Think of all the web apps you have used over the last month. Your favorite news page, Facebook, shopping pages, Instagram – you probably can’t even count the number of websites you visited. If you want to book a hotel room, find gift’s, or schedule a doctor’s appointment, the internet is most likely the first place you go to do that. 80% of major purchases start with online research, even if the purchase itself happens in a store. So isn’t it kind of shocking that 1 in 5 small businesses still don’t have a website or a web app? Especially looking at the huge variety of benefits web apps can offer businesses. The right web app can take your business to the higher level by showing yourself as a trustworthy partner that cares about its customers. However, how do you make a fully-featured web app that your customers will love? If you don’t have the expertise or time to make one yourself, that’s where web development services come in.

What is Web Development?

Web development is the entire process of building, testing, designing, and maintaining websites and web apps. This refers to all the work that goes into making a web app perform well, look great, and have a seamless user experience – web design, client-side/server-side scripting, web content development, network security configuration, and sometimes SEO optimization.

In most cases, full-stack web developers create these products by preparing long lines of code in a text editor, styling it using CSS, and then putting all elements together. But nowadays, they can also use programs such as Content Management systems or Adobe Dreamweaver to set up a new website without writing everything from scratch. 

Web developers are usually divided into back -end devs, front-end devs, and full-stack devs. Front-end development professionals are responsible for all the visual components of a website (navigation bar, layout, etc.). Front-end developers are also responsible for its interactivity and functionality.

Backend developers handle-less visible tasks and development topics such as managing the web app services, applications, and database. Backend developers might also need to use additional server-side languages, such as Python, Java, Ruby, and PHP to resolve server issues with back-end development. Full-stack developers meanwhile are able to do both back-end and front-end tasks. 

What tools do web developers use?

Typically, when people talk about web app development tools, they mean the languages and apps that allow developers to write and debug the code for web applications – Java, HTML, and CSS. But as the digital world evolves, so does the part of a web developer.

Today, they have to know over and above writing code snippets. They have to be familiar with visual aspects, UI/UX responsive design, wire-framing, prototyping, cyber security, SEO, and much more. The good news is that there are a lot of web development tools available now that can help developers accomplish those tasks without having to start from scratch – from design platforms like Invasion and Sketch to testing programs like Postman and collaboration software like Slack and Asana.

The tools they utulize depend on the type of work they do. For example, Front-End Developers use HTML, JavaScript, CSS, as well as frameworks like React, Backbone, Bootstrap, AngularJS, and EmberJS.

Meanwhile, Back-End Developers will typically use server-side languages, including PHP, Python, and Ruby, as well as tools like Git, Oracle, and MySQL.

The benefits of hiring a professional web developer

Although modern content management systems like WordPress allow almost anyone to create their digital products very easy, they are usually quite limited in terms of customization options or features. That is why most companies choose either to work on the web apps themselves or hire a web development team to maintain and design their company web apps.

Creating the web app itself has the trump card that the company will have full control over the development process and be able to monitor its progress. However, doing it in-house might quickly become a burden to their squad if they don’t have the necessary skills or time to work on testing and designing the website.

What are some of the advantages of getting help from a professional?

1- By hiring a web development team, you can focus on running your business as usual while the development team will set up the web app for you.

2- You can employ a web developer either to assist you in designing your web app or to do it for you and deliver the finished product.

3- Web development companies have the skills and knowledge to get your web app up and running quickly, within your budget, and with a fantastic user experience. They also know what to do if something doesn’t work out as planned, so you don’t have to worry about your business.

4- They know how to enhance your web app’s speed, performance, and security with various plugins, so you can be sure it all is fully optimized.

5- Besides setting up your web app, they can help you with all the technical aspects of your site, such as cloud hosting, security, maintenance, and SEO.

6- Their knowledge of the latest technologies and industry trends will help you create a more appealing, functional and up-to-date web app.