A Beginners Guide to Web Application Development 2021

It was the year 2011, I had a concept for a web application that would support my family and me to share pictures, organize shopping, populate a distributed calendar, and commodity bills. My family was extremely disorganized. We required this!

This concept was operating to make me a bunch of 💰💰💰.

There was a small dilemma with my imagination - I didn’t know how to build a web application. But thankfully, I could develop a static site with HTML and CSS so it couldn’t be that difficult, right?

I was beyond, I wasted 3 days endeavoring to study how a database operated and how to attach the frontend to the backend. Those 3 days were hard and the end of my goal. I was disappointed.

Thankfully, this did not stop me. Over the following 10 years, I developed over 20 web applications. This guide is my contribution to my 2011 self, and to other beginners.

A beginners guide to web application development 2021

What is this guide and how will it assist me?

The web application development view is changeable in nature and usually viewed as a dark art to numerous ‘non-coders’. The lexicon encompassing the ‘dark art’ makes it less convenient, and in many ways preventing to hopefuls. I swear you, this guide is not like that.

Inside this guide, I wish to shine a spotlight on web application development and give the reader, you, with a level of understanding which should provide you with the skills and discussion to stand adequately amongst developers, and develop your own web application.

This guide is composed of developers (beginner), entrepreneurs, technical product managers, students, engineers, technical marketers.

You’ll study what web application development is, how it works, and what you need to do to build a web app.

In the forthcoming sections, I am operating to divide the head into its most essential and attractive elements and reveal to you how to link its components to build a successful web app.

The sections within this guide, include:

1. What is web application development
2. Examples of web application development
3. Web application development process
4. Web application development frameworks
5. Web application development platforms

what is web application development

Image Source: Vskills

What is web application development?

Web application development is the method associated with building a web application. It is more focused on communicating with the browser than standard engineering processes. Most examples of web application development will include setting the difficulty, mocking-up the answer, engaging with users, using a framework/choosing a tool, and ultimately, building and examining the web application - in the largest cases, iteratively with users.

What is a web application?

For those of you who do not understand what a web application is, I have incorporated a definition below:

A web application usually related to as a web app is an interactive computer program developed with web technologies (HTML, CSS, JS), which reserves (Database, Files) and manages data (CRUD), and is utilized by a team or a single user to execute jobs over the internet. CRUD is a famous acronym and is at the heart of web app development. It stands for Create, Read, Update, and Delete. Web apps are obtained via a web browser such as Google Chrome and usually involve a login/signup mechanism.

Web applications vs website

Image Source: Scnsoft

Web applications vs website

The key variation is how we communicate with each other. Web applications are described by their information - we build, read, update, and delete data within a web application. Websites are defined by their output - we read the news, marketing information, FAQs on websites.

Progressive web applications

Progressive web applications are a unique type of web application that works like and usually outperforms native applications. They are web applications that support a lightly various methodology and include an extra set of technologies such as assistance workers, manifests, push notifications. Progressive web applications can be downloaded to your device and saved on your home screen which creates them accessible, and ‘native-like’, and unlike web applications, they can be located and utilized offline.

6 examples of web applications

Mailchimp UI

1. Mailchimp

Mailchimp is a marketing automation program specializing in email marketing. They have been around since 2001 and their program is a deeply complex web application with a gorgeous UI building the program feels mild to utilize.

Google Docs UI

2. Google Docs

Google Docs, think it or not, is a web application. It is also possible for a mobile application. Designed in 2012, Google Docs was born from the addition of a number of other web applications and is excellent for building, reading, updated, and deleting records 😉

Notion UI

3. Notion

The notion is an all-in-one, note-taking, and collaboration web application with markdown assistance. The product was issued in 2016 and is fast growing a staple in numerous small businesses.

Airtable UI

4. Airtable

Numerous refer to Airtable as the ‘Online Excel’. It is related to Excel in UI but combines extra layers of functionality making it a robust database answer for companies. Airtable is a complex web application with thousands of users.

Xero UI

5. Xero

Xero is an accountancy web application. With a center on data, Xero highlights how a web application can trade with complex computations and present it to users in an easy interface.

Salesforce UI

6. Salesforce

Salesforce is the number 1 SaaS result in the world from a revenue outlook. As a CRM, it is complicated in nature performing it as an excellent instance of a web application with various aspects including dashboards, reports, tables, etc.

Web application development process

Imgae Source: Miro Medium

Web application development process

There are several distinct methods associated with creating a web application. Below, I have summarised the diverse steps included in the web application development process.

If you are keen to study how to create a web application in deeper detail, I would recommend you to verify this amazingly informational post - How to make a web app.

Here we go, the 8 points for building a web application.

1. Describe the obstacle you are answering

Describing the difficulty is critical. It is your North Star and gives the command. Your answer is headed from your obstacle.

2. Prepare the workflow of your web application

Once you identify your answer, map out the workflow of how it will work. What requires to happen within your web application for it to resolve the dilemma?

3. Wireframe/prototype your web application

Modify your workflow into a wireframe. Your wireframe is easily a tool for reaching your resolution to your mark user.

