Web Development

Web development is an umbrella term that describes any type of work required to build a website, either for the Internet or for an intranet (a private network). It is not to be confused with coding although it does form a huge part of the process.

People use websites on a daily basis to get information, read the news, view pictures, have fun, and (when they are not doing all of the above) work 🙂 . There is, however, a special kind of people who want to make or who are already making money off of websites – I believe you are one of those people, which makes your interest quite practical.

Knowing how websites are built allows us to better understand their capabilities and things we can achieve with a website. Would you like to have a moving background for your website? Would you like a fancy animation effect? Would you want to have an e-shop module installed with the ability to accept bitcoins as a payment method?

All the amazing possibilities are out there – we just have to reach for them and grab them.

What Is Web Development

No matter how broad the “web development” term may be, there are certain things that web developers do in particular order when they are to create a website.

In general, all web dev tasks can be roughly divided into three large categories:

• Client-side scripting (writing the code that enables your website to display various visual elements – colors, fonts, images, buttons, animation, etc.)
• Server-side scripting (writing the code that executes on a web server and allows your website to function – enable scripts, data exchange, page loading, etc.)
• Database technology (making sure the two previous parts run harmoniously together)

If you were to compare a website to a car, “client-side” would refer to the car body while “server-side” would refer more to the engine, transmission, and other moving parts. In this analogy of ours, database technology would be your onboard computer system and its diagnostics.

As you can see, there are quite a lot of elements in the equation. That’s why it takes a team of professionals to build a quality website that would work like a Mercedes-Benz – otherwise, you risk winding up with another wonder of the Chinese automotive industry.

If it is all so complicated, why would anyone want to get them a website? Can an online business do without it? Unfortunately, no.

To run a successful business online (or offline, for that matter), you must have a website because:

• It represents your brand and demonstrates your products/services better than anything else
• It is a perfect sales and lead-generating tool
• It is a perfect way to entertain, educate, and keep your visitors informed about your brand
• It is a perfect source of feedback and an excellent communication platform with your customers