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Top 15 Guidelines for a Thriving Dashboard Design

Posted on April 29, 2020 by probytesnextjs

The dashboard is designed to offer a comprehensive visual display of status and real-time performance updates. A thriving dashboard design will be functional, purposeful, and relevant. It needs to be regularly updated so that the users will be able to view the latest information at any point in time or any state of the work process.

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The dashboard design should serve its purpose. If it is designed for the operations team, then it should have all the relevant project details and updates, status of work completed by all the people involved in the project. In case, the dashboard is created by business leaders, then it should have all the relevant information that the senior management will need to know about the health, performance, and issues in the company.

In this blog, we will look into the top 15 guidelines to keep in mind while designing a thriving dashboard design.

1. Do essential research before designing the dashboard

Before you start working on the dashboard design, you need to have all information about the stakeholders, the end-users, budget, timeline, technology constraints, security, and level of interaction. You should also find out the function and purpose of the dashboard and the data that needs to be displayed on the dashboard.

Before the designing process begins, you should have decided on the key metrics and benchmarks that need to be displayed. You should also know where all the data is being collected, and if the data is cross verified before being presented on the dashboard.

Details such as complete or partial access for different users and technology to be used while building the dashboard should all be finalized before creating the dashboard design.

2. Decide on the type of dashboard

It is essential to have a definite idea of the purpose of the dashboard before it is designed. The major types of dashboards generally used in most applications are operational, tactical, strategic, and analytical.

An operational dashboard is time sensitive and needs to have updated and critical data that will allow users to know the status of any task or resource at any point in time. Analytical dashboard, on the other hand, is more focused on providing pertinent information required for decision making.

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This dashboard is not time sensitive, and will feature more tools for analytics. Tactical dashboards are generally designed for upper management. The data in this dashboard will help them get a deeper understanding of the results of the company’s actions. A tactical dashboard will have visual data and trends that will help the stakeholders to make informed decisions.

A strategic dashboard will have key performance indicators, performance metrics, or goals that the senior executives of a company need to reach. The dashboard will help the executives know the status of their projects in terms of the strategic goals at any point in time. Depending on the purpose and audience, you need to decide on the type of dashboard.

3. Have only essential components in the dashboard

It can be tempting to put in a lot of components in a dashboard, but that will completely defeat the purpose of creating it in the first place. So, depending on the type and purpose of the dashboard, you need to add only the key components.

The dashboard can have essential data of the project or the process, visualized forms of the data like tables, charts, and graphs, and links for those who want to check the data in-depth.

4. Have a responsive dashboard design

A dashboard that has too many data visualization elements can become overwhelming and confusing for the user. So, instead of spending a lot of time deciding which elements you want to have on the dashboard, you can hand over the control to the user.

You can create an interface that allows the user to see the key data in the main window and drill-down data in the sidebar or pop-up windows. A dashboard with responsive design allows the user to decide what information he/she wants in the main window and what data in the sides.

5. Offer different views of the dashboard

Offer different display views that the user can select based on his/her preferences. An online bank account can have different views – a view that allows the user to check the account balance, deposits, payments, and more or a view that gives them the account summary and the latest transactions.

Similarly, the dashboard of an online restaurant booking application can show a view of the current reservations, upcoming reservations, payments made, and such or a view that allows the admin to filter details by date or view employee shifts and vendor details.

6. Design the dashboard based on the audience

In general, a hierarchy is followed in all companies. The hierarchy not only determines the roles and responsibilities, but also the extent of data that they can access.

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You should create a pyramidal structure based on the management structure. It will allow you to design the dashboard layout based on the specific audience.

7. Choose the right forms of data visuals

Data visualization is one of the key components of a dashboard, especially while displaying multiple types and forms of data. Whether you have a static or a dynamic dashboard, it is important to choose the right kinds of graphs and charts to visually display the data. Here are some suggestions for using the right kind of data visualization elements:

While comparing data, line and column graphs are best. Also, while creating these graphs, make sure that the data is sorted from highest to lowest or lowest to highest and not in some random order
Preferably, line graphs should not have more than 5 values and bar graphs not more than 7 values
If you have a graph that shows the change of a value over time, you should always plot time along the horizontal axis, in increasing order
For correlation and distribution analysis, use scatter plots
To show connections between data points, use a network diagram
Though pie charts and donut charts look very pretty on the screen, they may not be useful as understanding the data they represent is very difficult. So, preferably avoid these types of charts

8. Be consistent in naming conventions and date formatting

The naming convention that you use in the dashboard should be consistent with what is being used in the process or the project. If you are labelling data using a particular format in the process, then the same should be followed in the dashboard.

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The same rule works for date formatting. Whether you use dd/mm/yy or mm/dd/yy, be consistent with the format on the dashboard.

9. Focus on the layout and flow

While designing the layout of the dashboard, pay attention to the alignment and flow. You need to first create a grid or a basic skeleton that will have the details of the components of the dashboard. The layout should be designed in such a manner that the user can smoothly “read” the data and the interpretation.

10. Make optimum use of white space

Negative space or white space is an essential component of the dashboard design. A balanced white space makes it easy for the user to navigate the dashboard and read the data.

