A complete guide for Custom web application

Custom web applications are developed for enterprises to market products and services.

It offers a number of varieties of solutions to enterprises comprising different categories. The fundamental objective behind every product and service is a healthy brand image, higher ROI, and superior online presence. 

Today, mobile application development services irrespective of the size of the enterprise follows a specific process making the daily routine easy.

However, the process experience some hindrances like the segregation of departments into different sections, makes the data transmission and information sharing difficult. Furthermore, it generates a huge communication gap between service providers and customers. As a result, the enterprises feel a high need to have a custom web application. The business needs can be easily integrated into the customized web applications and fulfill the real objective of your business. It helps in making your business activities easy and controls the due interaction between your employers and customers. 

So, when the enterprises require any supplementary functionality, the role of customized web application comes in. But here, you need to have specialized and experienced developers or development companies to develop a custom app. The process to develop the custom app goes through a systematic check with dedicated hours of quality work. So, it is important to know the process of custom web application development:

• Comprehensive analysis of the enterprises or organization need

• Developing design specification

• Brainstorming of the quality design concept

• Programming

• Assuring and Testing Quality and

• Support and Maintenance

It is the common process which is followed by all development companies, but not restricted to just these points.

Prerequisites before developing a Custom web application 

It is important to develop a data-centric web application, it is good to understand the following:

Backend Language- Languages like Ruby, Python controls how the web app works

DevOps- It deploys or hosts your web app

Web front end: for understanding the feel and look of your web app

Let’s dive into the development process of the custom web application. We can divide the entire process into 4 stages:

• Ideation Stage comprising idea source, market research, and functionality

• Design stage including sketch and planning of the workflow, Wireframing the UI, etc

• Development stage comprising database architect, developing frontend, building backend

• Launch stage comprising web app hosting and deploying web app.

1. Ideation Stage

Before progressive web app development you need to understand why you are developing a customized app. The better evaluation before starting development offers a perfect roadmap for the developers. But, the idea process has been the toughest part for the businesses. The idea for businesses should be routed to solve someone’s problem. The problem-solving perspective enriched more adaptability and success for your customization. 

So, it becomes important that you should choose the idea of your interest or principal idea of the business. It takes teamwork for building web applications, so its better to dedicated a planned process for every step of the web application. Its is better to make a checklist for deciding the development process:

• Time for building a web app

• The core objective of the business

• USP of web app

• Cost and Time for developing a custom web app

• Predictable changes after web app for your business

Once you are done with the ideation process, now it's important to have comprehensive market research. Market research enables you to explore the availability of existing services or products, existing markets, complexities, etc. 

Market research: It defines the basic necessity and compatibility of the market for your product or service. To find out the similar web application, you can use Google, Betalist, Patent and Trademark search and Product hunt and search for an idea.

In case if there is a similar product in the market, you need not be disappointed. It is a good sign that you have chosen the right market. The market has enough opportunities for you, as your competitors have already laid the groundwork. You just need to plan an organized plan to outset your competitors. On the other hand, if no similar predict exists, it also indicates that you have come to the right place; A better chance for being an innovator in the field. All depends on the effectiveness of your idea. 

Hit the specific goal: You should fetch enough information about the exiting market for your product and service. Soon after validating the market for your web application, it is time to list what your app will do.

It’s one of the fundamental mistakes people get carried away. Do consider, you can’t develop an app that solves everything but better to solve specific problems that also match the business goals and objectives. 

 Here, the importance of the app functionality comes into the picture. More functionality to the app adds more time in building your web app. The end result would be the lost market opportunities or a large number of competitors in the market. It is better to define your web apps’ functionality solving the problems of your targeted market. Here are some basic functions needed for CRM apps.

• Create an account

• Retrieve lost passwords

• Change passwords

• Create new contacts

• Upload new contacts

• Add notes under contacts

• Labeling the contact a customer or lead, and associate.

2. Design stage:

After the ideation stage, the actual work starts. The structure of every web application needs to be designed so dedicatedly that it enriches the user experience by fetching every possibility for the business to drive the market for their success. 

The designing stage starts with Sketching. You need to sketch out the required wireframe of the UI of your web apps. It is not mandatory to have an exact sketch, but it should resemble what you intend to develop. It is important to consider some factors while sketching :

• Navigation

• Forms

• Branding

• Buttons

Other necessary interactive elements:

The sketch known as wireframe shows different versions of the planned web app. Now just Consider how should the functionality of your web will influence the overall design.

Annotate that sketch.

Do make notes while sketching, it clarifies and makes you understand what does your design means and why you made it. The integration of every functionality will go through every aspect of your sketch. Remember, that your sketch communicates the core objective, functionality, roadmap to the developers, it is not for selling a final product. 

So don’t overcomplicate this process and try to make it as easy you can to understand or make developers understand. 

Plan workflow: Now after sketching you have to put yourself in the users’ shoes. It means that you are committed to planning web application workflow. 

But before planning workflow, go back to the market research, you did for your web app. Add the list comprising your possible competitors a just sign up for free trials offered by them. 

Pay attention to everything you think good or effective for you as well. It will help you in paying attention to your competitors’ workflow. Once you find it, it is the time to pen down every possible workflow for your custom web application Consider the following aspects: 

• How does web app user signup?

