Home
>
Web Development
>
Successful Web Development: 10 Key Elements

Successful Web Development: 10 Key Elements

There are many elements that are key to successful web development. There is no arguing that elements of talent such as graphic design, writing, and technical expertise are important. In the long run, however, it is the elements that are not directly associated with web development that determine a website's success. For the beginner, it is important to have a broader view of success

** Learn

Read. Learn. Devour all that is available. Learn about HTML, CSS, Bandwidth, Navigation, Writing, Promotion, Statistics, etc. There is so much to learn it is easy to be overwhelmed. Don't worry about the volume of information. Start in an area of weakness or interest and learn more about it. Take baby steps. Most importantly, no matter how much is learned, never consider oneself an expert. Such self-nominating status tends to impede learning.

** Purpose

What is the purpose of the website? Vincent Flander's over at Web Pages That Suck states that a web designer should always tell themselves the following:

1. The only reason my web site exists is to solve my customers' problems.

2. What problems does the page I'm looking at solve?

Sound advice.

** Goals

Set reasonable goals for the web development effort. Don't try to implement all ideas all at once. Create timelines. Build the basics first, and then fill it out later. Set content writing goals (a page a week, a blog post a day, etc.). Set link building goals.

** Organization

Organization goes hand in hand with setting goals. It doesn't matter what the organization method is, as long as it is, well, organized. This means that post-it notes plastered around the edge of a monitor is NOT an organizational method. A simple notebook with simple to-do lists suffices.

** Create a "living" site

A "living" site is one that is updated on a regular basis. Some pages may be updated daily, some monthly, some quarterly, and some yearly. Users can tell old information from new information. Many sites include an "Updated on" timestamp on the bottom of a page. Even if the information is absolutely correct, if the date is over two years old users tend to click quickly to the next item. A recently updated date (even if no changes were made) helps users know the webmaster has not left the site to die.

** Maintain

This pertains not only to content, which is covered in the point above, but to the overall design and infrastructure of the site. Are the images optimized? Is the design outdated? Are there portions of the site that are not used? Are there portions of the site that could be more user friendly? Are there broken links on the site?

** Backup

Especially if the website is an income producing, livelihood supporting website, make sure it is backed up. At the very least, back it up on a weekly basis. It seems simple, but many a webmaster has let years of work go down the drain because there was not a backup.

** Track

Who visits the website? How many people visit the website? Do they stay and browse the website? Do they click on the right links? Do they buy from the website? The only way to answer these questions is to track a web site. Tracking will inform web design in ways never thought of when the site was originally developed.

** Promote

Tell others about the website. Don't wait until the search engines rank the site well. The more people told, the more people that will come and visit.

** Perseverance

Tired of writing content? Tired of figuring out that quirky Mozilla/IE CSS problem? Tired of link building? Tired of trying to build web traffic? If anything will determine success it is the level of perseverance a web designer brings to the task. Those who persevere and attempt to overcome obstacles will be the successful ones. They may not be the best designers or writers, nor the best marketers or promoters, but they will be the ones constantly learning, changing and implementing new things in order to make their websites a success.

Paul Stefanski develops a site about recommended web design tools. It serves as a web resource for web design beginners.

eco-friendly cleaning service Buffalo Grove ..

In The News:

A new phone return scam targets recent buyers with fake carrier calls. Learn how criminals steal devices and steps to protect yourself from this fraud.

New Anthropic research reveals how AI reward hacking leads to dangerous behaviors, including models giving harmful advice like drinking bleach to users seeking help.

The Fox News AI Newsletter gives readers the latest AI technology advancements, covering the challenges and opportunities AI presents.

Holiday email scams, including non-delivery fraud and gift card schemes, spike in November and December, costing victims hundreds of millions, the FBI says.

Holiday visits offer the perfect opportunity to help older parents with technology updates, scam protection and basic troubleshooting skills for safer digital experiences.

Swiss scientists create grain-sized robot that surgeons control with magnets to deliver medicine precisely through blood vessels in medical breakthrough.

Researchers exploited WhatsApp's API vulnerability to scrape 3.5 billion phone numbers. Learn how this massive data breach happened and protect yourself.

Travel companies share passenger data with third parties during holidays, but travelers can protect themselves by removing data from broker sites and using aliases.

Xpeng's humanoid robot moves so realistically that crowds believed it was fake, marking a major advancement in robotics technology ahead of 2026 commercial launch.

Researchers discover phishing scam using invisible characters to evade email security, with protection tips including password managers and two-factor authentication.

iPhone and Android users can reduce battery drain and data usage by restricting Background App Refresh to Wi-Fi connections instead of mobile networks.

Scammers nearly stole an Apple account by exploiting the support system with authentic-looking tickets and phone calls, users can protect themselves with safety steps.

FoloToy restored sales of its AI teddy bear Kumma after a weeklong suspension following safety group findings of risky and inappropriate responses to children.

Threat intelligence firm Synthient uncovers one of the largest password exposures ever, prompting immediate security recommendations.

Viral video shared by Elon Musk shows Tesla's Optimus humanoid robots performing tasks from cooking to construction, garnering over 58.5 million views on social media.

Chinese hackers used Anthropic's Claude AI to launch autonomous cyberattacks on 30 organizations worldwide, marking a major shift in cybersecurity threats.

Apple's new Sleep Score feature gives you a rating for your nightly rest quality. Learn how to set it up on your Apple Watch and iPhone today.

Essential phone settings to enable before losing your device, including Find My network, location services and security features for iPhone and Android.

The Fox News AI Newsletter gives readers the latest AI technology advancements, covering the challenges and opportunities AI presents.

Cybersecurity research shows weak passwords remain a major threat, with simple patterns and number sequences putting millions of accounts at risk.

New Android malware BankBot YNRK silences phones, steals banking data and drains crypto wallets automatically. Learn how this advanced threat works.

FDA approves first human trial for Paradromics' brain-computer interface that could restore speech for paralyzed patients through neural technology.

New phishing platform QRR targets Microsoft 365 users across 1,000 domains in 90 countries. Learn how to spot fake login pages and protect your accounts.

OpenTable now uses AI to track your dining habits and share insights with restaurants. Learn what data they collect and how to protect your privacy.

Google's discontinued Nest thermostats still secretly upload home data to company servers despite losing smart features, raising serious privacy concerns.