Summary
Web technologies are concerned with the interaction involving web servers and web clients. The data contains markup languages, programming languages and interfaces, and document identification and display standards. Web technology, in general, includes tools and strategies for web development. Web development is a wide word for the effort required in creating a World Wide Web site. Examples include Web design, web server, client liaison, web content creation, server-side and client-side, network security settings, and eCommerce development. Web development ranges from creating a single static website page to creating the most complex web-based internet apps, electronic enterprises, or social media platforms.
Literature Review
Web design is a wide word that refers to how the material is provided to an end-user via the World Wide Web by using a web browser. The goal of web design is to develop a website, which is a collection of online information, such as documents and apps, that is hosted on a web server (Kaluža et al., 2019). A website can have text, photos, audio, and other information, and it can also be interactive. The following are the fundamental design elements for most websites:
- The website content: the site’s information is meaningful to the site and must target the public segment that the website is associated with.
- Usability: the website should be simple, user-friendly, and dependable interface and navigation.
- The website appearance: to demonstrate uniformity, the images and text should have a particular style.
- A professional, attractive, and relevant style: – the overall structure of the website.
Web Technologies is classified as follows:
- World Wide Web (WWW): this technology is built on a number of technologies, including Hypertext Markup Language, Hypertext Transfer Protocol, and web browsers.
- Web Browser: this technology is a piece of software that allows for browsing the World Wide Web. It is a bridge between the client and the server, as well as a channel for queries to the domain controller for online pages and services.
- Web Server: this technology is a program that handles user requests and provides them with data that generate web pages.
- Web Pages: this technology refers to a digital file that is connected to the WWW and can be seen by anyone with an internet connection and a web browser.
- Web Development: the web development process involves design, development, publishing, and database administration. There are two types of web development, front-end development, and backend development.
Implementation Strategies and Actual Designs
Frontend Web Technologies
The most difficult task in front-end website development is the constant shift in approaches and tools for building a website’s front end. Therefore, a developer must stay current on all advancements. To choose the finest front-end technology, it is vital to understand the characteristics of all technologies. As a result, the list below demonstrates the front-end technologies that may be used to improve personal or a company’s performance.
Hypertext Markup Language (HTML)
HTML is required when utilizing a markup language to construct the front end of a website. HTML consists of both hypertext and markup language formats. The linkages between two pages and above are defined as hypertext. On the other hand, the markup language is required for specifying the documents within a tag, which then determines the web page’s structure (Odeh, 2019). HTML is used to lay the groundwork for a website. CSS, on the other hand, provides the page style, layout, color, and fonts. For one to be a front-end web developer, one must understand CSS, HTML, and JavaScript.
Cascading Style Sheets (CSS)
Cascading Style Sheets is a simple computer language that aids in the process of creating web pages presentable. CSS allows one to add a style to the developed web pages (Mitchell, 2018). Furthermore, CSS may be used independently of the HTML that forms each web page. CSS also allows users to swiftly alter web pages. CSS allows for different-looking web pages without requiring considerable code, with the only difference being the content.
JavaScript
JavaScript technology is required for front-end development in most web developments. However, the potential of JavaScript is limitless. It is one of the most versatile programming languages, allowing developers to create desktop, mobile, and web applications. JavaScript is required if one wants to work as a front-end developer. With the help of JavaScript, one can make an interactive website (Odeh, 2019). The programming language improves the website functionality by allowing it to run web-based software and enjoyable games. The sophisticated client side is illustrated using these graphical ways. The following technologies are suggested for a smooth front-end application.
JS React
React JS is a JavaScript front-end library that is open source. It offers dynamic and interactive apps while also improving user experience and user interface design. React JS is exclusively in charge of improving the view layer. React is excellent for constructing mobile, single-page, and server-side web apps with the support of other frameworks. It enables more efficient code correction by breaking it down into components. React JS is built to handle one-way data coupling, giving a developer greater control over their application.
The AngularJS framework
Angular JS is a JavaScript front-end interface for application development that is a component of the MEAN stack. It is mainly used to build single-page web apps. The online tool includes templates that let front-end developers easily construct UI views. It has fewer navigation pages and loads faster, guaranteeing a fantastic user experience. No browser-specific limits apply because Angular apps are not browser-specific.
TypeScript
TypeScript is intended to work in conjunction with the JavaScript environment. It is totally clear for the specific environment, allowing a developer to run TypeScript anywhere using JavaScript. An advantage of TypeScript is that it is a sequence of instructions and a compiled language. Multiple TypeScript inheritances are highly tempting and one of the greatest ways to assure code consistency and reusability for modern online apps. Before collecting feedback from clients, TypeScript displays a pop-up when a mistake is detected.
Bootstrap
Bootstrap is a free and effective open-source front-end framework. It is intended for the development of responsive, mobile-friendly, and dynamic applications and websites (Gao & Li, 2019). Bootstrap comes with CSSS and JavaScript navigation templates, typography, forms, buttons, and other important user interface components. This comprehensive toolkit includes HTML, CSS, and JavaScript tools for creating front-end design components for dynamic and flexible websites. It includes pre-built elements that developers can utilize to customize their designs with icons and themes.
Backbone
Backbone JS is used when it is necessary to reduce HTTP queries to servers. It is also utilized to simplify complex user interface designs. Backbone JS should be used by developers while creating a single-page Java program. Backbone’s Model View Framework allows it to do much more than merely structure JavaScript framework (Purushotham & Sreedhar, 2021). Without Backbone, the developers may face a slew of problems. The technology allows developers to arrange huge programs hence an easy way to develop. It is also built on the Underscores JS libraries, which may reduce the need for JQuery. Backbone JS is a simple and useful web development framework.