4. Receive Validation

Give your wireframe to possible users of your latest web application. Record feedback and repeat on the design until you, and your inherent users are happy.

5. Choose your firepower

You will use various tools/platforms/frameworks to make your web application. It’s necessary to pick a tool that suits the job (in this case your web application) and not to go with what is trendy. For example - for a simple to-do app, Django joined with React strength is overkill.

6. Make your web application

Database

Determine what data you require to save in your database and also your data examples. Then make your database.

Frontend

You will likely make your frontend and backend at the corresponding time. Your frontend will loosely mirror your wireframe/prototype you confirmed quicker. The frontend consists of HTML, CSS, and JS - like one of our frontend frameworks here.

Backend

Creating your backend is one of the hardest sections of the web application development process. The main purposes of the backend are to give HTTP endpoints for your frontend (remember CRUD!), authenticate users, permission, and to serve the frontend.

7. Test your web application

Testing your web application is a continuous process and normally happens during and after the building stage. You can automate the trial or do it manually. During the trial phase, you should attempt to overlay functionality, usability, compatibility, security, and performance testing.

8. Host and deploy your web application

Hosting includes working your web application on a server. You will require to buy a domain and prefer a cloud hosting provider. To take your web application from your local machine to your cloud provider and deploy it, you will require to use a CI tool.

And in a nutshell, that’s the web application development process. Once over, if you need more learning on how to make a web application, visit How to make a web app.

Web application development frameworks

Web application development frameworks

The idea of frameworks is to make web application development more comfortable and quicker than coding a web app from the mark.

Web application frameworks are outspoken and each has its own philosophy and benefits. They appear in two types; backend and frontend. Fact be told, the frontend frameworks here are not actually frameworks at all; they only describe the design layer of a web application. But for the purpose of simplicity, we’ll suggest them as frameworks.

Backend frameworks

1. Rails wrote in Ruby

Rails define itself as ‘a web-application framework that covers everything required to build database-backed web applications according to the Model-View-Controller (MVC) design’. Rails is a comprehensive framework for metaprogramming (where a computer application can handle other applications as their data) and database orientated web programming. In my view, Rails is the ideal framework for small projects.

2. Django written in Python

Django defines itself as a ‘high-level Python Web framework that supports rapid development and clean, pragmatic design’. In my mind, I would suggest anyone who is operating scientific programming or data administration to pick Django.

3. Laravel wrote in PHP

Laravel represents itself as a web application framework with a strong, elegant syntax. Laravel is composed in PHP - a programming language. Laravel supports the model-view-controller, architectural model’. Laravel has a bunch of tools obtaining it convenient and easy to apply. It is well adapted for many types of applications.

Frontend frameworks/libraries

The following frontend frameworks are totally composed of JavaScript.

1. React

React clearly represents itself as ‘a javascript library for creating user interfaces’. This is a pretty easy and simple explanation of React. It is a robust frontend library designed and managed by Facebook. Of all the frontend frameworks listed, React is the most successful and robust. It is well adapted for large-scale web projects. Picking it for little to medium-sized projects is a slight overkill - once again, in my view.

2. Vue

Vue represents itself as ‘the progressive JavaScript framework’. Vue is tinier in size and simpler to learn than React, and is suitable for most sizes of projects. It’s also simple to execute into a project which is helpful.

3. Svelte

Svelte represents itself as ‘cybernativally enhanced web apps’. Svelte is the latest kid on the slab and is a compiler rather than a structure. This indicates no pragmatic DOM, no frameworks on the head of frameworks, and no framework to fill at runtime, appearing in amazingly performant web applications. Svelte syntax performs the framework the simplest to learn from the frontend frameworks considered and ideal for inadequate to medium-sized web applications. It is unproven with large web applications. The community and ecosystem are tinier than React and Vue, but it’s rising. Efrog uses Svelte, and we absolutely love it.

Web application development platforms

Web application development platforms are a super-fast and simpler method to develop web applications. They eliminate many of the complexities experienced with coding and displace them with a simple to utilize user interface. This is a lovely new section and the tools can also be defined as a low-code stage.

Efrog

Efrog is the most prominent software development company and web development company that provides you quality-wise services at an affordable price. We have an expert well-trained team to help you to design your web application Melbourne as per your business requirement and easy to navigate, beautiful user interface, and much more. Get more info visit the website.

Closing notes

Finally, when making a web application you have options to gain. If you follow the method above, once you get to the development platform you will have to judge whether to code your web application from scratch, use a structure, or use a web development platform. Each has its own advantages. Coding from scratch is more flexible than applying a web development platform but slower and harder. A web development platform is simpler and quicker to apply than a framework, but less scalable. Think thoroughly, and pick what’s best for the job at hand.

If you are thinking of working on a web development platform, I, biasedly, would greet you to attempt Efrog when it is discharged within the next several months.

Whatever conclusions you execute, Efrog wishes you well 🙏. The essential thing is, you decide 👊. Making a web application, and in some instances, a business, is a difficult task and we are rooting for you on the interests👏.