11. Allow for personalization of the dashboard

For the dashboard to be useful, it needs to have the information that the user is looking for. The user should be able to customize the layout, content, and data visualization elements according to their role, preferences, and requirements.

12. Use tables for large data chunks

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Tables are a convenient way to display large volumes of data in an organized manner. Moreover, most users will have experience in working with MS Excel. So, they will find it easy to manage and read tables in the dashboard. Also, a table doesn’t take up a lot of the space and allows for extension, if required.

13. Automate data collection

To ensure that the dashboard is always up to date, automate the data collection process. If you collate data using an excel sheet, then you can build the dashboard such that the data from the excel sheet can be directly uploaded to the system. You can also use integrations to directly upload data to the system.

14. Use the design-led development process

The agile development process recommends creating the design first and then moving on to the development process. The initial planning phase should focus more on the design elements of the dashboard.

Once the layout and flow are finalized, the development process can be initiated. This method reduces the time required to build the dashboard. At the same time, it also reduces the unnecessary change in the codes and algorithms if the design needs to be changed.

15. Save Dashboard designing for the last

A dashboard will have a summary view of all the tasks and data from the process. So, it is important to do the dashboard design at the last after the entire website or application has been designed.

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This way is more practical as you will have an idea of all the components you should integrate into the dashboard design. If you work on the dashboard first, then you should go back and forth, making changes in the dashboard as you develop your application

Conclusion:

A thriving dashboard design has all the essential visual elements that allow the user to easily read the data. The layout and flow should be smooth so that the user can interpret the data and gain the information that he/she is looking for.

Finally, the design should be simple, minimalistic, and purposeful. Probytes can design a unique and functional dashboard for your application or work process. Contact us to know more

Who’s Who?: Structure & Roles of a Web Development Team

Posted on April 22, 2020 by probytesnextjs

If you are a client who have already made an order with a web development agency based on a Web application for your business, it’s good to know about their team for further business communication. Understand Who’s Who? the structure & roles of a web development team

We’ve written this info-graphic to help you figure out the precise roles of each person of the Web Development Team – in other words, what each person is actually responsible for

A Web Development Team Consist Of

Requirements analysts
UX and UI designers
Web developers
Quality Assurance specialists

Typical Responsibilities of Requirements Analyst

Eliciting project requirements
Communicating requirements to other team members
Analyzing product requirements
Developing necessary documentation
Managing the project’s scope

UX Designers are Responsible for

Create information architecture
Develop wireframes
Create prototypes for user testing

Duties of Web Developers

Write server-side scripts
Create and manage databases
Integrate the application with cloud computing services
Develop or integrate a Content Management System
Implement security standards

Important Responsibilities of a QA Engineer

Write tests
Test software quality
Performing regression and negative tests
Test the user interface and app compatibility with various browsers

Top 20 Tools to Check Your Website Health

Posted on April 22, 2020 by probytesnextjs

You would have spent a lot of time, effort, and money in building a website. In fact, now you can even call it as an important asset of your company. It is necessary to regularly check the health and performance of your website, right from the time you are developing it. Website maintenance and upgradation is an on-going process.

Fortunately, there are numerous tools, both free and paid, you can use to periodically evaluate your website’s health. A few tools check the website’s overall health and performance based on pre-determined metrics every minute.

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There are a few tools that check your website’s performance on search engines. Also, there are tools that check your website for vulnerabilities and help you identify them before the hackers do. In this blog, we will look into the top 20 tools that you can use to check your website’s health.

Google Webmaster’s Tools

Google Webmasters is one of the basic tools that every website owner uses to evaluate the performance and health of a website.

The search console has a host of tools that allow you to submit pages for indexing on Google, screen backlinks, learn about keywords that brought visitors to your website, and do lots more. This free website analysis tool also helps you check if all the pages of your website are being crawled and if there are any broken links and errors in your website.

Check My Links

Check My Links is a tool that helps website owners optimize links and check if both external and internal links are working fine. The best thing about this tool is that it can be used even on a live page.

When the page is run in the tool, it will immediately highlight all good links in green and broken links in red. This tool is available for free.

HubSpot’s Website Grader

HubSpot’s website grader is a website audit tool that was released in 2007. Since then, the tool has undergone many upgrades and now delivers personalized reports based on pre-determined metrics. This website analytics tool evaluates your website for mobile readiness and checks the security features.

It also analyses the page’s speed, size, and other SEO metrics to evaluate the website’s performance on search engines. This grader tool has more than 70 metrics to evaluate the various components of a website. It is available for free.

Browser Shots

Browser Shots helps developers check the website’s compatibility with different types and versions of browsers. You need to submit your website link to the tool and it will be added to the queue.

The tool will then open your website on different browsers and take screenshots of it. The screenshots will then be uploaded on a server where you can check the results.

Moz’s Pro Tools

Moz’s Pro Tools can help identify duplicate content, SEO elements, and other crawlability factors that can influence your website’s performance on search engines. This website analysis tool has a web crawler called RogerBot that analyses up to 3,000 links. Once the analysis is complete, it will send a report with detailed information regarding all links analysed via email to the registered mail ID.

