Commonly Encountered Challenges in Web Development Projects and its Solutions!

A breakneck development in technology comes with various new opportunities and challenges. Throughout day to day operations, web development companies are also evolving with new development tactics, tools and libraries. These changes are bringing complexity along with new opportunities. All web development businesses must address these changes to create successful and long lasting web-applications.

In this blog, we have focused on the most common encountered challenges in web development projects and also figured out the possible solutions for it.

1. Initial Web Development Requirements

Sometimes before hiring a web development company, client’s may not thoroughly clear and specific about the final finished look and working of a website. Unluckily some of the requirements that client want are not actually favor the client’s need. They don’t bother to prioritize their web requirements and this may substantially change the overall cost of the project.

Solution

• A business analyst must clearly know about the important client’s requirements before starting any web development project.
• Understand the client’s project work-flow and its related problem to find ways for its solution beside optimizing other work-flows.
• Before starting the project, write the client’s requirements document and get it signed by the client and explain it to the development team.

2. Integrating Web Application

In present world, most business apps are more diversified and prefer to live outside the firewall. These businesses might use in-house BI tools, SaaS-based CRM system or hosting websites on the cloud. Although this may improve flexibility, still it causes a challenge for web developers to create a web application that can easily integrate with other applications.

Solution

• A variety of cloud-hosted services are now available as a double-edged sword.
• Integrate website with the cloud services for solutions i.e. mail, storage, recurring subscription payments, and analytic.
• Every integration point should involve understanding the coding, API, testing, and logging to troubleshoot any challenge.

3. Website Loading

A website page loading time (full-page, initial, TTFB, etc) usually depends on many more things than just the media size. Only compressing the images will not solve the purpose.
It is estimated that approximately half of total users prefer a site to load within 2 seconds, and if it takes more than 3 seconds to load then they tend to abandon this site.

Solution

• Be sure to load site with only what is required.
• JavaScript files and External style sheets must be used.
• Decrease and compress JavaScript and CSS for better performance.
• Images must be optimized for the web.
• Page load and unexpected errors can be reduced by cleaning codes.
• Check for any redirect issues. Keep number of redirects to bare minimum and in the best case is none at all.
• On heavy websites because of slow start TCP, TTFB (Time-to-First-Byte) times can be high. So, try to keep the site page light.
  Use of content delivery and caching networks should be encouraged.

4. Responsive Website

In year 2015, mobile traffic has already outstrip desktop traffic. So, an unresponsive  website for mobile users might lose its huge customer base and revenue.

Solution

• Always create a responsive website design to serve the right user with the right page version.
• Analyse what information most of the mobile users are looking for and provide it to them as early as possible.

5. Creating The Multi-platform App

These days, we’re watching a new wave of smart devices such as glasses, watches, TVs, and lots more. So, it would be challenging for any web development app to adapt and fit all these devices and platforms.

Solution:

• While developing new application, consider the wide variety of devices for cross-browser compatibility, screen sizes, pixel, ratios and density that may vary between devices.
• Avoid lack of careful thought or it may break device features and the user experience may get impaired.

6. Site Usability

Sometimes, while creating a website a web developer due to his intense involvement in the project fails to predict the user interaction with the site. Therefore, it may be difficult to carry out tasks as expected and also the users may not find their requisite information on a site page.

Solution

• Start with the end in mind and create every step of the process layout by using UML diagrams.
• Ask users at every stage during the design phase, go for site testing using real-world tasks and note down any required modification or changes.

7. Compatibility Across Browsers

Practically, it is not easy to make a website to work across all browsers and versions.

Solution

• While creating website transition in HTML5, always look for workarounds.
• Make it sure the site works well with non HTML5 browsers.
• Test the site to ensure that the changes made are functional in all other browsers also.

8. Accessibility to Disabled Users

Globally, in most countries around 10-20% of the population has estimated with some sort of disability. A business website may lose a large part of its audience, if accessibility isn’t their priority.

Solution

• Best practices for accessibility must be learned and implemented.
• Whensoever possible allow suggestions from people regarding color schemes and font sizes.
• Help people to learn and navigate on your site with necessary information.

9. Security Breach

Now a days, web application security breaches are repeatedly on the rise. According to a study report, at least one serious vulnerability is reported to contain in all web applications. These security threats are causing a big challenge for businesses to keep them up to date beside securing each layer of their web application.
If necessary steps are not taken to improve business website security then users might not trust your site and fear to use it.

Solution

• Proactively use secured connections to transfer and submit data.
  Always monitor both outbound and inbound traffic for any security threat.
• At all levels secure your system and also keep it secure constantly while you instantly change it through agile scrum methodologies.
  Regularly patch your frameworks and OS.
• Do code reviews, run-time and auto static code analysis.
• Proactively monitor system logs and network traffic for any strange behavior.
• Input white and black listing, escape all inputs for SQL and script for injection attacks.
• Learn all the possible attack vectors of your system.

10. Meet Users Expectations

Users expectations have dramatically risen with the easy accessibility of simple applications. Now, in routine for a mobile app, users are looking for the same level of simplicity. Any web app with ‘a good design’ promises to gain traction. An app looking out-dated or ugly can be quickly judged by its users. They will find some other suitable option, if your app fail to meet the user’s high expectations. A confused application for users, or an app with a complex integration for developers will likely fail.

Solution

• As adoption is the key to generate interest and revenue, so your app must create a great user experience beside creating a great experience for other developers also.
• Businesses shipping APIs need to be simple to understand and use by other developers, and it should differentiate from competitors with a better problem solving abilities than everyone else.

All commonly encountered challenges in web development projects  discussed above are of practical concern and should not be ignored. There could be a lots more challenges that are skipped here.

Hope! you will get some help from the solutions provided above for your web development projects.

Are you still facing any issue and looking for a reliable solution for your problem?
At TBI, you can reach us to consult with a team of experienced web developers who are expert in providing easy and best possible solutions for any of your web development project.

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