Everyone has the potential to be the best developer ever! All you need is the most innovative ideas, willpower, and belief in yourself. Now, developing high-quality outputs is reliant on the resources you have. In particular, the non-tangible ones. At the end of the day, everything requires patience and time, right?
Even if you’re the finest in your industry, patience is something you must have. Most especially, when it comes to coding and web development. You can’t really rush through the process! You’ll end up taking even more time away than you currently have. This happens all the time. Trust us, being counterproductive is the last thing you want to do in coding.
For developers, not being practical and effective enough can be a source of frustration. The scenario can sometimes deteriorate to the point that it appears that the task will never be completed. We have to avoid this! That’s why this article seeks to give you web development tips to save you time and speed up the process!
1. Set the Specifications and Plan Ahead
Proper planning is the first and most crucial phase in any undertaking. It will help you visualize the aspects and devise techniques for achieving your end goal. If you have a well-laid strategy or plan, you can focus more on the actual task. You will also have a good organization on how to construct it and make it happen.
You must divide the project down into manageable chunks. Splitting the project down into small, manageable parts is vital. It will help you understand how much time you will allot to each part. It will also give you a clearer vision if ever you’ll encounter problems with your code.
Writing a plan does not need to be fancy! Sometimes, the most effective method is to just use pen and paper. However, you can also keep it on note-taking apps or word documents if you prefer.
In writing a plan, what you have to do is to foresee the outcome of the website you want to build. Ask yourself important questions. What are its main functions? What do you want the website to do for the users? What are the specifications? How many web pages do you need?
You can start with these questions and then add more as you plan. Always keep in mind that every minute you spend planning saves you more minutes in execution.
2. Visualize Your Plan
Visualizing your plan isn’t as hard as you think. There are a lot of tools that could help you build your website in no time! But why is visualization important? Creating an actual visualization of your plan is not new when it comes to web development. In fact, it is very helpful to create a flowchart and wireframe of the website you want to build.
If you are not familiar with them, a flowchart is basically a diagram for the logic and decision-making of your program. It allows you to see the entire process that happens in the back-end. There are a lot of flowchart-generating tools available online. You can also do it by just using a word document.
On the other hand, a wireframe is basically what your website looks like. Here, you need to consider the color palette, the placement of buttons, the photos to be used, and the overall feel of your website. It is really helpful in web development, especially in web design.Â
By doing a wireframe, you basically know which buttons to use, where to place them, etc. This will save you a lot of time when you start the actual coding since you already know what you need.
Making a flowchart and a wireframe will help you avoid mistakes during the coding process. It will also help you in choosing the technology you want to use when programming.
3. Unit and Automation Testing
Software automation and test automation tools will be a huge help. This applies to every possible industry, including web development. Imagine the time you have to spend if you will test manually, it’s tedious! Luckily for us, there are readily-available online test automation platforms we can use.
Automated testing is likely the most effective technique to strike a balance between speed and quality. These automation tools will help save time and will assure you that your code works! It will show you errors, loopholes, and other flaws in your development. The best part is that anyone can perform testing processes without having to repeat them over and over again!
Now, don’t worry if you are not familiar with automation. There are a lot of test automation tutorials online that could help you! Don’t lose hope when you encounter problems while testing. Automation failures are common and avoidable!
Remember that the goal of unit testing and test automation is to provide quality. Not only for the product itself but most importantly, for the experience of the user.
4. Make Use of the Appropriate Technology
Make use of the technology that suits your specification and design. When creating a website, you need to find a full-stack technology that you want to use. Your life as a developer will be a lot easier if you use the correct frameworks, libraries, databases, and other tools. Make sure you establish the tools you’ll need for your project. Don’t rely on what’s already available.
There are a lot of things to consider when deciding on the tools you need. Do you want to develop a website from scratch? Do you want to use a full-stack framework? What programming language do you want to use for your project? What are your target devices for compatibility? What kind of online test automation platforms will you use later on? There are a lot of questions you should ask, try to answer them one at a time.
You must also remember to do your research. It is the most important step in choosing the best technology. You must make sure that they are compatible with each other. You must also consider your familiarity with using it. The more familiar you are, the less hard it will be.
5. Create a Timeline and Distribute The Workload
Creating a timeline or schedule for your project will help you a lot. Not only will it speed up your development process but it will also prevent you from having backlogs. It will let you know how much more time you have. If you work alone, having a timeline allows you to distribute your tasks depending on your schedule.
However, if you work with other people, you must distribute the tasks depending on their priority and prerequisites.
6. Optimize Your Code
Code optimization will save you so much time. Nowadays, there are software and tools that make codes reusable. One example is React.js. However, you are not limited to using reusable codes alone. Maximizing the use and functions of your loops will also help you save time.
7. Don’t Overwhelm Yourself With Tasks
You might think that doing so many tasks at once is productive but it’s not. Doing so might get you confused and cause more problems as you finish the code. For example, if you are doing tasks that are codependent on each other, changing one task can make you tweak the other. Hence, this eats more time.
You must also limit the work you do in progress. There’s no harm in jumping from one task to another when you feel stuck. In fact, it could even prevent you from having a dead time. However, always remember to not over-estimate the situation.
8. It’s Okay to Ask for Help
Some programmers might be scared to ask for help. You might not like being helped or being judged by not knowing it all. But believe it or not, asking is one trait a good programmer must have. The field of programming changes so fast. Developers must be ready to adapt and learn new things all the time. You must listen to others’ input and see if it’s useful for your project.
At the end of the day, you could always ask Google. Web development has a big online community. Most probably, you are not the only one stuck with the same problem. Forums are always there for anyone who needs help with their code.
The Verdict
Task management, project meetings, workflow debates, and other minor components of the development process may appear unimportant, but they add up. It might appear like a little thing for now, but wasted time accumulates over time. You have to plan ahead to avoid unforeseen circumstances.
Web development is no joke! You must have the patience to learn new things all the time. There are also a lot of things to consider before starting your project. Do not limit your knowledge and be your better programmer self!