Web Page Speed Test

Web Page Speed Test is a website analysis tool that will allow developers to test the website loading speed using real browsers from multiple locations across the globe. The test also evaluates multi-step interactions, content blocking, video capture, and more. The results include page speed optimization suggestions and waterfalls chats.

Pingdom

Pingdom is available for free for 14 days, after which you can choose either the Standard or the Premium account if you are happy with the services. This website monitoring tool checks website performance every minute. Its website speed test is available for free and notifies you in case of any problems. This tool also checks website uptime and performance from different servers set in different parts of the globe. The downside is that its SMS capabilities are not that good and its coverage in the Asia Pacific region is less.

Linkody

Linkody is a tool that will help you check the performance of the backlinks. This tool has an easy-to-understand interface that gives you detailed backlink metrics such as Google indexation status, domain authority, Alexa score, ‘rel’ score, Spam score, and other features for backlink tracking.

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It also allows you to check your competitor’s backlinks. Enter the competitor’s website URL in the tool, and get all the ‘niche’ information you will need to build backlinks for your website. Another feature is that this website helps you generate reports that you can share with your team or use for presentations.

Buzzstream

If your website has inbound links from numerous sources, then Buzzstream is the right tool to evaluate the health of those inbound links. This tool will be helpful when you are building backlinks with guest blogs, social media platforms and other sources.

The dashboard lists all the sources to which you have requested backlinks. It will also let you know if the link has been accepted or if it is in inactive state. The tool also helps you identify platforms from which you can build inbound links. This tool is available for free for 2 weeks after which it converts to paid model.

Woorank

Woorank is a website audit tool that has a 14-day free trail. This tool does in-depth analysis of the website and also evaluates its performance on search engines and social media platforms.

It also monitors the usability of the website. The report generated by the Woorank tool has 8 sections, which include – Marketing checklist, SEO, Mobile, usability, technologies, social, local, and visitors.

Intruder

Intruder is a cloud-based website vulnerability testing scanner that checks your website for more than 900 features including misconfigurations, CMS issues, cross-site scripting, SQL injections, misconfigurations, missing patches, configuration weakness, and more.

This tool comes enterprise ready and can be directly used with large websites. It has different packages for small businesses, developers, and enterprise websites.

DNS Health Checker

The DNS Health Checker offers a suite of website performance checks such as uptime monitoring, page speed monitoring, transaction monitoring, server monitoring, and visitors’ insights.

You can use the 14-day free trial to check if the website monitoring services are what you are looking for. If they meet your preferences and requirements, then you can go for the Standard, Advanced, Professional or Enterprise package.

Ahrefs

Ahrefs is more of a SEO diagnostic tool that lets you check if your website is performing well on search engines. You can do a complete site audit using this tool. In the audit, the tool will crawl the page and let you know if there are any technical issues in the page.

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Also, this tool helps you check if your website is performing well for certain keywords and gives you the click-through rate.

Sucuri

Sucuri is a website vulnerability testing tool that will check your website for malicious code, out-of-date software, website errors, defacements, viruses, spam, and malware. It will also check if any links of your website are blacklisted.

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It helps you clean your website and protect it from cyber threats. This tool is compatible with Joomla, WordPress, Drupal, Magento, and more.

Montastic

The free version of Montastic tool is great for small businesses and individuals who want to track their website’s health and performance. This tool doesn’t have a dashboard, but sends notifications when it identifies something going wrong on the website.

In the free version, the tool evaluates the website’s performance every 30 minutes. In the paid version, you can expect a more frequent check. It has widgets for Android, Mac, and Windows.

StatusCake

StatusCake has a host of tools to monitor website health and performance. This tool is available in both free and paid versions. In the free version, it monitors up to 10 systems in 5-minute intervals. In the premium paid version, up to 300 systems are monitored in 30-second intervals.

The Superior Plan offers monitoring services for up to 100 monitors in 15-minute intervals. The page speed test feature is available in the free version, while domain monitoring, server monitoring, and SSL certificate monitoring are available only in the paid version. StatusCake has 48 test locations located across 28 countries.

New Relic

New Relic is built on a SaaS model and helps track your website and web application performance. This cloud-based platform supports 8 languages – MS.NET, Java, PHP, Ruby, Node.js, C SDK, Go, and Python. It monitors response time, database, website uptime, website speed, browser, infrastructure, application performance, error rates, and synthetics.

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While the monitoring capabilities are good, navigation between services can be difficult. This website health analysis tool is available for free for 14 days after which can choose one of the payment plans depending on your usage and monitoring requirements.

Uptime Robot

Uptime Robot launched in 2010 is available in both free and paid versions. The free version lets you monitor up to 50 systems and stores up to 2 months of log.

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On the other hand, the paid version lets you monitor up to 1000 systems and maintains 24 months of log. In the free version, website check is done once in five minutes, while it is once in a minute in the paid version.

DotCom-Monitor

DotCom-Monitor was established in 1998 and has more than 25,000 customers now. It is one of the earliest companies to provide 1-minute website checking service. The monitoring services that it offers include mail monitoring, uptime, transaction, FTP, and web page analysis.

