Best Practices for Building User-Friendly Web Applications

If you ask a web application developer, “how to make a web application?” they will tell you it’s not easy. Although complex, using the right strategies can help you create a user-friendly web application on time. 

Sources suggest that nearly 38% of website visitors are likely to stop engaging with a website if the design or the content fails to attract them. This implies a stringent need for user-friendly web apps that are engaging, creative, interactive, and attractive.

Read on to map out how to make web applications the right way. 

Web Application- Overview

When you scroll through the internet, you are likely to come across numerous websites. These are not necessarily website interfaces but web applications that are specifically designed to serve a purpose. Netflix and Canva are some of the most well-known web application examples today. 

What is Web Application Development?

Thinking about what is a Web Application? It is the process of developing a set of application programs that are located on remote servers and are provided to the end user using the internet. You do not have to install this type of application on your computer. They can be easily accessed using the internet network. Some of the best web application examples can help you understand this better. 

How Are Web Applications Built?

Web application development involves a few important stages. But the application is built by creating programming that is both client and server driven. When both the client and server-side portals start communicating with one another seamlessly, the website app is almost ready. All this is done using HTTPS requests. 

Skills Required for Web Application Development

A comprehensive knowledge of Java Script and HTML is necessary for web application development. You must also be well-versed in the top 5 concepts to know when building an application. Here are some more skills listed below for this purpose- 

• Backend Tech 
• Testing and debugging 
• Search Engine Optimization 
• Creating responsive designs 
• Developing web hosting

Make sure you understand and learn the full stack development with Cloud for web and mobile. This will further enable you to create more solid website applications in the long run. 

The Key Process of Web Application Development

Step 1- Discover A Solid Idea

• Find out why you are planning to build a website application. 
• What are the features you wish to incorporate into it? 
• How is it value-adding to the market?

Step 2- Market Research

• Scroll through web application examples online for a competitive edge. 
• Analyze if your product stands out. If not, how can you make it stand out? 

Step 3- Define Functionality

• Understand and evaluate the Minimum Valuable Product (MVP)
• Test out the various tools and technologies to see which one can work best for your web application development. 
• Understand the needs of the market and how you can aim to provide them with that. 

Step 4- Sketch the Design of Your Web App

• Come up with a suitable infrastructure for your website app.
• Understand the tools and technologies you can implement here. 

Step 5- Wireframes and Prototypes

• Start with low-fidelity mockups or wireframes. This will help you understand if your design ideas are compatible with the needs of the end users. 
• Intuitive and user-friendly web application development. 
• Figma and Adobe XD are some of the most useful tools to implement for this process. 

Step 6- Deploy Your App

• Focus on quality assurance 
• Start with the preparation to release the app. 

Step 7- Host Your Application

• opt for the right CMS. 
• Buy a website hosting service. 
• Acquire a domain name. 
• Connect your domain to a web host. 

Step 8- Choose Your Technology

• Find out about the tools and technologies that work best for your web application. 
• Test out a few of them to see which one provides the best performance. 

Step 9- Validation Phase

• Fix all the bugs there might be. 
• Bring new modifications as per the customer feedback 
• Optimize the site performance by referring to the best web application examples as competition. 

Best Practices for Web Application Development

1. Know Your Target Audience

   • What is the age group you are trying to target? 
   • Where do they belong? 
   • What is the set audience whose problems you are trying to resolve? 
   • Chalk out their pain points.

2. Conduct Thorough Research

   • Run surveys and polls and host interviews.
   • Ask the users the most important questions that can be value-adding during the web application development process.
   • Find out the right guides on how to make web applications.

3. Layout Matters, But Keep It Simple  

   • Make sure the layout is engaging yet easy to understand. This will help you understand how to make web applications. 
   • Implement whitespace in your design. 
   • Avoid overcrowding the interface.
   • Make sure the design is soft and easy on the eyes. 

4. Leverage Available Design Patterns First Before Creating Your Own

   • This will help make the most of available resources and improve creativity. 
   • Also helps avoid common errors when working with the designs. 

5. Prioritize Functionality Over Aesthetics

   • Shift your focus from making the website look aesthetically pleasing to functional. 
   • First, focus on the functionality by including all the necessary design tools and technologies necessary. Keep the attention on aesthetics for the final stage of web application development. 
   • Also, do take a look at the top 10 most popular web development frameworks  for precise guidance. 

6. Be Consistent in Your UI Elements

   • Be consistent with the colors, fonts, and other visual effects that are being added to your web application design. 
   • Avoid using an excessive range of fonts and colors. Use a combination of two or three.

Some User-Friendly Web Application Examples

1. Netflix

   Amidst all of the web application examples, this one is a content platform available to users for watching movies and television shows. It’s a video-streaming application that is very famous among the global youth today. 

2. Microsoft Office

   This is one of the most exclusive web application examples that is used for a variety of business and academic purposes. It allows you to use Google Sheets, Excel, Docs, and so much more.

3. Google Docs

   It’s a collaborative platform that encourages a host of activities. It can also be used by writers to create value-adding content with the automatic feature of saving documents. This is also one of the most potential web application examples to consider. 

Challenges Faced in Building Web Apps

1. Creating the Best Development Strategy

   Coming up with the most suitable development strategy for your web application is a challenge. It requires time, comprehensive brainstorming, and regressive consistency. At this point, using the right technologies to identify a sound development strategy can be useful. 

2. Tech Stack

   Choosing the right tech stack is dependent on several factors. This includes the functions, integrations, features, and budget of the web application development. With so many factors to consider, it becomes a potential challenge to mitigate.