Web development: Four steps to a functional web app

A web app is a helpful and versatile tool that can be used in companies, for example, for internal administration or for handling services for customers. So it can be both the portal for your employees in the company, where they can find an email inbox, a chat program, as well as the application that provides a service to your customers as a software as a service. We would like to explain you how you can perform a successful web development in four steps and get a web app according to your ideas. But first, you need to know what the difference is between web apps and a website.

1. What is the difference between web app and regular website?
2. The steps of app programming
3. Collect ideas
4. Create a detailed web app concept
   1. The data transfer
   2. Considering offline mode in web development
   3. Account creation and login
   4. Presentation of the web app
5. Development phase
6. Completion
7. Support of web development software

What is the difference between web app and normal website?

A normal website and a web application are very similar, the boundaries between the two are blurred rather than being able to be drawn precisely. Both the website and the web application can be accessed through a browser. The end device does not play a role. The main difference between websites and web apps is that a web app has a function that can be triggered by the user. An interaction is therefore required from the user. For example, this is the case with an SEO tool developed as a web app. The user logs into the app to analyze a specific keyword, for example, before writing his text. He enters the keyword and receives corresponding results, so the web app requires an action on the part of the user to invoke its full functionality. A website is often just about getting some information about, for example, a company. Accordingly, the website contains mainly text and images.

The steps of app programming

By now you must have determined whether a simple website is enough for you or whether it should be a real web application. If you decide to go for a web application, then you can follow the following four steps to quickly get your own web app.

1. collect ideas

The first step to your successful app is to collect ideas. First, ask yourself why you want to program a custom web app and what features you want it to have. As we have already mentioned, a web app can serve many purposes. Who should be able to use it and what is the focus? Once you've brainstormed, you can organize the ideas one by one and build a detailed concept. You'll learn how to do this in the next step.

2 Create a detailed web app concept

For a good concept of your web app you should highlight which functions and aspects are most important to you. These are the center of your concept. All other details should be based on these aspects, so that they support the main functions. Always try to put the user in the center. How is the web application intuitive and easy to use? You can also find ideas for your web app in our references of already successfully implemented web apps.

There are also a few technical and organizational aspects to consider, which you should work out in a concept. We would like to briefly introduce you to these aspects.

• Data transmission

App programming is essentially about receiving data from a server and how to display it correctly so that the user can interact with it. Generally, there are two different ways in which data can be received and displayed. These are synchronous or asynchronous data transmission. In synchronous data transmission, each time the user enters data, the current status is transmitted to the server. The server responds accordingly to this action and plays a result to the user. However, the web application must be reloaded each time for this. The asynchronous variant avoids constant page loading by transmitting the input directly to the server. The server's response is built directly into the HTML structure.

• Consider offline mode in web development

You also need to clarify the question of whether the application should also be usable offline and how this can be implemented. In principle, it is also possible for the web app to function without an Internet connection. But for this, further requirements must be ensured so that all necessary data is also stored locally.

• Account creation and login

While you are planning your web app, you should also decide, for example, whether a login is necessary for your purposes. If it is an internal process, you should definitely include a login with an email. Likewise, this also applies to Software as a Services, where it makes sense to have different users who create their own account.

• Presentation of the web app

In web development, you should bear in mind that the web app will be called up by different end devices. Accordingly, the view must also be adapted to the screen size of the respective device without the functionality and readability suffering.

Of course, these aspects are only an excerpt of what must be considered when creating a comprehensive concept. Depending on the project, the use case and the desired functions, there are many more aspects to consider.

3. development phase

The development phase is about putting your concept into practice. You or your employees do this yourself or you look for an app agency that specializes in this. No matter who ends up programming the web app, this is the phase that will probably take the longest. Here it may also happen that your concept has to be revised, because certain aspects work even better differently. So, during the development phase, alternatives to the original plan must also be found and implemented. Gradually, the developers of the app application will work through all the points of the concept until a complete web app is created.

4. completion

For the final completion of the project, you will probably need to test the web app several times. For this, it's best to ask other employees from your company to try out the app and give you feedback. Depending on the feedback from your employees, adjustments may have to be made before the final completion. After this step, the app will be ready and fully functional.

Web development software support

Did you realize while reading our article that you want support from a professional team in developing your web app? Then you're already in the right place! At EXWE, we specialize in helping clients from all sectors develop web apps and custom software. We are also happy to provide advice and take care of monitoring, adapting to new requests or answering questions even after a project has been completed. Please feel free to contact us by phone!