Overcoming Common Challenges in Web App Development

Develop the relevant strategy:

Defining a goal aligned with the project's vision can be the first step toward a customized web application. Developing a relevant strategy for web development is critical in meeting the project's goals. Failure to do so can lead to a waste of capital and effort.

The following steps can be followed to keep the strategy goal-oriented:
• Use of proven methodologies, such as scrum and agile can help keep track of real-time progress.
• Use DevOps to bridge the gap between development and operation teams.
• Outsourcing IT Resources to expert web developers can optimize the web development roadmap.
• Standardization of the web development process can bring consistency and predictability.

Select relevant Tech Stack:

Developing a web application requires multiple technologies for designing, developing, launching, and running a web application. While developing a customized web application , several layers are built upon one another using programming languages, frameworks, web servers, libraries, hardware modules, third-party software, and databases. This set of tools and technologies is called a tech stack.

Every project is unique in its nature and scope and thus demands corresponding solutions. Making good decisions at the start might save one from later inefficacies. Selecting an appropriate technology stack ensures quality, meets customers’ demands, and saves capital, thus giving a competitive advantage.

These things must be kept in mind while selecting a technology stack for customized web applications:

• Building a customized web application must be done by keeping track of the user's state of mind so that they might have a user-friendly experience.
• Scope of the project must be evaluated. Small, simple projects are quick to complete and do not demand advanced technology. On the contrary, big projects might use advanced stacks.
• Depending upon the availability of time for launch, the use of the technology stack varies. For instance, if one needs to deliver a project as soon as possible, a minimally viable product will be better than advanced applications.
• The integration capacity of the technology stack must be kept in mind while selecting it. One must ask himself about what kind of tools and expansions might get into the business in the future and how each stack can integrate itself with those tools and technologies

Develop friendly User Interface(UI)/User experience(UX) :

According to Forrester's research, an effective UI design may increase a website's conversion rate by up to 200%, while an outstanding UX design can boost conversion rates by as much as 400%.

While designing the UI/UX, the following things can be kept in mind:

• Developing user personas through extensive research.
• Interoperable interactions for smooth exchange and maintenance of data.
• A smooth navigation for all built-in functionalities.
• A decent topography to have a good user experience.

Ensure Security:

With technological advancement, the threat of security breaches is also expanding. While developing a web application, the website's security must be considered fairly when deciding on various technology stacks to be used.

The security of the web application can be enhanced through:

• SSL Certificates to ensure secure, confidential information exchange.
• Choosing a secure web host.
• Opting for two-factor or multi-factor authentication.

Keep scalability in mind:

The scalability of a project must be kept in mind while choosing the right technologies. If one plans to scale his project in the future, the customized web application must have the capacity to scale sufficiently. It can be done through the following steps:

• Choosing between horizontal scalability and vertical scalability depends upon the nature of the web application.
• Use of Asynchronous client–server communication to process requests making peers more productive, more independent, and easier to scale.
• Architectural pattern selection depends upon the scope of scalability.

Cross-platform compatibility:

Cross-platform compatibility enhances user engagement on a web application. The website’s authenticity and UX experience also get better with cross-platform compatibility. It can be achieved through:

• Comprehensive manual and automated testing to ensure smooth running.
• Use cloud-based browser tools such as LambdaTest, BrowserStack, TestingBot, TestGrid, etc.
• Use advanced frameworks and libraries to Validate codes, ensuring cross-platform compatibility.

Personalization and Localization

It refers to the development of various versions of a website for different regions and user groups. Care must be taken to ensure the same user experience along various cross-platforms. This can be done by:

• Use of automated tools such as Selenium or Appium etc. to identify and resolve localization and personalization issues.
• Testing the handling of different languages, cultures, and regions through “internationalization testing” methodology.
• Implementation of the localization process from the early stage of web application development.

External integrations

External integration adds to the user-friendly experience by adding more layered functionalities. It has become a common practice to make a web application dynamic. It can be done through:

• Streamlining the architecture of the web application with API code.
• Regularly updating web applications and maintenance of effective code.
• Using the Quality Assurance team to monitor third-party integrations.

Final Words

Developing a web application is not an easy task and requires expertise. A well-developed web application can exponentially grow one’s business. While developing a customized web application, numerous challenges can be catered to through strategizing the process, using relevant technologies, good user interface, enhanced security, and personalization of the application to enrich user experience. Professional expertise from experienced web developers is advised for extensive web application development projects.