Website development - a set of 11 comprehensive guides

This time we are discussing website development and more specifically the steps you should take when developing your own website.

These range from analyzing statistics to creating prettier graphics and security issues. Among other things, these topics are covered in the articles linked below.

Just follow the links superimposed on the images.

Texts you need to read to create a website

1. What tools are useful for developing a website?

Let's start with the text of Jakub Ozorowski, in which he lists no less than 11 different types of tools and services that are useful in many ways when creating your own website.

These include the absolute basics like Google Analytics or Yoast SEO, but of course it doesn't stop there.

Among the less popular, but very interesting services, you will find, for example, Hunter.io. It is used to browse a specific website in order to look up the email addresses present on it.

There is also SEO Minion, which is a kind of analogue of the popular Screaming Frog, but is designed for the Google Chrome browser as an extension.

2. How do you know when to overhaul your site?

Developing a website, of course, involves making major changes to it periodically.

What period is suitable? A few months? Or maybe a few years?

There is no single answer to these questions, since each site is individual.

However, we are here to help you by offering to read the text on how to determine the right moment to carry out operations on a larger scale.

In fact, there are quite a few symptoms that may indicate that it's time for a change.

Obviously, the most basic ones include deteriorating statistics, ever-decreasing search volumes, or your competitors obviously moving away from you in terms of the aesthetics of their sites.

What other aspects should be taken into account? You will learn about it by reading the above article.

3. How do I use Google Analytics?

Google Analytics, on the one hand, is a very popular service, but, on the other hand, many people still... do not look into it.

We often encounter situations where the site developer has set the tracking code, but the end user does not check the statistics in the panel.

This is a pity, because the analysis of the data collected by Google Analytics can sometimes take several days - provided, of course, that you have enough data.

In the above text, we explain the main features of this popular service.

4. What usually irritates site visitors?

In order to properly develop a website, it is sometimes necessary to make quite a few changes in terms of user preferences.

All because some things just annoy us all.

Long page load times, lack of highly visible contact details, abundance of artificial stock photos, ubiquitous pop-ups - there is no person in the world for whom these elements would be absolutely indifferent.

Is this the end of the story?

Of course not. There are many other things that annoy us. You can find out the rest in the above post.

5. What are the characteristics of a secure website?

Security is one of the most popular words that website development is inextricably linked with.

The basis, of course, is a proven hosting provider. Not the one that ranks first in the search results, but the one that is actually recommended by users.

Then of course there is the SSL certificate - the standard has been for several years now.

It is also important to ensure that all site components are regularly updated if the site is based on the WordPress CMS.

In fact, there are quite a few such basics.

6. What graphic design tools can we recommend?

You don't need Photoshop at all to create visually appealing images. There are many tools on the Internet to make your job easier. Even for those who are not very well versed in graphics programs.

You must be familiar with Canva - it's just impossible to ignore.

But of course the world doesn't end there.

Stencil, PicMonkey and Piktochart are just some of the ones you can come across on the web.

For my part, I can add two more, which many users call "online Photoshop". I mean Pixlr Editor and Photopea. They save when at the moment you do not have a favorite program and need to do something more complicated.

7. How to stand out with stars among Google search results?

Given the development of your site, after a while you may want to optimize it for SEO.

If yes, then you want your site to stand out in the so-called SERPs, the subpages that display Google search results.

A great way to get users' attention is to enter asterisks. They can be visible, for example, for blog entries.

All you have to do is use the wordpress plugin called kk Star Ratings. It is about its functions that we will talk about in a post dedicated to it.

8. What does maintenance of a WordPress website include?

In fact, physical fitness should be taken care of in many areas of life.

This includes the state of the website. By that I mean the general state of the site, mainly in terms of usability, design and security level.

In our collection of texts there is an article dedicated to this very issue. This is especially useful for those who have been developing their WordPress site for a long time.

The fact is that this is a very convenient CMS, but there are many things to keep in mind when using it in order to avoid various problems in the future.

9.How do you encourage people to visit your site?

Companies' offerings have evolved over the years of their existence. This is absolutely normal.

Therefore, if you have a company website, you may want to change the look of your offer a little after a while.

If so, then our article on this topic will be very useful to you.

Remember that the right combination of text and design plays an important role. All this should form a single whole, so that users will enjoy reading it.

10. What should I avoid when using forms on the site?

Forms are an absolutely basic and at the same time important element that we meet on websites almost from the very beginning of our interaction with the Internet.

Please note that so many years have passed, and they are still strong. In fact, they have evolved a lot, mainly in terms of usability. They are much more comfortable than before, in some respects you can even say that they are "smart".

Therefore, it is still worth paying close attention to them. It is very easy to make a mistake that makes it very difficult for visitors to use them.

What are the errors?

As usual, I refer you to a special text on this topic.

11. What functions and elements of the site are already outdated?

At the very end - the entry that should have been here.

Development is the opposite of backward movement, obsolescence.

And if so, it's useful to know which elements of websites are currently outdated. In different ways: some we now consider ugly, while others do not play the role that they once played.

You will find a list of just such elements in our last article on website development.

Website Development - Short Text

I'm sure you'll find something to your liking in the above guides.

There are indeed quite a few texts in our collection that you may find useful if you are planning to create your own website in the next few years.

What topics, in your opinion, should be covered from this angle? Leave your suggestions in the comments section.