WHAT ARE THE BEST PRACTICES FOR DEVELOPING WEB APPLICATIONS?

Reduce the number of HTTP requests, use a content delivery network (CDN), write mobile-first code, minimise the time for the first byte, and choose the right hosting services.

The following are the best practices for developing web applications :

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1. UNDERSTANDING USER REQUIREMENTS

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User requirements are just what the name implies. They are requirements set by the end user. These requirements express how a facility, equipment, or process should perform in terms of the product to be manufactured, required throughput, and conditions in which products should be made.

User requirements are typically written when discussing the use cases for a project. Many user requirements deal with how a user will interact with a system and what that other user expects. The user requirements are often more reliable, and understandable, and provide a better sense of how the system will operate.

In other words, user requirements are referred to as the functional and non-functional specifications that must be fulfilled by a web application to operate as intended.

These requirements are typically identified by the client or end-user and serve as a roadmap for the development process.

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2. CHOOSING THE RIGHT TECHNOLOGY

Web technology refers to how computers communicate with each other using markup languages and multimedia packages. It also refers to the range of methods and tools that are used in the process of communication between different devices via the Internet.

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Following are some of the ways of choosing the right technology:

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●?????? SELECTING THE APPROPRIATE PROGRAMMING LANGUAGE AND FRAMEWORK

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Choosing the right programming language for a web application is not an easy task. The choice of the language will depend upon one’s background. Choosing a programming language will impact the main constraints on one’s project such as time, resources, budget, etc. When one creates a new website or web application, there are few options regarding language. One can select them as the main option. The top 5 programming languages are:

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●?????? Javascript

●?????? Python

●?????? Ruby on rails

●?????? Java

●?????? C++

●?????? EVALUATING DATABASE OPTION

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When evaluating database tools, identifying requirements helps in understanding the features, scalability, and compatibility. it ensures one's choice fits the needs like a glove, making your database management effective, efficient, and aligned with preferences.

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●?????? CONSIDERING SCALABILITY AND FUTURE GROWTH

Select scalable architecture and technology solutions that can accommodate growth without significant restructuring or performance degradation. Some examples of technologies that support scalability are cloud-based services, microservices, architecture, and scalable databases.

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3. RESPONSIVE DESIGN AND CROSS-BROWSER COMPATIBILITY

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Responsive design and cross-browser compatibility are essential features of modern web applications. They ensure that one’s app can adapt to different screen sizes, devices, and browsers, and provide a consistent and user-friendly experience. responsive design can help in improving cross-browser compatibility by ensuring that the website looks good and works well on any device, from desktops to mobile phones.

Responsive design also improves the usability as well as readability of the website, as it prevents the need for horizontal scrolling, zooming, or pinching.

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TECHNIQUES FOR IMPROVING CROSS-BROWSER COMPATIBILITY

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●?????? Setting gradient colour on div in different browsers

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One can decide carefully to use the gradient on a website. It is better to use a gradient as an enhancement. Some browsers will not display the gradient well, therefore it will have to degrade forcefully. if the browser doesn’t display the gradient, then the design shouldn’t be dependent on it and should be able to function perfectly without it.

●?????? Setting border-radius in popular browsers

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The border radius properties accept two values which are expressed as a length or a percentage. The border-radius property is the shorthand property .border –.border radius is set at the bottom.

●?????? Setting background image for select tags in Chrome

The WebKit appearance property enables web authors to change the visual aspect of HTML elements to resemble native user interface controls.

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4. SECURITY AND DATA PROTECTION POLICY

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●?????? IMPLEMENTING BEST PRACTICES FOR AUTHENTICATION AND AUTHORIZATION

Authentication and authorization through mentioning the same breath, serve different purposes, while AUTHENTICATION validates the identity of users or systems attempting to access the API. This process establishes the who in the interaction, ensuring that the entity making the request is indeed who they claim to be.

On the other hand, AUTHORIZATION comes into play post-authentication, determining the extent of access and actions permitted for the authenticated entity within API.

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●?????? REGULARLY UPDATING SECURITY MEASURES AND PATCHES

Patches are software and operating systems (OS) updates that address security vulnerabilities within a program or product.

Regularly updating security software is a crucial aspect of protecting businesses from potential threats and vulnerabilities. By keeping the security software up to date, one can ensure that they have the latest patches, bug fixes, and security enhancements that address any known vulnerabilities.

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5. PERFORMANCE OPTIMISATION

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Performance optimization is the process of refining the efficiency of systems and applications to improve their output, speed, or scalability. It plays a key role in ensuring that the available resources are put to best use. In other words, performance optimization is the process of modifying a system to amplify its functionalities, thus making it more efficient and effective. In SEO, performance optimization refers to monitoring and analysing the efficiency of one's website and identifying ways to improve it in terms of speed, features, implementations, design, SEO, and digital marketing.

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6. TESTING AND QUALITY ASSURANCE

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Quality assurance testing is critical to developing any project such as websites or web applications. The test reveals errors or problems with project one creation before they become costly to fix. On the other hand, web application testing will examine its performance on various mobile devices. In other words, web quality assurance is the process where optimizers and developers test a website to ensure everything looks and works correctly on all relevant devices and browsers.

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7. CONTINUOUS INTEGRATION AND DEPLOYMENT

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Continuous deployment is a software engineering approach in which software functionalities are delivered frequently through automated deployments. continuous integration and tools include Jenkins, Travis CI, and circles. On the other hand, Deployment uses infrastructure such as code, containerization, and automation of infrastructure.

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8. DOCUMENTATION AND MAINTENANCE

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Maintaining documentation helps to instruct and assist the users, clients, and administrators of the web application as well as the updates, changes, and features of the web application. Web development and maintenance is an essential part of any web project, whether it’s a simple website, a complex web app, or a reusable component. Documentation helps in design communication, code, and functionality to other developers, users, and clients.