Introduction
In current times, websites have become an important part of any business. You must’ve been imagining creating a website from the moment you first started your business. Therefore, you must be in search of the best web development company. While every website is distinct in its way, what stays unchanged is designing, developing, and launching it fruitfully. For developing a website, you must connect with the best website development company. You must also know the Website Development Checklist before starting the process.
Yet, you might be of the opinion that web development is a one-time task. You don’t need to worry about it again, right? Wrong! If done carefully, the web development process can take up a considerable amount of time, based on the size and complexity of the website you are building. That’s the reason why you should be aware of everything about website development.
That said, you realize web development checklists are essential for making sure everything is in place, but where do you begin? Don’t panic! We’re here to guide you! We’ll take you through the complete website development checklist and help you make your website stand out among the crowd.
Must-Follow Web Development Checklist: 9 Exceptionally Valuable Things To Consider
#1 Secure the Domain & Set Up SSL
Securing the domain and setting up the SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) are key website development aspects that must be addressed when setting up an online business. That said, one of the most significant considerations when starting to build a website is security.
It’s easy to overlook, but it can shatter if your site gets hacked. Also, customers are less probable to spend money on a site that creates doubt or uncertainty about security. Hence, it becomes important for businesses to protect the domain and set up SSL for their websites.
#2 Set up hosting and Storage
Depending on the project, you will need to set up web hosting and storage options for your files and scripts. While it is common during the developmental stage to code and deploy sites offline, on a local host or staging site hosted on another domain, it is best to set up the web hosting and storage options as soon as possible. This will allow you to ensure that your web hosting plan is big enough to handle your scripts and the technology that you employ.
#3 Optimize For SEO(Search Engine Optimization)
It’s an open secret that SEO is crucial to the success of nearly every website, but what does it really suggest? In the current competitive landscape, SEO gives websites a fighting chance by assisting them to rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs) and drive traffic from organic search.
Simply said, it’s about ensuring your website is optimized for the web and prepared to be found online. Therefore, SEO optimization becomes a vital website development checklist you must stick to if you want your customers to find you online.
#4 Map Out Design
A simple yet prominent web development checklist helps to keep the design process on track. When a web designer maps out a design, it offers a map of all the items that are required to be done and in what order they should be completed.
It also prevents designers from overlooking anything when creating an ideal website design process. Mapping design is not the lone way to keep track of your website development checklist, but it has its rewards. So, it’s recommended that you (as a business) must highlight this checklist and map out a functional design for your business website.
#5 Map out any other tools you need
There are plenty of great tools and services you can use to improve your web development workflow. For example, if you need to send out emails to clients or users regularly, MailChimp or Mandrill can be helpful.
Make a list of requirements and tasks your web development project needs, and come up with a shortlist of tools and services that will work for each requirement. Incorporating external tools and services into your web development workflow can help reduce your workload, and save time and effort.
#6 Pick Up Color & Font for Your Website
Websites are intended to be more than just functional. They should also involve, motivate, and inspire the reader. With that in mind, opting for colors and fonts for your brand is a significant website development checklist that every business owner must follow.
Picking up the right color palette and font for your business can have an impact on how your audience perceives you. For instance, when you come across a website with bright reds and oranges, does it seem fun and exciting? Or does it look like the company is in trouble? Precisely. Do you get the difference now? So opt for the colors and fonts that go well with your brand voice.
#7 Consider Requirement of Any External Tools
As you start with the creation of your website, one of the foremost things that should come to mind is that an external tool may be needed. Whether it’s for editing the image, generating graphics, or coding, several online tools are available to make your life at ease.
Before beginning any web development process, bear in mind what tools you might require. Also, external tools can spice up and increase your overall web development workflow. Thus, you should consider whether or not any external tools are required beforehand so that your development and launching become stress-free.
#8 Create XML Sitemaps
A sitemap is an XML file that lists pages on your website. As the number of pages increases, they become problematic to find fast. A sitemap enlists all the web pages with their full URLs that search engines can effortlessly search and access.
Search engine crawlers make use of sitemaps for indexing pages on your website. To have a fabulous website that doesn’t get left behind you must create sitemaps. It assists in keeping the robots updated about the recent changes made to the website and offers an enhanced experience to visitors.
#9 Keep Check on Cross-Browser Inconsistencies
Checking cross-browser inconsistencies is an essential part of web development. It has become tremendously important as more and more people use diverse browsers to view websites.
Different browsers at times have difficulties rendering code the same way, which can result in a website’s appearance on one browser being significantly different from its appearance on another. Thus, when developing a website, you must check the browser inconsistencies before launching your website.
#10 Formulate Error-Handling Strategies
Making an error-handling strategy is essential as it ensures that systematic and thorough troubleshooting techniques will be implemented when errors arise. To create a well-thought-out and tailored error-handling plan, one must first know why developing such a plan is important.
The prominence of effective handling of errors is that it will conserve time and money, enhance the quality and efficiency of a website, and assist in meeting deadlines. For these reasons, developing an effective error-handling strategy is fundamental.
#11 Backup Website
Creating a website backup is pivotal to formulating a web development checklist to follow to safeguard data from theft, hardware failure, and virus attacks. Luckily, with the advent of cloud storage services, such as Dropbox for small businesses, backing up websites has never been easier.
Website backup comprises storing copies of all website files onto another computer or server to be restored to their original location if the need arises. A backup website is fair enough to have for many reasons and must be on your website development checklist.
#12 Optimization of Security Settings
Security settings are critical to web development. Without a proper security strategy, your website will be vulnerable to hackers and other malicious users.
Every day, millions of websites are compromised due to poor security practices. Some are due to bad file access rules, out-of-date software, irresponsible handling of content, or even poorly coded websites. When planning your web development checklist and roadmap for your project, address all security considerations properly, so that your project is not compromised because of a security issue.
#13 File & Error Handling
Even the most experienced developers will face errors and bugs from time to time. Do not be discouraged if your code is not perfect from the start. Learning to handle errors and bugs is an essential part of being a coder.
When you do encounter errors, it is important to fix them quickly, so that your project does not suffer. Remember, web development is an ongoing process. You may create a great tool or website today, but you will need to update and maintain it over time.
Your web development project is made up of files, much like the internet. You’ll need to ensure that some files are publicly visible while others are hidden or only readable by administrators.
To avoid any security issues, take care of file permissions properly and name your files accordingly. For example, images and other documents should be given readable names so that search engines can index them. Don’t forget to use alt tags for your images as well.
The Bottom line
So, this was the web development checklist that every business owner must follow while building their website. This checklist will help to ensure that your website stands out and reaches its full potential.
Furthermore, this web development checklist will also lead you through creating a successful website that will produce revenue and increase customer loyalty. We hope this blog has given you some insight into the process. Now it’s time for action — simply adopt these best practices as your own to achieve success.