What Are The Stages of An App Development Project?

Key Points

• Web app development follows a structured multi-stage process: pre-design/design (defining problems and creating prototypes), development (building frontend and backend), testing and sandboxing, and deployment to a server.
• The development stage is the longest and most complex, requiring framework selection (Rails, Django, Laravel), database design, frontend development (HTML/CSS/JavaScript), and backend development (HTTP endpoints, authentication, authorization).
• Post-deployment support is essential; development teams continue providing ongoing maintenance, updates, performance improvements, and new features to keep applications secure and functional.

Understanding web app development as a beginner can be a little daunting. Whether you are new to web development/coding, an entrepreneur, a business owner, or you like to tinker around in app development, this article aims to carefully break down the web app development process.

Instead, we want to provide you with the framework for how web app development works so that you have an understanding of this process, whether you are looking to build one yourself or you are looking to partner with a web development company for custom software development.

Read on to learn more about web app development and the main stages.

What Are the Main Stages of Web App Development?

Web app development follows a structured multi-stage process including problem definition, workflow mapping, wireframing/prototyping, user feedback collection, tool selection, building, testing/sandboxing, and deployment—with stages organized into pre-design/design, development, and support phases.

• Define the problem you are solving as this develops the goal of the web app and the basis of the web app design
• Map out the web application’s actual workflow (and not the workflow of the project)
• Wireframe and prototype the web application
• Receive feedback from potential users, like clients and customers
• Choose the app build tools (most web apps require tools for coding)
• Build your web application
• Test and sandbox your web application
• Host your web application on a server and deploy the software

If you’ve never looked into coding at all, then understanding what this process looks like can be a bit murky. However, understand that this is the general order of operations that a developer will follow. Differences come into play when the problem being solved is different (such as a mobile app needs to be created instead of a web-based application), different methodologies are required, and different tools are necessary.

To provide a more detailed overview of this process, we’ve organized the development into four main stages of software development: the pre-design stage, the design stage, the development stage, and the support stage.

What Happens in the Pre-Design and Design Stages?

The pre-design and design stages involve defining the problem your software solves, mapping application workflow, creating wireframes/prototypes, gathering user feedback, and approving designs—critical for establishing what the software should look like and its functionality before development begins.

Depending on the current thoughts surrounding your software, this stage can take a long time or it can take a few days or weeks. Ideally, if you are working with a software development team, then they will be able to guide you through the process of software ideation and then provide all of the key materials moving forward.

The design stage is crucial to the development of a fully-functioning web application because it lays out what the software should look like, the problems it will solve, and user experience and functionality. You then need to prototype this idea to ensure that the ideas for the software make sense. Showing these ideas to a potential user in a realistic way will you give a better sense of how the product works and therefore its viability.

Once the software prototype has been approved, then you can move forward into the web build stage.

What Happens in the Web App Development Stage?

The development stage involves selecting appropriate frameworks (Rails, Django, Laravel), building the database, developing the frontend (HTML/CSS/JavaScript), developing the backend (HTTP endpoints, authentication, authorization), testing, and deploying to a server—the longest and most complex phase requiring framework selection and technical expertise.

Keep in mind that there are a number of web application development frameworks to use, and deciding which one is best for your software needs can be difficult. However, once you’ve found that framework that works best for your software development needs, then you’ll notice that the framework actually makes life easier.

Common frameworks include:

• Rails, written in Ruby (otherwise known as Ruby on Rails)
• Django, written in Python
• Laravel, written in PHP

When understanding these frameworks, recognize that the first word (like Rails) is the tool being used and the second word (like Ruby) is the programming language. If you are looking to use any of the above programming languages, then these programming frameworks would work well for you. Note that some projects will do better in certain programming languages. For more complex needs, like scientific programming or data manipulation, it is recommended that you go with Django written in Python.

In actually building the software, you are looking to:

• Build the database​: This includes determining the type of data you need to store and data sizes. If you need to store financial data, for example, then the database requires certain requirements and it may need additional licensing.
• Frontend development​: Front end development might occur at the same time as backend development, and this might involve a back-and-forth process to nail down details. The frontend development should mirror the wireframing done in the pre-build stage as this determines the look and layout of the software. The front end might be build using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
• Backend development​: This is probably one of the most difficult aspects of web app The backend is the meat of the software and it needs to provide HTTP endpoints to your front end. It will also need to authenticate users, provide authorization, and serve the front end.

Once the software has been built, then you can work through testing and sandboxing the software so that it functions seamlessly and in the way that it was designed to.

Eventually, the web app is ready to be deployed. Since this program will be hosted online, you’ll need to source a server and launch the application. If the program uses any additional services, like APIs, then you’ll need to integrate those and connect the necessary services.

What Happens After Your Web App is Deployed?

After deployment, your application goes live for users, but development teams typically continue providing ongoing support including application management, updates, performance improvements, and feature enhancements—ensuring the application remains secure, functional, and aligned with business needs.

Once the web application build is done, this does not necessarily mean that the job is done. Most web application developers still stay on top of the product updates, providing additional services after the deployment of the software like application management, updates, and improvements. At Rotate, we include post-deployment support in our custom software development engagements to ensure your application remains secure and competitive.