What Is Website Development?

Hikmah Adetunji
4 min readSep 23, 2023

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Photo by Christopher Gower on Unsplash

Table of content

  1. Introduction.
  2. What is web development?
  3. What types of web development exist?
  4. Importance of web development.
  5. Conclusion.

Introduction

In the world today, technology is now the order of the day. This massive growth of technology brings about a huge need for tech skills, thereby turning these skills into hot cakes. One of the technical skills in this category is web development. As the name implies, it’s the process of creating websites. But the truth is that web development is more than that. Want to know more about web development? Then this article is for you. Read on to find out everything about this in-demand tech skill.

What is web development?

Web development is the field of technology that focuses on the creation and maintenance of a website or webpage. To be practical, in the world we live in today, online presence has become a huge marketing tool. Businesses, schools, and even charity organizations are seizing this opportunity to present themselves to the global community.

So in this process, they will need a website. Hence, creating a functional website for organizations and also maintaining it to prevent it from crashing is what web development entails.
Web development encompasses a wide range of tasks, ranging from the coding aspect to technical design to the website’s performance. This function is carried out by a website developer.

What types of web development exist?

Although web development mainly entails the creation and maintenance of a website, the work is divided into three categories. These categories are:

  • Front-end development.

This category involves the handling of the website parts that will be visible to users, i.e., the parts users interact with on the website. When you log into a website, the color layouts, the drop-down menu, and practically everything visible to you as a user are created through front-end development. The programming languages used in this category of web development are

  • HTML,
  • CSS,
  • and Javascript.

Some of the libraries and frameworks used are

  • Bootstrap,
  • Material UI,
  • React.Js,
  • and Tailwind CSS.

Developers in this category are known as front-end developers.

  • Back-end development.

This is the second category, and it entails working on aspects of the website that are not visible to users. Also known as server-side development, it deals with the behind-the-scenes programs, APIs, and database interactions that power the website. The coding languages used for backend development are

  • PHP,
  • Java,
  • and Python.

Some of the frameworks used are

  • Django,
  • Node.js,
  • Laravel,
  • and Rails.

The developers are mostly known as back-end developers.

  • Full-stack development.

This is a unique aspect of web development. Unique in the sense that it’s a combination of both frontend and backend development. The developers in this category will take care of the entire development process, from creating the user-friendly functionalities of the front end to working on the behind-the-scenes aspects of the back end.

This category of web development involves knowledge of all programming languages and frameworks involved in website development. These developers are known as full-stack developers.

Importance of web development.

So, why web development? Web development is of immense importance in today’s digital world for several reasons:

  • Accessibility: This is one of the benefits businesses derive from website development. Having a website establishes an online presence for businesses, making them accessible to a global audience 24/7.
  • Increased Visibility: A well-designed, user-friendly website transcends geographical boundaries, enabling businesses to reach a broader and more diverse audience, potentially expanding their base.
  • Search Engine Optimization: Having a well-optimized website makes businesses rank higher in search engine results, making it easier for customers to find them while searching for relevant products and services.
  • Competitive advantage: In many industries, having an online presence is fundamental. A well-designed website can give a business organization a competitive edge over businesses that lack one.
  • Customer convenience: Through the website, customers can easily find information about a particular business's products, services, contact details, and even make purchases or inquiries, thereby enhancing their convenience.
  • Credibility and trust: A professionally designed website conveys credibility and trust to potential customers, partners, and investors, which is crucial for building lasting relationships.

Conclusion.

Being a website developer comes with its own perks, but attaining the position can be quite challenging. However, as an aspirant, this process can be simplified by having previous knowledge of what the field entails, including the categories so as to know which of the three you can dive in. And there you have it with this article.

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Hikmah Adetunji

Hikmah is a trainee in frontend web development and a technical writer. She is a lover of nature photography and personal development enthusiast.