• Do they get a verification email?

• How does your user login

• How do they change their password?

• How do they navigating through the app

• How do they change user settings?

• How does your web app user make payment for the app?

• How do the users cancel the app subscription?

After going through from all these recommendations, your single page web application transforms into a multipage web app. Make a list comprising every page that the web app will have. Now, use your sketches for prototyping.

Prototyping: It is one step further to wireframing which adds an interactive display. It streamlines communication while your web app seeks validation. It is better to consider the following tools for prototyping or wireframing: 

•  InVision Studio (macOs)

• Adobe XD (macOS, Windows)

• Balsamiq (macOS, Windows, Web)

• Figma (Web, macOS, Windows, Linux)

• Sketch (macOS)

Early Validation: Now, it’s time to seek early validation for your web apps. Take feedbacks for your web apps and document all feedback. The learning from all these product feedback and validation will help you in developing your minimal excellent product (MEP).

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3. Development Phase:

Here we have got a rough estimate of our web application’s functionality, look, and required pages. Now, you are required to determine what type of information you will store in the database. 

A DBMS (Database Management System) provides consistent APIs :

• In creating databases, updating and deleting databases

• Reading and writing data to databases

• In securing the access to your database through leveled access to all different functions and areas 

So, what type of data you are required to store and the need of the users to store data will decide the database types needed to run the web application. The databases are divided according to their different purposes, but a web application will find between the following ones: 

SQL:

SQL databases are used if the data is quite relational. These type of databases possess powerful query language allowing to present data in all useful ways

Document Database:

If the data is not quite relational, use document databases. It stores “documents”. Each record is usually in JSON format over the web. So, if you are required to store a relationship between records, its important to write code for managing this yourself. Some of the document databases are CouchDB, MongoDB.

 Here, you are to decide the segregation of your data. Each of the clients possess their private dataset, and you would like to restrain one client from seeing other client’s data.

So, you must construct a solid strategy that segregates your client's data for making everything sure that it will not happen ever. You have two options for separation: Physical separation and Logical separation. Better to find your best way to separate databases. 

Build the front end: It is now turn to build the frontend. It is the visual element of the web app. It interprets what you are seeing and interacting with. Frontend is developed with JavaScript, HTML, and CSS. If you are using server pages, it is easy for you to start. The backed framework of the web app is prepared to start building. Here, the huge benefits come with the use of server pages. 

Furthermore, you are required to set up a development environment for a dedicated development process comprising all steps. The components will include: 

• A code editor, like Sublime Text, VS Code

• A Compiled framework

It is used for serving uninterruptedly and “Hot loading” app at mobile application development time, on your nodejs web server, which runs on localhost. The list of frontend frameworks is endless, but still highly advised frontend frameworks are: 

• React

• Vue

• Ember

• Svelte

You need to configure the packaging tool for talking to the app backend, maybe running on the localhost’ different port. Usually, the Node’s HTTP proxy is used for doing this. Most of the packaging solutions have either similar built-in options or are available as plugins.

At development time, the frontend should be making API requests to frontend’s own. Now, the Nodejs server should proxy either all or “API” requests to the backend server. While building for production, it is required to get compiled frontend files direct into the backend server to serve these as static files. 

Build the backend:

Backend is responsible for managing the operation and putting the wheels on your app. The backend comprise of the database, server and everything a user can’t see within a web application. The backend is the abstract form of all the functionality you do with the application. For building the backend you need to take care of the Server pages (in multipage application) and Single page application.

Primary jobs of backend are to:

• Provide the HTTP endpoint for the front end. This allows the operations such as Create, Read, Update and Delete records.

• User authentication: Log in information is matched and status of the success of operation is provided.

• Serve the frontend: For server page web apps, backend generates the frontend pages and serve them for client request. Whereas for the single page web app, backend simply serve the static frontend files and the related components.

For building the backend, there are many frameworks available, such as Django, Express, and Flask. All framework offer multiple environment to start your app from the scratch and take it to the launch phase. These environment are:

• Testing phase

• Beta phase

• Production phase

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Launch of the custom web app:

Launch of the custom web app involves looking for the hosting provider to run your app on the particular server. Hosting your web app comprise following steps:

Buying the domain.

It is necessary to set up the secure Socket layer certificate. SSL certificate is now a necessary components of the app.

You can also choose the cloud service providers such as Amazon, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform.

You can opt for the VMs, such as Digital Ocean and Linode if you are technical person or have the team for server management.

App deployment:

Once you have sourced the idea, validated it, designed the wireframe and developed the web app and chosen the hosting provider, it is time to deploy the app. Deployment contains the continuous integration and timely management of the app. Few options are Gitlab, Bitbucket and Jenkins. To start, you can directly deploy the app from your local machine.

Conclusion:

Custom web app development is the most promising factor for the success of your business. A perfect web ap can attract more reliable audience to your business and stay connected to them. For custom web application, above are the several phases which are separated into four major components. From ideation to deployment, the timeline takes many diverting factors , but the roadmap goes in the same direction, if the technical assistance is proper. It is advisable to choose the development partner wisely. A good web development can assure you a big success whereas the spoiled projects might affect the reputation for your business.