October 25, 2020

B2B/B2C

What Is Web Development

What is Web Development?

Web Development, Overview, Languages, Uses, CMS, Developers, a Guide

We’ve probably all heard the phrase, but do we all actually know what it means? Yes, we know it’s something to do with developing something on the internet, but most of us are probably just not sure what.

So in this article, we’re going to take you through some of the key concepts of Web Development to try and help you understand its many facets.

This skillset can be applied in both Information Technology companies or organizations or marketing organizations that lean towards the online side of things. In most established, digital marketing firms offer web development to help businesses establish or embellish their online presence. At Web Worx Labs, we are committed to providing this solution you can learn more about it in our About Us Section.

Here’s the quick answer so we’re not keeping you guessing, then we’ll go into more detail, as you’ll see it has many different arms to it.

What is Web Development? Web development encompasses an array of applications, community platforms, software, and business operations. Designed using computer languages, to facilitate and enhance the way we interact with websites, systems, and online applications. These are designed and coded by numerous types of Web Developers.

So, Web Development platforms and methods we’ll come to shortly, but what exactly does a web developer do – what are these ‘numerous types’?

What a Web Developer Does

A Web Developer has been trained to understand and manipulate one or more programming languages, they’ll design and ‘code’ using these languages to create a variety of web-based outcomes; a website, an online application, or web server processes that underpin and facilitate online web applications.

With this training, they’re able to create sometimes immensely complex online systems and applications designed to deliver some form of benefit to users and all manner of creative interfaces and formats.

The list of specific Web developer job roles is a long one, and it would be almost impossible for a single Web Developer to understand and fully master every Web computer program in existence.

When learning aspects of web development though, it’s not uncommon for a programmer to focus on one as a specialty, but they often, therefore, have an understanding of other applications either similar or related to their particular area.

It might make more sense if we show you the list, so here’s a list of the multi-level roles that Web developers can specialize in, in truth, there are probably more.

Web Developers
Middle-Tier Developer
Game Developer
Graphics Developer
Desktop Developer
Mobile Developer
Big Data Developer
Embedded Developer
DevOps Developer
CRM Developer
Software Development Engineer
Data Scientist

Within many of these, there are often further smaller branches stemming from that one profession. For example, Within ‘Web Developers’ as the main title, could also be specialists such as web engineers, web designers, web content development and more.

It’s fair to say, most of the web-based applications you’re likely to use on a daily basis, will at some point have been designed by a Web Developer. In fact, likely a team of Web Developers – and other developers too involved with the delivery of that applies to you, developing platforms to use the application on, ways to store content produced by that application and so on.

But let’s try and simplify this further for you so we can move on to the Languages and more…

Front End, Back End, and Full Stack Developers

To keep this simple, we can generally say that Web Developers fall into three main categories.

Front End Developer

We’ve all perhaps heard of ‘User Interface’ (or known as UX for short). These are built and/or maintained by front-end developers. Front end meaning the part of the web visible by general users.

Back End Developer

Where the Front end is involved in the visible parts, the back end – obviously is involved with everything that’s built behind the scenes, this is where the inner working are manipulated at the server end of the process which enables the front end to exist and operate smoothly.

Full-Stack Developer

This job title was coined by Facebook during an announcement, whereby they stated they were looking for more ‘Full Stack’ Developers. This is really just a fancy way of saying a web developer who understands both the front end and the back end of websites or web applications.

Different Application of Web Development

The list is probably far to long to add here, but as a taster, we’ve added some of the more popular areas that really would not have existed, or evolved, if it were not for Web Development and the work of Web Developers. We’ve also added some examples to give it some context.

e-Commerce Platforms (Amazon, eBay)
informational/discovery (Corporate and Government Analytics)
Social Networks (Facebook, Instagram)
Email portals (IMAP, Pop)
Community portals (Wikipedia, Reddit)
Intranets (Government, Education or Corporate sharing Systems)

Web Development Languages

Since the internet was first designed there has always existed Web Programming Languages. They’ve obviously evolved dramatically over the decades, but nonetheless, they’re still required for creating a website or web application, and probably will be evolving right up to the point that AI will do it for us – well it’s likely!

It’s also likely you’ve heard of some of these web applications, perhaps you didn’t quite understand what they meant, or did exactly, but you perhaps knew they were something to do with the web’.

Let’s see how many you recognize from the list of Web Development Languages listed below. It’s a quickfire list and then we’ll give some details on each of them.

Quickfire List of the Most Popular Languages Used in Web Development.

Here’s a list of the most popular Web Development programs. Amongst the thousands that are out there, this is considered the top 20 list, gathered by github.info. Along with the date in which they first appeared.

