Web development has received a lot of attention these days and has grown more and more holistically as a field in the last decade.
Web development simply means creating, building and maintaining websites. Website development is a procedure that includes the website's technical condition, appearance, user experience and comfort, and optimization. Web development is generally divided into two major parts namely front-end and back-end. The front-end deals with what the user sees, while the back-end deals with everything related to the server.
To better understand and give a brief introduction to the behind-the-scenes of website development, we'll explore some interesting tidbits about websites, including amazing facts about web development and the behind-the-scenes elements that affect website performance.
1. First impression is the last impression
It takes less than a second before the user forms his opinion about the company through their website. It is not the company's morals, purpose or principles that create the first impression on the website, but the first opinion is shaped by:
- background theme,
- fonts and titles,
- icon design,
- color combination,
- images and animations and their abundance and arrangement,
- structure and structuring of the page,
- user convenience.
Web development plays an important role in creating a first impression and branding. However, web design and web development are definitely not synonymous. Web design is a part of web development. Designers are those who are focused on the look and feel of a website, whereas web developers have a broader responsibility to ensure that all aspects of the site work flawlessly.
2. You have to have a shorter attention span than you might think
If the first impression is good and the visitor stays on the page, it won't take long to get their attention. The average attention span has decreased from 12 seconds for 8 seconds. A goldfish's attention span of 9 seconds is longer than the average internet user. Because of this, the important content of the website must be delivered to the visitors in the shortest possible time. Otherwise, there is a risk that the bounce rate will be high and the potential customer will leave to get the necessary information elsewhere. This does not mean that the entire homepage contains little textual content, but that the most important information is compactly and conveniently available.
3. Lists are better than long paragraphs
The first impression has been created and attention has been captured - now is the right time to convey your own message or information. Website experts know that a text-heavy page is great for SEO, but too much monotonous and long text is difficult for real human readers to comprehend. Large chunks of text can seem intimidating to visitors. Instead, lists, boldface, and descriptive headings should be used to make the text easier to read.
This means that the message conveyed on the website must be available as "scannable" text - using subheadings, bulleted lists, and only one idea per paragraph and fewer words. All of this so that readers can first review the content quickly and then decide whether and which part to devote time and attention to.
4. Mobile devices account for two-thirds of web usage
Why does a website look so different on a mobile device than on a computer? It all comes down to rendering and parsing, or the method by which browsers translate the code and display it on your screen. This means that the user sees the homepage differently, for example, on a desktop computer in Google Chrome and in iPhone Safari. All the different browser types make it difficult to design your website.
Because actually two-thirds of web usage occurs on a mobile device through, the website must be designed and made user-friendly for all browsers and devices. This is often where skilled web developers and web designers step in to take over.
5. The older the worse
Unfortunately, a website is not like wine that gets better with time. It would be easy if a finished website would catch the attention of visitors and customers even in 5 or 7 years. Due to the constant development of digital technology and rapidly changing trends, the average lifespan of a website is two to three years. From hardware to software, every aspect of the Internet will change within a few years, and the result will affect websites as well. So a website designed three years ago needs to be upgraded to the latest technology available to provide an optimal user experience. Updating and "putting" the old website is part of the daily work of web developers.
6. 8,5 billion searches per day
Every day is done through the Google search engine alone 8,5 billion queries per day. This means that web development should include one of the most important parts of capturing customers – SEO i.e. search engine optimization. The potential for search engine traffic is huge, so SEO is part of building and running a successful website.
The goal of website SEO is to make the website visible. Simply put, the goal is to bring more visitors to the website through search engines. If a person enters a keyword in the search engine and thereby shows interest in a certain product or service, the page optimized by the web developer or SEO specialist will be shown above in the search results.
7. Images and videos can have both positive and negative effects
Multimedia content, including images and videos, is a large part of a web page. They are a strength when it comes to making a first impression and getting attention. Unfortunately, surprisingly few website owners know that using the wrong images and videos can harm the performance of the website. Large image and video files significantly reduce website loading time. If visitors have to wait too long for a page to load, they risk getting impatient and giving up.
A web developer is tasked with optimizing images and videos to ensure website speed. The multimedia used on the website must invite visitors, not repel them. Optimized image and video files ensure fast site loading while providing a visual experience.
Behind the scenes of web development
The complexity of web development is amazing – even creating the simplest website possible requires awareness and attention to detail. To fully understand website development, one must look at the visual appearance of the website as well as much beyond that. Small details like load time, code age, browser type, and even the content itself make a drastic difference to the user experience.