It has a real-time dashboard where you can check the status of your website performance at any point of time. It also sends notifications via SMS, mail, and phone. The entire platform is available for free for the first 30 days. After the free trial ends, you can decide on the services you need and pay according to the services you choose.

Monitis

Montis is a cloud-based IT solution provider that does a complete website check once in five minutes. The various attributes that it checks includes website uptime, response time, server health, network performance, and bottlenecks before they arise.

You can also customize metrics based on your preferences and requirements. It is available for a free trail for 15 days, after which it turns into a paid subscription service. You can choose from one of the plans based on your needs and your website health goals.

Conclusion

The tools that we’ve discussed here are just a few of the top-notch website analysis tools available in the industry. There are lots more that you can use based on your website’s requirements and your preferences.

To ensure that your website’s health-o-meter is always in the top, get support of professionals for website maintenance. Contact Probytes, a reputed website development company for professional website development and maintenance services.

Top 10 Front-end Frameworks for Web Development in 2020

Posted on April 14, 2020 by probytesnextjs

Choosing the right Front end Frameworks for Web Application development is not an easy task when you have thousands of them on the market. When you are making the right choice for selecting the right framework you have to consider both the development and user perspectives. The decision should be made final only after close considering the following factors.

Aesthetics of the website
Security
Database mapping
Web API’s
Database Configuration

You should also keep the future in mind so that you can adapt to the latest trends and keep developing. A correct choice of web development framework will accelerate you process with more efficiency.

Let’s have a look into the top front end frameworks for web development in 2020

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API in Web Development-Best Practices for You

Posted on April 9, 2020 by probytesnextjs

There’s a lot of buzz about API’s in the web development domain. Many organizations are also planning to build API’s for their existing digital portals. Are you wondering what API is all about and if you need to build an API for your online business?

In this blog, we will first look into the features and principles of an API before we go into detail about the best practices for building an API in web development.

What is an API?
Application Programming Interface or API is an interface or a library that connects machines and software applications. APIs can be designed based on the purpose of the application/website, its architecture, network, and servers.

Another purpose of these interfaces is that they allow developers to access data and functions. An API can be a beneficial add-on to your existing product. If it has unique features and functions, then an API itself can function as a separate channel or product.

Key Features of an API

Should have a business plan and model
Should be manageable
Should be measurable
Should be simple and flexible
Should provide valuable service
Should provide developer support

Best Practices for Creating API in Web Development

1.Create a document

Documentation is one of the most important practices you need to follow before building an API. The document should contain all the methods, requests, responses, and other functions of the API and details on how to call them.

It should have all the details that will make it easy for the user to understand your application and also make the most of it. If you are not really clear about what all you should include in your document, you can just search for API guides and templates online and customize it for your product.

2.Garbage in Garbage Out

In API designing, Garbage in Garbage out refers to having a rigid approach when it comes to requesting validation. You should also keep in mind that it is not practically possible to anticipate all the needs of a user.

So, you need to ensure that there is flexibility in input and output constraints. Ensure that your API has multiple ways to input and output variables.

3.Platform Independence

It is vital to build an API that works on all kinds of platforms, independent on how it is implemented internally.

4.Security

More than best practice, Security is a must-have in your API. Provide usable and secure methods to authorize and authenticate your application. A couple of the popular authentication methods that you can use are token-based authentication and OAuth + SSL.

Protection from Cross-Site Request Forgery is another important security feature that you need to have in your application, especially if you have cookie or session authentication.

While building the API for Web development, you should ensure that proper access validation is provided. This means that the user will only be able to access the resources that they are authorized to use and not any other information on the application.

5.Data Format

The application programming interface should preferably support JSON, XML, or other proprietary formats.

6.Consistency

While talking about API for web development best practices, we should definitely discuss about stability and consistency. Once you launch your API, you may update it and publish the updated versions.

In such cases, connection with the user may break. To prevent this, you need to version the application right at the start. So, the URL will also have the version details, which can be updated.

7.Easy to Access

The product that you design should have an easy-to-access source code and a simple registration process.

8.Naming Conventions

While naming fields, actions, and controllers, preferably use plurals rather than singular. For example use /products or /GET/cars rather than /product or /GET/car.

Also, while naming, don’t use full action words or verbs like /GET/addnewproducts or POST/Deletebooks. The right way to name is GET/Newproducts or POST/Books. Preferably use nouns instead of verbs while naming resources.

9.Pagination

By paginating the application program interface, you can help limit the response results. It can be done by using offset and count in the query string. Pagination also gives you more control over how the data is displayed.

10.Sorting

When there are multiple fields, use ascending or descending sort based on the fields. This sorting method will make it easier for the user to access relevant data.

11.HTTP Status Codes

Choose relevant HTTP status codes and use them consistently throughout the application. Also, ensure that you use the standard HTTP return codes for best results. A few of the standard HTTP status codes that you can use in your API are:
400 – Bad Request
401 – User authentication required
403 – Forbidden
404 – Page not found
200 – Everything is good
201 – New Request has been created
202 – Request has been accepted

12.Field Selection

This method lets you get requests with only particular fields. You can customize the field selection based on the platform or other attributes. Enabling all field selections for every query could slow down the speed of your API.

