HTML

HyperText Markup Language is one of the core technologies for creating web pages. HTML is the foundation of all web pages.

  • CSS

Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) is a stylesheet language used to style HTML elements. It describes how HTML components should appear.

Backend:
  • .NET

An open-source and cross-platform framework developed by Microsoft. It is used to build scalable, secure, and faster web applications.

  • PHP

Popular for its suitability for web development, PHP is a widely used, open-source scripting language.

  • Java

Java is one of the most popular programming languages famous for its versatility, stability, compatibility, and resiliency.

  • Python

A next-gen language used for data analysis, web development, cross-platform applications, and handling big data needs.

  • Node.js

An open-source, cross-platform JavaScript runtime and is very popular for almost any type of project.

Databases:
  • MySQL

A free and open-source relational database management system suitable for data warehousing needs and large (OLTP).

  • SQL Server

An RDBMS ideal for server applications, with data collection, integration, management, analysis, and reporting.

  • Oracle

A multi-model database management system used for running data warehousing, online transaction processing, and database workloads.

  • PostgreSQL

A powerful, open-source RDBMS offering extensibility, advanced features, and SQL compliance.

  • MongoDB

A NoSQL and cross-platform database used extensively by developers to create highly available and scalable applications.

Web Frameworks:
  • Laravel

Most popular PHP web framework designed for creating powerful, full-stack PHP web applications.

  • Spring

A very suitable framework for complex Java enterprise applications for a wide range of scenarios and domains.

  • Django

A high-level Python web framework widely used to develop scalable and maintainable websites using Python.

  • Express.js

A backend web application framework widely used for building web applications and APIs, one of the core components of the MEAN stack.

Key Trends in Web Development Applications

  • Artificial Intelligence and Chatbots
  • Internet of Things (IoT)
  • Blockchain
  • Progressive Web Apps (PWA)
  • Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP)
  • Content Personalization with ML
  • Motion UI
  • AR and VR
  • Serverless Architecture
  • Single Page Applications
  • Mobile-Friendly Web Development
  • Voice Search Optimization
  • Cybersecurity
  • API First Development
  • No Code/Low Code Development

Web Applications Development Challenges

However popular it may be, custom web application development services do have their own share of drawbacks that must be overcome. With technology serving umpteen solutions, there is no need to look back. All the below-mentioned challenges can be managed with effective services and solutions:

  • Usually, web applications will need a stable Internet connection. It may create problems in some situations where you may not get good connectivity.
  • At certain times, web applications may face functional limitations or execution of special features on certain devices.
  • Responsiveness and performance of websites and web app navigation on smaller and mobile devices may pose a problem at some times.

Parameters to Select the Apt Custom Web App Development Framework

Choosing the ideal web app development tool for your project is a tough task since there are many that are effective, popular, and considered ideal. That is where the following parameters can help in selecting the ideal fit for your project, you must consider these factors while finalizing the technology:

  • Scope of work
  • Complexity of application
  • Composition of team
  • Total allocated budget
  • The extent of UI/UX customization
  • Organizational size and goals
  • Skilled availability of resources
  • Vendor trustworthiness and support
  • Framework maturity and competencies
  • Inter Platform consistency
  • Security and Privacy measures
  • Available learning resources
Why Hire Web App Developer?

A dedicated web application development team is a perfect fit when you have large projects with frequent updates – planned or unplanned. The hiring model is suitable for complex, long-term projects that have the capacity to scale.

When you hire from an experienced web application development company, it is cost-effective and allows you to focus on your business priorities rather than simultaneously spending time in management and running a business.

The evident benefits are a faster response to problems, professional and disciplined approach, increased productivity and profitability, seamless project management, complete and full-proof work management, focus on business goals, flexibility, agility, quick turnaround time, reliability, quality infrastructure, access to a huge talent pool, global outreach, complete control and cooperation, superior quality, full cycle development.

As We Wrap Up

At SPEC INDIA, we endeavor for customer satisfaction in every web application development project we commence. Our customer-centric approach, always-on learning approach, and reliability facilitate us to overcome difficulties in web application development services.

We have been a technology partner blended with a singular vision to unlock digital potential via scalable, state-of-the-art, secure, and exceptional custom web application development services, for modern-day businesses.

We offer scalable, secure, comprehensive web app development that incorporates requirement analysis, UI/UX design, development, testing, deployment, support, maintenance, and enhancements.

As a web application development company, we construct web development applications for distinct industries and types that support today’s establishments in growing the bottom line, enhancing costs, giving the best user experience to their clientele, and fast-tracking innovation.

Hire dedicated web app developers from us. Our committed web developers offer flexible, designed, and full-cycle web solutions in an array of business domains chasing modern project development approaches and ensuring the best possible outcome.

Arrange a meeting with us and create exemplary web application development solutions for the modern business landscape.

Author
SPEC INDIA

SPEC INDIA, as your single stop IT partner has been successfully implementing a bouquet of diverse solutions and services all over the globe, proving its mettle as an ISO 9001:2015 certified IT solutions organization. With efficient project management practices, international standards to comply, flexible engagement models and superior infrastructure, SPEC INDIA is a customer’s delight. Our skilled technical resources are apt at putting thoughts in a perspective by offering value-added reads for all.

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