What Does Website Development Include?

Website development involves a variety of tasks including, but not limited to,

• Web Markup
• Coding
• Client-Side Scripting
• Server-Side Scripting
• Server & Network Security Configuration
• eCommerce Development
• Content Management System (CMS) Development

What Are The Basic Terms Of Website Development?

Before understanding the process of website development, it is important to understand some basic terms associated with the process.

• Website: In technical terms, websites are files stored on servers. These servers are connected to the internet and load the files (websites) when an internet user calls out the IP address of the website.
• IP Address: IP (Internet Protocol) is a set of standards that govern the interactions on internet. IP address is a unique string of numbers that distinguishes a website or device from other websites/devices connected via the internet.
• HyperText Transfer Protocol: HTTP connects a user and his website request to the server that hosts the website. The protocol defines how the server should respond to user requests over the internet.
• Coding: It is the language used for communicating with the computers. The choice of coding language depends upon the platform, operating system and style.

What Is The Website Development Process?

The website development process for every website may take a different path depending upon the type of website, coding language and resources. Here is a general outlay of the website development process to assist the startups in building an understanding of the steps.

Planning & Creating A Sitemap: A sitemap or wireframe is a general vision for the site that lays the foundation for the developer to start the process. It allows the startup entrepreneur to have a fair idea of what the website will look like and what features will be included in it. Here are some questions entrepreneurs should ask themselves when planning their website:

• What individual pages do they want?
• What content would be included on each page?
• How can those pages be organized into categories?
• What would be the page hierarchy?
• How will the paged be linked together?
• What pages/categories are essential for the site and UX? Which pages/categories can be removed or merged together?

Writing The Website Code: Coding is the next step of website development. Developers may use different coding languages for back-end and front-end coding. Additionally, different coding languages may be used for different functionalities of the site. Some of the commonly used coding languages are HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Python, SQL, C++, etc.

• Back-End Coding: Back-end developers are responsible for establishing logic code, database management, and infrastructure of the website.
• Front-End Coding: It includes components such as typography, fonts, navigation, positioning, and browser compatibility/responsiveness.

Working With CMS: Entrepreneurs can opt for CMS (Content Management System) over manual coding as it is easier to use, has tools around the hosting site, and may include plugins that remove the need to write backend coding. However, a CMS is less flexible and offers lesser control over front-end.

Acquiring A Domain Name: At this point, the website has an IP address and needs a domain name. the domain name is used by internet users to search for the website. Consider using hosting services to purchase and register the domain name.

At Scope7, we offer complete website development services to assist startup owners in establishing their online presence. The services are customized to meet the needs of individual client. Our team of professional website developers makes it a point to design and develop a website that promotes the nature and idea of the business.

The available eCommerce solutions can be broadly classified into 3 categories:

• Open-Source: In case of open-source platform, businesses can modify all aspects of the code. The business stays responsible for PCI compliance, hosting, manual patch/update release from the platform provider, security, and QA for additional applications. Additionally, the responsibility for building new tools for the site including discount/promotion engines, also lays on the business itself.
• SaaS: SaaS stands for Software as a Service. Instead of building or developing a custom solution as in case of Open-Source solution, the businesses rent the SaaS solution from a provider. So, the tasks such as product update, security, hosting, and PCI compliance are managed by the platform provider.
• Headless Commerce: It is a type of Commerce-as-a-Service (CaaS) eCommerce solution. In this type, the shopping cart is decoupled from the Content Management System (CMS). The business makes use of a Design Experience Platform (DXP) or a CMS and then plugs in the decoupled shopping cart solution. This results in lower overall cost and reduces the timeline in which the solution can be made available to the market.

For choosing a suitable eCommerce solution, organizations need to consider some basic features in addition to the type of eCommerce solution:

• Hosting environment, domain name, average uptime and bandwidth
• Unlimited API call volumes
• Website builder with free and user-friendly themes
• Numerous applications with built-in integrations
• Mobile optimized and fully customizable site and checkout process
• PCI compliance
• SEO features and fully customizable URLs throughout the site
• Built-in basic eCommerce features including catalog management, analytics, etc.
• Social media integration
• Easy scalability to include different payment gateways and options
• SEO tools
• Easy product search
• Integrated ratings & reviews
• Multiple product photos

Customer experience is an important factor that governs the success of an eCommerce business. So, make it a point to ask the eCommerce solution provider for features such as ability to handle subscriptions, recurring product orders, real-time shipment tracking, reward points program compatibility, and ability to send abandoned cart emails.

At Scope7, we utilize our experience to analyze your business requirements and help you choose a suitable eCommerce solution.