13.Filtering

While creating query for filtering, use a unique parameter for each field. For example, if you want the search to return only products that are black in color, you can use the filter query
GET /api/v0/products?color=black Returns a list of products(Id, Name, Description, Color, Code, Price).

However, if you want the filter query to return only products that match the code 112, and then query will read like:
GET /api/v0/products?code=112 Returns a list of products(Id, Name, Description, Code, Price) which code is “112”

14.Resource Nesting

Resource Nesting can be used to show the relationship or functional hierarchy of resource objects. While creating the nesting levels, you need to maintain a balance between having too little or too much. Too few nested levels may not give you the right responses while too many may clutter and look inelegant.

Read Also: 15 Best Free Music Websites

15.Error Handling

It is best not to have any errors in the API, but then that is not possible. So, the next best option is to clearly inform in case of any error. There are three ways in which error handling can be done.

One is by using the HTTP status codes that we discussed above. The second method is to give a readable message in text. The third method is to use an internal code ID that you have described in the documentation.

So, are you interested in building an API? Get the support from experts to build an API. Our web development team has experts who can build customized Application Programming Interface for your company based on your specifications and requirements. Contact us to book a consultation.

Top 15 Web Application Security Practices You Should Know

Posted on April 1, 2020 by probytesnextjs

Are you sure that your web application meets the cybersecurity standards? With increasing development in cyber technology, the incidences of data breach and cyber-attacks are also rising. To protect your web application from such threats, you should implement some Web Application Security Practices.

However, many web application owners are more focused on building the application and making it live before evaluating and checking all the possible security gaps.

The decision-makers look into the user interface, user experience, stability, and other factors that influence the marketability of the web application. All these practices increase the vulnerabilities in the web application

A recent survey by Juniper Research has found that the average expenses involved in managing data breach problems are expected to be more than $150 million in 2020.

This figure underlines the importance of focusing on security features and following the best security practices right from the time the website architecture is being constructed.

In this blog, we will find out more about web application security and the top 15 practices that you can follow to make your web application more secure.

What is Web Application Security?

Before we go into details about the best security practices, let’s understand more about web application security. The security features form the central component around which the other attributes of the website are built.

Web application security deals with following protective measures and reducing possible threats in the core and supported assets of an application including web services, APIs, website architecture, framework, and database.

The most vulnerable sections of a website are its content management system, server, database administration system, and associated applications.

The four major aspects of web application security are:

Availability: The web application needs to be available for the authorized user with the specified time after request.

Integrity: The web application should not be modified by any unauthorized user

Confidentiality: All the sensitive data in the web application should be exposed under any condition

Non-repudiation: It means that an authorized user should not be able to deny any changes made to the data

The most common forms of cyber threats are SQL injection, Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF), DDoS attack, broken authentication, Cross-site scripting (XSS), and Exploiting inclusion vulnerabilities.

Your website application should have security features that protect your application and prevent the above listed and other threats.

Top 15 Web Application Security Practices You Should Know and Follow

1. Evaluate your Application

An enterprise web app can have hundreds of mission-critical applications. In order to set up an effective web application security program, you need to have a detailed application infrastructure. While building the application infrastructure, list all the components and attributes.

Consider all components as vulnerable and analyze them from the perspective of security. While creating the layout of the network infrastructure, also consider the people who have network access controls. As a proactive practice, you can create a document of all the components and extensions of your application.

Update the document every time you make a version update, add a new extension or API, or change the existing components. It will help you when you do your regular vulnerability check.

2. Build A Web Application Threat Model

After creating a blueprint of the application infrastructure, build a threat model that will have all the details of possible threats for each component.

This document should include details of the components, the version, usage, as well as access details. While creating the vulnerability list, make sure to cover all the layers of your web application.

3. List And Sort The Applications

Now that you have all the pertinent data, you need to list them and sort them into different buckets such as critical, serious, and normal.

The critical bucket list should have all components that are customer-facing, contain sensitive information, and payment details. Most hackers try to break into components that give them access to personal details and bank details. So, it is essential to have a high level of security for the components in this list.

The serious vulnerabilities bucket list will include components that contain both company and customer information. They need to be tackled once the critical list is managed.

The normal bucket list will contain components that hackers may not have any knowledge of. However, it is a good practice to check these components for vulnerabilities during your regular check.

4. Do a Software Security Risks Assessment

Have a systematic assessment plan to evaluate all the risks or vulnerabilities in the system. It is a good practice to have a security check protocol in place. The security protocol should have detailed security policies that are shared with all the stakeholders, employees, and users, when needed.

Carefully profile all users who have access to the web application. For short-time users, create guest network access with guest authentication. You should have a foolproof plan to identify and isolate any particular system or login that faces a cyber attack.

5. Identify New Application Vulnerabilities

It is not just enough if you do a vulnerability check of the existing components. You should also have a plan to protect your application from possible sources of threats, in the future. To do this, you need to stay updated about the latest developments in cybersecurity.

6. Follow Secure Coding Standards

Developers are more focused on building the application as per the specified architecture. So, they may not pay attention to codes that could become a weak link in the app. The factors that developers need to consider while coding are:

Location of session information

Possibility of remote code execution

Access management

Authentication and password management

Input validation

Error handling and logging

System configuration

Security extensions that servers use

Software language access to system

File management

Communication security

7. Limit Access & App Permissions

One of the most important web application security practices that you need to follow is limiting network access. You need to give minimum access required just to do the task.