JavaScript 1995
Java 1995
Python 1991
CSS 1996
PHP 1995
Ruby 1995
C++ 1983
C 1972
Shel 1977
C# 2000
Objective-C 1983
R 1993
VimL 1991
Go 2009
Perl 1987
CoffeeScript 2009
TeX 1978
Swift 2014
Scala 2003
Emacs Lisp 1985

Up and Coming Web Development Languages

From this list, in particular, there are a few notable names that should be given special mention. Swift was recently adopted by Apple for the programming of their iOS applications. This has led to a large rise in Web Development using this language.

Also worth mentioning Rust as an emerging language, gaining popularity for System Programming.

However, in terms of popularity, it’s easy to get caught up in the latest new programming language, but in fact, for Web Developers, there have been some languages that have stood the test of time.

Those that were popular even up to 30 years ago are still popular today. Names Like JavaScript, Ruby, Python, CSS, and PHP have been around for a long time and are still widely used.

A popular method for combining many of these languages into a more simplified user interface. And that can create many aspects of a website within a framework are called CMS (Content Management Systems)

What Is a Content Management System (CMS)

A CMS is a software application bringing together a number of Web Development Languages into a single platform that enables users to publish and edit the content on almost any user device., and generally quicker to use than programming an entire site just by using Web Development Coding. Of the almost 2 Billion Websites online at the current time, most of those are built using a CMS.

Types of CMS

Let’s take a look at the three most popular types of CMS available as there are currently 540 CMS platforms available, ranging in market share from less than 0.01% through to 60%. So before you start considering building the next WordPress, spare a thought for the hundreds who are already trying that.

Some of the other CMS platforms you have almost certainly heard of. Some are geared toward a specific type of ‘Website Task’, Whilst others offer and a huge depth of possibilities for whatever you want to achieve.

“There are currently 540 CMS platforms available”

Let’s go over the few main market shareholder here, as they’re probably the ones that really matter. If you’re one of the minorities who don’t use the top option (WordPress) Then let us know in the comments below which CMS you do use – and why!

WordPress

WordPress is a completely free CMS. Since it appeared in 2003, WordPress has for a long time established itself as the market leader- by some way! Most estimates put WordPress in the region of 50% – 60% market share, which makes this CMS the Giant among CMS systems right now, and we can’t really see that slowing up much in the short to medium term.

Figures will vary depending on which source you go to, but fair to say it’s a large chunk. This is the stats according to W3Techs.

Image source: W3Techs.com

In fact, at Web Worx Labs – most of our websites we have developed are using this platform given its open-source community and ease of scalability.

Joomla

A similar, if more modular version of WordPress, this platform is also free, and still boasts a wealth of plugins, modules, and templates

Drupal

Another free platform very similar to Joomla as it’s modular and theme-based and all aspects of this can be swapped around. Again there are a lot of resources for this platform, it currently sits as the third most popular.

Are Web Developers in High Demand?

The requirement for Web Developers is set to increase up to 2022 by an estimated 20%. So, we can safely say Web Developers are certainly in demand and growth, and with so many areas to explore and work in it’s going to be a popular choice of career for many.

How to Learn Web Development

There are a wealth of courses available for the many strands of Web Development, a great way to start without quitting your current job or alongside your current studies is to start online and get a head start with some of the many courses available. here are a couple of options that you can check out – depending on what stage you’re at…

The Web Developer Bootcamp

An Excellent beginners course for Web Development

Full Stack Web Developer Bootcamp

An easy to follow, online course for Full Stack – Front End to Back End Web Development.

Modern JavaScript From the Beginning

A Comprehensive course that only requires some Basic CSS and Basic HTML Knowledge to start.

Or Call the Web Development Experts

Perhaps a better alternative is to give us a call, here at 647 829 9422 we’ve spent years developing Websites and bespoke custom applications for most types of platforms. It’s free to call or email us, so regardless of what your knowledge level is on Web Development – call us now!

Conclusion

We really hope this has provided you with something of a useful overview to Web Development, developing for the Internet and building your general knowledge about Languages and CMS Platforms.

Want to be a Web Developer? Let us know in the comments below why you’re choosing – or have chosen the profession, or maybe why you chose to leave the job! Or maybe tell us what platforms you’ve used and maybe send us some of your work too.

Join Our Team – We Are Always Looking For Good Talent

Interested In Digital Marketing & Web Development Jobs?

We are always on the good lookout for talented web developers to join our agency. Check out our careers page regularly for position openings.

Or if you do not see an opening – forward your LinkedIn, Resume, Coverletter and Portfolio details to info@webworxlabs.com.

Usman Sheikh

From a start-up helping local small businesses, over a span of 5 years, Usman has built Web Worx Labs to be a leading provider of digital marketing solutions that employs 15+ full-time employees and has customers in over 30 countries.

Outside of work and his passion for all things digital, Usman is a proud father of three, loves running and is an avid reader.

Follow Usman on LinkedIn or Twitter as he is always sharing tips on strategy, branding, marketing and analytics.

Posted in Web DevelopmentTagged B2B/B2C

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