Backend Web Technologies
Even though web development has shifted toward the user, catering to visual choices and consumer demands, backend technology is what drives web development. Without a proper backend development approach, web and mobile apps would lack the needed scalability, functionality, and responsiveness (Purushotham & Sreedhar, 2021). Below are backend development technologies used in web development:
PHP
PHP is a technology on the server side and a general-purpose programming language that is simple to operate and modify database information. This web technology is enhanced by the presence of numerous current frameworks, a stable code base, a large community, and quick deployment (Gao & Li, 2019). It is inexpensive because the technology is freely available and open-source. PHP also makes programming easier by including object-relational mapping technologies. Additionally, scripting technologies may also be used to automate development chores such as session management, URL mapping, and authentication.
Python
Python is one of the top backend techniques for web development. The technology provides a number of standard libraries that help to ease the web development procedure (Kaluža et al., 2019). Python’s high-level security, as well as productivity, make it a popular backend server programming language. Through the use of the Open-Source Web App Security Project, coders and online designers may create hardened versions of mobile and web apps that are resistant to assaults and assist organizations in developing a secure ecosystem.
Java
Java is a well-known and widely used programming language that has existed for a while and is still a strong backend technology. It offers several advantages and features that enable developers to quickly address challenging real-time situations. Java is an object-oriented development language that enables multithreading and is secure, independent, affordable, and simple to maintain (Kaluža et al., 2019). Java is used not just to create feature-rich and adaptive online applications but also for mobile device and microcontroller application development.
Ruby
Ruby is a backend open-source technology that is comparable to Perl, Python, and Java. Ruby is the most common back web application development language for prototyping, and its metaprogramming is supported by the backend programming language (Purushotham & Sreedhar, 2021). Ruby is an extremely productive backend technology that supports third-party library modules. Ruby on Rails saves time, supports a large variety of frameworks and tools, improves code readability, and renders the language relatively simple for newbies.
Choosing the Right Technology Case Study
Company XYZ Case Study
XYZ is a small company that buys dead computers and laptops, refurbishes them, and then puts them back on the market. The company began as a repair shop in 2020 and later expanded its operations of buying and reselling laptops and computers in early 2022. Two roommates, Joel and Kantis started the company within the Artech university neighborhood after they discovered their skills in repairing computers. After getting popular on campus, they started to receive more jobs while other clients sold them broken computers that they could repair and resell. In late 2021, XYZ repair shop recruited ten members to assist them in handling different sectors as the work was getting more and needed extra assistance. Among the members included the finance manager, sales manager, human resource manager, two sales assistants, two customer care assistants, and three operation personnel.
The company does not use any other technology for buying, ordering, and delivering its products besides phone calls and in-person transactions. Being that XYZ’s operations have grown popular and get many phone calls on a daily basis, they held a meeting to find a solution and a way to move forward. During the meeting, it was suggested that the company needs a website whereby customers can sell and buy refurbished products, converse with customer care, view available products, and as well track their transactions or orders. Additionally, the company suggested that they are currently on a tight budget and will need the project to be done in a span of six months. They hired an information technology project manager to handle the task and choose the appropriate technology that could handle the project as required.
Appropriate technology to use
Choosing the correct web development technology to use in an IT project is critical to success, thus requires one to take time to choose the most dependable one before beginning the development process. The ideal web development technology to use is determined by the client’s ideas and demands, in addition to the features of the business they operate, the sort of application customers want, and its features (Gao & Li, 2019).
The most significant considerations when selecting a web development technology are its ease of usage and the assurance that it will assist in creating a high-quality and usable web application. There are several factors to consider before deciding on web development technology. To make a more appropriate selection, a developer must thoroughly examine their present requirements. Here are a few things to consider while making the decision.
The first factor to consider when selecting a development technique is the project type to be developed. A developer should first determine whether their choice is capable of handling the task at hand (Mitchell, 2018). The project type is mostly determined by the needs and the sort of application to be created. If creating a marketplace like in the company XYZ case, the developer will need to select an acceptable backend technology stack. The type of project is important since it affects the web development tools to utilize. It will be easier to identify what technology one needs if he or she knows exactly what to develop and how effective the product will be.
A marketplace website is a site that allows shoppers and sellers to exchange products and services. The choice for a front-end technology will be a stack that comprises JavaScript, Next.js, HTML5, CSS3, and PHP. This technology stack will offer the project manager the tools they need to build a responsive, user-friendly, and modern marketplace website (Mitchell, 2018). With the help of JavaScript and CSS, the front end of the website to be developed would be user-friendly and interactive.
For the backend technology stack, the choices to use are PHP and JAVA. PHP is open-source and free of license fees, which saves the company money when it comes to establishing its business website. The development team may not only create code for the project but also examine how everything works behind the scenes to understand better PHP capabilities. Additionally, it supports all main operating systems, and all contemporary databases may be easily utilized in a PHP environment.
References
Gao, W., & Li, X. (2019). Building presence in an online shopping website: The role of website quality. Behaviour & information technology, 38(1), 28-41. Web.
Kaluža, M., Kalanj, M., & Vukelić, B. (2019). A comparison of backend frameworks for web application development. Zbornik veleučilišta u rijeci, 7(1), 317-332. Web.
Mitchell, A. J. D. (2018). Small business website development: Enhancing the student experience through community-based service learning. Journal of the Midwest Association for Information Systems, 2, 33-45. Web.
Odeh, A. H. (2019). Analytical and comparison study of main web programming languages‒ASP and PHP. TEM Journal, 8(4), 1517-1522. Web.
Purushotham, C., & Sreedhar, G. (2021). Analysis of web components in website design. International Journal of Scientific Research in Computer Science, Engineering and Information Technology, 3307, 138-141. Web.