While developing the app, you should ensure that the super administrator is able to define the permissions and access provided to the stakeholders, users, or clients. Also, regularly check the access list to ensure that no one is misusing their permissions.

While checking the permission and access list, also check for users who are no longer in the system and remove those accounts. These accounts could provide hackers with backdoor access to your website application.

8. Follow Proper Session Handling

Session is the time that a user interacts with the application. A unique ID is created for each session. This ID connects the user credentials with the traffic and access controls. A session ID needs to belong so that hackers cannot easily break it.

Also, the ID should not have any sensitive information. A normal session handling process has the following steps – Pre-Authentication session; Authentication; Session management; Access control; and Session finalization. Session handling allows you to track anonymous users and apply security access controls wherever necessary.

9. Encrypt the Data

To safeguard your website application, use encryption in as many layers of the application as possible. The basic encryption technologies that you can implement are HTTPS, HSTS, and SSL. Encryption is of two types – symmetric and asymmetric encryption.

In symmetric encryption, the same set of keys is used for both encryption and decryption while two different sets of keys are used for encryption and decryption in an asymmetric encryption. You should also regularly check if there is any vulnerability in the encryption and decryption process.

10. Use A Web Application Firewall

A firewall application adds a layer of security to your website application. All traffic to your application can be routed through this web application firewall, which filters out possible threats. A firewall can protect your web application from SQL injection attacks and Cross-site Scripting attacks.

11. Use Only Authorized APIs

APIs help enhance the stability and performance of your web application. However, as most APIs are third-party software solutions, they can make your application vulnerable.

Poorly coded APIs or those from unverifiable sources can harm your website. So, make sure to use only authorized APIs for your website application.

12. Ensure Secure Data Storage

The database is a vulnerable component of your website application. Preferably, data storage should be internal and private. You can use database libraries with an additional layer of encryption to store data.

13. Update Your Server Regularly

The server is another vulnerable component of your website application. While checking the server for vulnerabilities, you can take a top-to-bottom and end-to-end approach to ensure that you have covered all the components.

Also, regularly update the server to the latest cybersecurity standards. Server updates can be done to add new features or to check for bugs. Create a document of the updates installed and the fixes made, so you can refer to it every time you update the server.

14. Do An Intensive Testing

Stringent and intensive testing is one of the best website application security practices. It is essential to test the structure and function of each and every component of your web application.

Based on the application and function, you can go for manual or automated testing. The common types of software testing are static testing, dynamic testing, interactive testing, and mobile testing.

Another type of testing is the penetration testing. It is done by ethical hackers to evaluate the security of the application.

15. Automate Vulnerability Management

The growing cyberscape has brought with it a whole range of risks and cyber threats. It can be difficult to manually check all components for vulnerabilities and fix them.

The best solution is to automate repetitive tasks and implement security solutions. Analytics-based automation solutions not only help you identify and fix the threats, but also help you analyze the source of the threat.

Organizations that are looking to build secure website applications should think of implementing the best web application security practices right from the development stage.

If you are looking for a reliable technology partner to help you build a robust and secure web application that meets the highest security standards, contact Probytes.

Website Architecture Design- A Complete Guide

Posted on March 25, 2020 by probytesnextjs

Have you seen buildings being constructed? The first step of constructing a building is creating a blueprint of the building design and structure. A similar logic can be applied when it comes to building a website. The architecture defines the layout of the website that acts as the foundation on which the entire website is built.

In this blog, we will delve into detail about the website architecture design, how architecture differs from the design and the various processes involved in website architecture designing.

What is website architecture design?

According to Techopedia, “Website architecture is used in creating a logical layout of a website in line with the user and/or business requirements.” A website architect while creating the website architecture design defines the various components of the website, describes the relationship between the components, and connects the components with the services delivered by the website.

The components of website architecture are:

Interaction design

User interface design

Usability

Web design

Graphic design

Content strategy

What is the need for website architecture?

Imagine you need to visit an office in a new city. Can you reach your destination if there are no directions or landmarks to guide you? That will be a very difficult task. So, you need a map, signposts or a guideline that will help you reach your destination.

The website architecture design works in a similar manner. It helps users find the products or services that they are looking for and make navigation to the right page seamless and straightforward.

A market study by Hubspot has found that 55% of website visitors don’t spend more than 15 seconds on the website.

This means that you have less than 15 seconds to give the information that your visitor is looking for. It is possible only if the website navigation is effective. This, in turn, can happen only if the website architecture design is robust and effective.

How is website architecture different from website design?

Though website design and website architecture are used interchangeably or as a composite term, there are a few basic differences between the two. Both design and architecture have similar goals and are presented in almost a similar manner.

Both website design and architecture revolve around the look and feel of the website. The various steps involved in the designing process are strategizing, storyboard creation, graphic designing, layouts, effects, components, and user experience.

On the other hand, website architecture deals more with user interface, usability, and user experience.

While the design focuses on technical aspects of the front of the website, architecture concentrates on the concept of the website and how it relates to the business goals.

