Everything You Need To Know About Web Application Development

Web application development is a cornerstone of modern technology. It powers tools and platforms we use every day. From social media to e-commerce, web apps make services easily accessible through any browser. They are vital for businesses to reach users across devices.

This blog will cover all the essentials of web application development. We’ll start by explaining what web applications are and why they are important. Then, we’ll dive into the development process, from setting goals to launching the app. You’ll also learn about native and hybrid apps, essential skills, and the top technologies developers use, such as Ext JS.

Let’s get started.

What Is A Web Application?

The web application is software that allows user interaction by using different web browsers. We must know that a web application runs on a web server. It consists of a user interface that sends back all the user-generated content to the development team. The user engagement and other data give us insight into consumers’ preferences, interests, and usage patterns.

We may start thinking that what’s the benefit of getting insights into consumers’ data? Well, this data can help us make big marketing decisions. Moreover, all this data is also helpful for marketing our products available on the website. Due to this amazing benefit, the web application is gaining popularity across all life sectors.

What Is Web Application Development?

Different factors help us to develop an app. The first and most important one is to set the objective for our apps’ use. Setting the objective of our app refers to the purpose of web apps in website applications development.

For example, is it a product-selling web app or something that helps in job applications? No matter the purpose, it will guide us in designing the user interface. The user interface of our web apps can give us information about users’ behavior visiting our web apps.

Thus, we should build a web app in such a way that it accepts and acts on users’ generated data. Some tasks that come under web application development are: It should offer compatibility with both iOS and Android. The app should be able to identify optimization metrics and life cycles. It should have an interactive and intelligent user interface.

Native Apps vs. Hybrid Apps

The task of developing a mobile application starts with choosing between native and hybrid apps. Each has its own advantages and disadvantages.

Native applications are made for one specific operating system, like iOS or Android. They are built using platform-specific languages like Swift or Kotlin. These apps are customized for one OS. As a result, they run more efficiently, load faster, and integrate well with features like cameras and GPS sensors.

They also offer high-fidelity graphics, improving the user experience. However, they are expensive and time-consuming to develop. Each OS needs a separate code base.

Hybrid applications, on the other hand, are developed using web languages like HTML, CSS, and JS. They are wrapped in a native wrapper to work on multiple systems. Frameworks like Ionic, Flutter, and React Native can be used. Since they use a single code base for all platforms, hybrid apps are cheaper and easier to create. However, their performance may not match native apps, especially for advanced tasks with rich graphics.

The choice depends on your goals and available resources. If you want high performance and an excellent experience, choose native apps. If saving time and money is a priority, hybrid apps are the better option. Understanding the differences helps in making the right choice.

Web Application Development Skills

Web application creation requires various hard and soft skills. Developers need to understand coding, UI, SEO, and more. Below are some essential skills for web developers:

UI and UX Design

Designers must follow specific guidelines to meet users’ expectations. Mobile-only apps can’t be used on desktops, and desktop apps may not work on mobile platforms.

Programming Languages

Developers need strategies for automating applications in HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and Python. These languages form the foundation of web applications.

Analytical Skills

Analytical skills are important for studying user trends and the market. This helps in targeting app advertising effectively.

SEO Knowledge

To rank high on search engines, web applications need good SEO. This increases visibility and helps apps outperform competitors.

Version Control

Developers should manage different versions of an app. Change-tracking tools like Atlassian Jira help troubleshoot and resolve issues.

Communication Skills

Effective communication is important for developers. Clients need someone who can explain concepts clearly, which contributes to the app’s success.

Testing and Debugging

Web apps handle large amounts of data, so testing is crucial. Developers conduct security, performance, and usability tests. Browser and accessibility testing are also important. Automated tools help streamline the process.

These skills are essential for web application development.

Types of Web Applications

Web apps are available in different types. The characteristics of each type of web app depend on how it is developed. Even though we use web technologies in building these apps, they differ based on their architecture. For example, web applications exist in three main categories or architectures: Client-side, Server-side, Single-page applications. Let’s dig into the concept of each architecture.

Client-Side Web Apps

Client-side web apps emphasize user experience by frequently giving them great performance levels. The user interface is the key component of client-side web apps. This is due to the fact that the client-side web programmes dominate the front-end development in these apps.

Server-Side Web Apps

The server-side software development process is also known as backend development. It involves the creation of servers, databases, different background operations, and APIs.

Single-Page Apps

Single-page applications, also known as SPAs, load new pages only when we click on the link. These applications lie in contrast to our conventional multi-page web apps. Interestingly, these apps combine the positive aspects of server-side and client-side apps.

Frameworks for Web Apps

When we work in a company, they always require appropriate front-end and back-end technologies. It helps us in completing the full-stack web app development process. Some technologies and frameworks that are helpful in creating those web apps are given below:

Front-End

When talking about the best front-end tools, the interesting part of knowing is that the best tools are still there. These tools are not changed in the last 25 years. But we can rely on them to build the best web apps.

JavaScript
Javascript is the main client-side programming language that most developers use. We employ Javascript to add client-side functions to our online and website applications. Learning Javascript is also very easy in website applications development.

HTML
HTML is another tool that helps in creating websites. It helps us to organize the content of our website. There is a large number of characters that help us to show audio, video, and pictures in HTML. We use particular tags to do it.

