If you want to build your own website – may it be for your company, your blog or just your ordinary homepage – you first have to know about the stages of web development.

A lot of people feel daunted about learning web development by their lonesome because of its seeming complexity as it requires you to familiarize yourself with a number of computer languages and memorize a whole lot of codes. But remember, when nothing’s ventured, nothing shall be gained so if you feel that having web development skills is a great asset to possess then why not give it a try first before throwing your hands up in surrender right away?

Planning is important in every endeavor of a person’s life. Planning increases the chances of success of an activity, especially if the activity involves the input of people and the use of technology

The “tools” for web development does not refer to hardware such as modem and CD-Rom, although these are useful equipment. The tools that make web development a successful undertaking are the important software needed in setting up the website.

Developing a website must be a well-planned endeavor. This means that before the actual creation of the website design and the writing of web content, the whole organization of the website must be precisely structured. To have that structure, the web developers must obtain all the crucial information they need. But what are these?

• “Information about the audience” – The audience refers to two groups, the target users and the actual audience that utilizes the information found in the website. Information about these two groups includes their background, their interest, and all other details that will be helpful in determining what should be the web content that will best serve them.
• “Information about the purpose of the website” – This information will come from the owner/s of the company represented by the website. It answers the question: “Why should they put up a website?” And the answer or purpose of the website should be stated in clear terms. In the beginning, the purpose statement may be rather general, such as “To attract international clients.” Then, as time goes by, the purpose statement may change, depending on the nature of the business of the website.

What is important is that the purpose should be written down in precise words because this purpose will serve as the compass of the web developers. The purpose statement becomes the ultimate guide that will help developers decide the content, coverage and features of the website.

• “Information about the specific objectives of the website” – This information is related to the purpose statement of the website. Compared to the purpose statement, the objectives are more specific. Like the purpose statement, the objectives help decide what should be found in the website. Some examples of objectives are
• To inform Internet users about the new products of X company
• To facilitate the receiving of orders
• To determine the special needs of the clients

Like the purposes statement, the specific objectives may also change as time goes by.

• “Information about the subject obtained from web” – Part of this information refers to the already existing collection of knowledge found in the web. This knowledge is available to users. And another part of this information covers the data that web developers need.
• “Information about the specifications of the web” – The specifications of the web refer to the elements that must go into the web and the limitations that are set by the web. The specifications of the web will determine how should the web content be divided. For example, one cannot lump all information in one web page. The web specifications will also determine if images are needed or not.
• “Information that must be found in the web pages” – This information refers to the contents of the website. The method of making this information accessible to users is called “web presentation”.

When all the above crucial information is in the hands of the right people, then web development can proceed smoothly and successfully.