Conceptually, both the processes are similar. Website architecture is about strategizing the website creation process and its presentation, which forms the basis for the website design.

The Process of Building Website Architecture

The process of creating the website architecture design involves the following steps:

1.Understanding the Requirements

The first step is to understand the business goals, the purpose of the website, audience, and all the other details that are essential to create the architecture.

In this step, the website architects also find out about the expected outcomes of the project and the evaluation criteria. It is also a good idea to do a comprehensive brainstorming with the client to cover as many details and specifics as possible.

2.Determine the Target Audience

The next factor that is considered before creating the architecture is the audience or the end user. The website architect needs to have a clear idea of the target audience so as to create the layout, usability, and user experience accordingly.

Information regarding the target audience can be gathered via demographics, psychological characteristics, need characteristics, geographic location, and user personas.

3.Competitor Analysis

After the basic details are obtained, the architect studies the direct and indirect competitors. This research will give an idea on the concepts to focus on and things that the target audience expects.

4.Defining User Goals

In order to define the user goals, we need to first identify the user problems and possible and probable solutions. While identifying the solutions, the architect thinks from the perspective of the target audience.

5.Scenario Mapping

Now that all the basic research and analysis is completed and all the required data is collected, scenario mapping needs to be done. Scenario mapping is a process that is used to reveal possible user flows.

It creates numerous scenarios that could occur while a user navigates the website. These scenarios are created based on the user goals that were defined in the previous step.

6.Mind Mapping

Till now, all that the architect had is a whole suite of ideas and information. Now all that has to be collated to form is a cohesive picture. This can be done by Mind Mapping. It is a design conceptualizing tool that can be used to create a logical outline of all the available information and ideas.

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Some architects use Mind Mapping tools to create the outline while others go for the traditional pen-and-paper or whiteboard method. After Mind Mapping, the architect will have a clear idea of the categories, subcategories, and interconnections on the website.

7.Information Architecture

The information architecture is basically a foundation for the prototype of the website. A part of the interaction design, information architecture can be defined as the wireframe on which the entire product is built.

While talking about the need for a website architecture design, we spoke about how signposts or a map helps you find your destination in a new city.

In website building, the placement of the sign posts and navigation element is determined in the information architecture. Business goals, user needs, user experience, and all kinds of content are taken into consideration while creating information architecture.

Components such as documents, text, media files, headings and subheadings, and URLs are considered while creating the website’s information architecture.

8.Building the Wireframe or Prototype

Now that the information architecture and Mind Map are ready, the next step is to build the wireframe or prototype. All architects may not work on the Home Page prototype first.

The web page to prototype first depends on the kind of website and the deliverables. Typically, the landing page that will attract the target audience is prototyped first. While building the prototype, the header section is created first.

It usually contains the company logo and contact details, primary navigation menu, and search form. Next, the contextual areas and the footer are designed.

9.Testing

Once the prototype is created, it needs to be tested for bugs, errors, and usability.

First, the prototype is compared with the Scenario map to check if all the possible scenarios are covered and if there are any gaps in the navigation. Next, the usability of the architecture is tested using tools to ensure it meets the business goals.

10.Project Specification

It is the document that the website designers and developers need to follow to create the website. The project specification is created after the prototype is positively tested and approved by the client.

This document will contain detailed specifications about each webpage prototype, navigation, software required, technologies needed, user flow, and other information that designers and developers need to build the website.

Website-architecture-design-A-complete-Guide-wireframe

Probytes is a website development company based in India that offers a wide range of website designing and development services. Our team of experienced architects, developers, and designers can build a website customized for your business goals and target audience. Contact us to know more about our services.

Web Development with MEAN Stack- The Complete Guide for your Business

Posted on March 19, 2020 by probytesnextjs

Web development with MEAN Stack is one of the leading trends increasingly being used to develop dynamic websites, mobile applications, and web applications. In this blog, we will look into what is MEAN stack and its components. We will also explore the advantages of using MEAN Stack for web development.

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What is MEAN Stack?

MEAN is an acronym of

MongoDB

Express JS

AngularJS

Node.js

MEAN Stack can also be defined as an open-source software toolkit that can be used for full-stack development of prototypes and website applications. This stack contains all the technologies essential for building a website, right from database system to the execution environment.

This JavaScript-based development toolkit enables developers to seamlessly and efficiently work on both the front end and backend of a website.

Architecture of MEAN Stack

The architecture of a MEAN Stack application includes 4 major components:

Angular JS – It is the front end of the website framework and accepts client requests and displays the results.

Node.js – This server-side platform handles requests from the client and the server

Express JS- This framework is used for building web application APIs. It forwards requests to the Database and gets the response.

MongoDB- It is the database that stores all the data and retrieves when needed.

The MEAN Stack architecture operates in the following way:

Request from the Client is sent to Angular JS, which makes the request. The request is then transferred to NodeJS Server, which parses the request to the Express.JS that transfers the request to MongoDB.

The processed request is then transferred back from MongoDB to Express JS, and from here to NodeJS server and back to Angular JS. The response is displayed on the client interface.

Components of MEAN Stack

In this section, we will look into detail about each component of MEAN Stack.