CSS
CSS defines the looks of our web pages in website applications development. For example, the color of our web page and the font of written content is all defined by CSS. Just like HTML and Javascript, CSS is a foundational technology. Let’s dig into the back-end web development technologies.

Back-End Technologies.

Back-end development uses different web technologies since it includes multiple different elements. It may include server-side programming, APIs, web servers, databases, etc.

Programming Languages
It might entail the management of security authentications and user connections. The Back-end development process works with the databases to send and receive the data. Some most used programming languages in back-end development are Java, Python, Ruby, PHP, etc. So now, we have some ideas to learn programming.

Databases
We house our application’s data by using databases in website applications development. Databases use query languages to send and receive data. Some query languages are Oracle, PostgreSQL, and MySQL. All of these languages have multiple versions.

Servers
Servers help us in responding to network queries. A server uses internet access to retrieve the data when a client requests the data.

APIs
APIs have enabled connecting the functionalities of two different applications or software systems. Moreover, we save time by implementing APIs and not developing anything from scratch. Let’s suppose we developed a portal for tourists in which we allow tourists to book hotels in their destination.

But since we don’t want to develop anything from scratch, we can implement an API of booking.com. It will direct the users to just click on our portal and direct them to booking.com for hotel booking.

What Steps Are There In Web Application Development Process?

It is important to follow some important steps when we are developing a web application. Let’s check all the steps here:

Define The Issue

First, we must know which issue we want to solve using web applications. We must also consider the needs of our users. Let’s take the example given above. Our users’ problem is finding a suitable hotel near their tourist destination. So, we are creating a Geospatial portal for our tourists. What’s next? Continue reading!

Schedule The Workflow For Your Website Applications Development

In this step, we create a method to organize our web application development components in a logical way. We have to consider the web app components and our resources and money to satisfy the needs of our users. For example, In our tourism portal, we may use REACT component, PERN stack, and integration of different APIs.

Create A Prototype For Your Web Application.

We must create a prototype to see what our finished product will look like. It is more like a minimal viable product in our software development process.

Test Your Prototype

The idea of testing our prototype should be compelling enough to fulfill the needs of our users. It should have features that convince the public to use our platform.

Create Your App

Then, we need to find the software to help us create our app. In this case, we need to think about all the back-end and front-end technologies and frameworks.

Examine Your App

We need to examine our app at each step to make sure that it is working fine without any complications. A professional development team examines each step in the development process.

Get Your Web Apps Hosted & Launched

We need to host our app on the web server. It indicates that choosing a cloud hosting provider and domain name is essential to launch our online application.

How to Become a Web Application Developer?

Aspiring web app developers should focus on obtaining relevant degrees or certifications. Degrees in web design or computer science provide a strong foundation. These programs help beginners start their careers in web development.

Professional certifications can boost a developer’s skills and credentials. Examples include Meta’s Front-End Developer, Back-End Developer, and Introduction to Front-End Development certifications. Other options are Google’s UX Design certification and IBM’s Introduction to Web Development with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.

Developers also need to build both hard and soft skills. Hard skills include programming languages like HTML5, CSS, JavaScript, Python, and PHP. These can be learned through degrees in software engineering or similar fields. Such degrees also open doors to other career paths in technology.

Soft skills, like project management, are equally important. They help developers manage time and resources effectively. These skills ensure that projects are completed efficiently and on schedule.

How Does Sencha Help In Web Development?

Sencha helps us in the web development process through the fastest Javascript grid. This is due to the fact that Sencha consists of 140+ high-performing UI components. JavaScript-based data-intensive HTML5 applications can be made with the help of Sencha Ext JS.

The most complete JavaScript framework for creating cross-platform, data-intensive online and mobile applications for any modern device is Sencha Ext JS.

Ext JS comes with more than 140 pre-integrated, high-performance user interface (UI) elements, including Grids, Pivot Grids, D3 Adapter, Trees, Charts, Calendars, etc.

With more than 100 incredible data grid features, Sencha is the ideal current enterprise-grade grid solution for React UI.

We can completely redesigned the Ext JS grid to make use of contemporary JavaScript. Additionally, a completely new design will provide the same fantastic capabilities and even greater speed in a simple-to-use React API.

Sencha WebtestIt significantly improves productivity in building robust and reliable UI tests for web applications. Sencha supports you with more resources in web application development.

Final Thoughts On Website Applications Development

The website application development process may seem complex, but it is easy once we know all the steps. But before developing a web, we should have a strong problem to address by developing our web. It will make the users prefer our web app to solve their particular issues.

Ext JS at Sencha has the amazing to handle a larger number of records. Moreover, it has a large feature set with full control customization. Apart from that, many other features make it easy to integrate with our web apps.

Even if the problem has been solved by our previous competitors, we should add some advanced features to our app that compel the users to use our app. Sencha bring solution to developers, so we can also take help from it.

FAQs

What Is Website Applications Development?

Website applications development is the process that helps us develop a web app using different technologies.

What Does a Web Application Developer Do?

A web app developer writes efficient, well-designed, testable code by implementing best software practices.

What Is a Website Application?

It is a program delivered over the internet using a browser interface.

What Skills Are Needed for a Web App Developer?

Some most important skills are Javascript, HTML, CSS, and Python.

Sign Up for free now to integrate your web app with the most comprehensible Javascript framework.