If you are starting a software company today (or any company for that matter), having an attractive website that catches users’ attention is what sometimes separates a successful startup from a failed one.
Despite the excess of tools, platforms, guides, and other services for startups out there, building a good website is not easy. We see a lot of websites that are either not aesthetically appealing or lack captivating content. And you might be surprised but a lot of it is pre-defined at the web development stage.
The fundamentals of web development
Before we talk about web development for launching a website in more detail, let’s cover the basics:
- Web development is used for building applications and websites, and it is focused on programming that essentially controls and guides the apps’ or websites’ functionality.
- The two main categories of web app development are back-end and front-end development. The front-end is all about the elements that the user can see, while the back-end is the foundation that is left behind the scenes. Both categories combined created full-stack development.
- Among the skills that would be needed for web development, the core ones are the knowledge of HTML, CSS, JavaScript, API, authentication, and databases.
Main stages of web development
Now let’s go through the key stages in web development that must be followed to create a fully-functioning and efficient website that would appeal to the customers.
Stage 1: Research
Information gathering and research should not be dismissed. Without the research, startups have a much higher risk of creating websites that don’t match their target audiences’ needs and expectations.
Market, customer, and competitor research helps identify the right path for website development, avoid others’ mistakes, and learn from the existing cases.
Stage 2: Planning
Once we have all the data and have drawn the conclusions from it, it’s time for planning and creating a sitemap and a wireframe, and to think through the functions and features you want on the website.
Sitemaps help ensure your future website is well-structured and intuitive. Being user-friendly is a must for modern websites. Users now are much more experienced and spoiled, so they will not tolerate inconvenience. A wireframe is responsible for a visual description of the website, complementing the sitemap.
As for the functions, consider such things as an admin portal, login, and live chat.
Stage 3: Design
The next stage is web design development, and here we can use the insight we got from our research. Consider your audiences’ preferences and make a website design according to that while at the same time keeping it unique to your startup’s positioning and vision.
A design layout will add structure to your web pages, making them even more user-friendly and enjoyable. Among the other things, images and videos, text placement, and colour contrast are decided at this stage.
Stage 4: Development
The development stage is arguably the most exciting and nerve-wracking one. That’s when all our ideas and plans start to come to life.
The website development process usually starts from the main page, moving on to the other pages that are connected to the main one. Depending on the startup resources, the company can hire an in-house team or outsource software development to an agency.
Outsourcing software development helps save time and finances, and avoids the headache of hiring and maintaining a team while accessing professionals with profound knowledge of different technology.
Pro tip: as you go into the development, make sure the website is mobile-friendly and is optimised to work well on all mobile devices.
Stage 5: Content
Content writing can start after development or simultaneously with it.
Engaging content is the key to grabbing leads’ attention once your ads point them towards the website. It is also essential for a good SEO ranking that will bring in organic traffic and sales over time. (splendorofyouth.com) Content for the website needs to be structured and include (sub)headings, tags, and other elements to help make it more searchable on the web.
Pro tip: a software startup has to update the website’s content regularly, otherwise the website will not be ranking well. Plus, it has to include the latest and most full information on the company’s offering. It is best to hire someone with copywriting skills who will be able to update the content and keep users engaged.
Stage 6: Testing
Once the development is finished and the content is uploaded, it is vital to perform final tests before the website goes live.
Sometimes, testing is performed throughout the development stage, for example, if the software development company you partner with practices Agile, then they will do a series of tests after each development step (sprint). However, final testing has to be performed once all content is uploaded, to ensure the first end-users will get a pleasant experience.
Stage 7: Launch and maintenance
After testing is done, it’s time to launch the website.
Once the website is live, the work goes on and shifts to:
- Fixing any bugs that users report.
- Updating the content to match the latest offering.
- Adding or removing website components, such as individual landing pages.
- Incorporating customer feedback into the website.
Partner with Emphasoft to create your dream website
Emphasoft is a web development agency that specialises in software for startups. Our team of 170+ specialists has created many different applications for startups over the years, and we know exactly how to create a captivating website to launch a new venture.
Get in touch with us today, and we will be able to start working on your web development software project in three days.