Angular JS

This open source JavaScript MVW (Model-View-Whatever (works)) framework maintained by Google was developed by Miško Hevery. It is used to design web applications that can be personalized.

This framework offers a complete client-side solution with its Document Object Mode (DOM). Angular JS is built on HTML templates and can be used to bring in Model View Controller architecture to browser-based applications.

As it is based on HTML, this UI framework can be used to express application components with ease. Features such as data binding and dependency injection reduce the need for extensive coding.

The Library of Angular JS consists of functions that can be used for creating web applications. The frameworks help in calling and implementing the web code.

The basic features of Angular JS framework include form validation, reusable components, dependency injection, data binding, routing, and deep linking.

All these features enable the creation of a CRUD (Create, Read, Update, and Delete) application. DOM can be decoupled from the app logic, which enhances code testability including end-to-end testability, unit-testing, mock testing, and test harness. Moreover, Angular frameworks support HTTP, AJAX, and Observables.

Node JS

Node JS has an event-driven non-blocking I/O model that makes it perfect for building data-intensive web servers and web applications in real time. This multi-platform language is compatible with OS X, Linux, and Windows.

The best feature of this asynchronous language is that it allows for 2-way communication between server and the client. Node.js finds application in construction of client-side applications, game servers, chat applications, streaming servers, and other real-time applications in a collaborative environment. The in-built server of the Node.js makes it easy to deploy Mongo database to Cloud.

Express JS

Express JS in the backend enables seamless interaction between the database and the client interface. This lightweight server-side framework can be used for building single page, multi page, or hybrid websites.

It is a single-threaded asynchronous language that features an MVC structure. This framework is coded in JavaScript and uses Pug engines to support templates.

One feature of Express.js is that it prevents the overwriting of variables, which can save time and effort while building a website. Express enables the dynamic rendering of HTML pages by passing arguments to templates. It also features multiple APIs for easy routing.

MongoDB

MongoDB is an open source database written in C++. Compatible with multiple platforms, this database stores data in binary format. The document-oriented NoSQL database can easily handle large tables that have up to millions of data.

This database allows you to use different fields and data structures for each document that resembles an OOPS object. MongoDB doesn’t update the entire data every time you enter a new field, which is one of its highlighting features.

The biggest advantage of using MongoDB is that it is document oriented. As all the data is stored in documents rather than a relational format, it is flexible and high performing. This database has an index, which speeds up search and response time.

MongoDB splits data while storing. This method enables load balancing and also manages the system in high load or when there is a lot of duplicate data. This storage process also ensures data protection in case of hardware failure.

Why should you use MEAN Stack for website development?

Quick Turnaround

This comprehensive tool kit has all the necessary software programs and tools to quickly build a website or application. So, developers can complete even complex applications with the shortest possible turnaround time.

Build Cloud-based applications

MEAN Stack is perfect for building Cloud-based applications. It also enables end-to-end encryption, which is one of the most important attributes of Cloud applications.

Quality Interface

The MVC model of the MEAN architecture ensures high-quality user interface.

Seamless Operation

The core of the stack is Node.js, which ensures smooth deployment of the application. Also, the complete application can be run using Javascript, so there is no need for any intervention for the smooth running of the application.

Flexible Structure

The flexible JSON document structure of the database used in MEAN stack lets you store huge volumes of data as Mongo DB features load balancing. This database allows the integration of new fields without any change or update in the existing structure.

Scalable Structure

All the four components of the MEAN Stack are open source and are highly scalable. These components also feature reusable modules and additional libraries, which speed up the website development process.

Decreased Costs

MEAN Stack brings together the core Java languages, which greatly reduces the cost of building an application. Also, the number of developers required for web development using MEAN Stack is lesser compared to other website development techniques.

Read Also: Top 15 Free Game Websites

If you are planning to build a website for your company, you will greatly benefit by going for Web Development with MEAN Stack. Probytes is a reputed website development company with ample experience and expertise in building websites for all kinds of businesses and platforms.

Get in touch with us to create the best website for your business within your budget.

How to Secure Your Joomla Website from Hackers?

Posted on March 12, 2020 by probytesnextjs

Your Joomla website is like a fortress that needs to be protected from invaders. You would have spent a lot of time and effort in constructing the website and establishing it on the online media.

With all your business goals depending on your website, it is of paramount importance that you secure from hackers. Protecting your Joomla website is not a one-time task, but something that you need to do regularly.

Let’s explore the different ways you can use to secure your Joomla website from hackers.

Strengthen The Foundation

For your Joomla website to be secure, you need to build a strong foundation and check its strength and stability often. Here’s how you can ensure that the core of your Joomla website is secured:

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Update regularly

You may have setup your website years ago, and it may now contain out-of-date core and extensions. Go to the Control Panel to check whether you have the latest version of Joomla support. If not, update it.

The best thing would be to set automatic updates in your settings. To do this, log on to the administrator account, and go to the dashboard and look for Joomla Updates and set it to Auto.

To check the status of the version, go to the Control Panel and scroll to Maintenance. If you see update as “All extensions are up to date” or “Joomla is up to date,” then you’re good to go.

2. Check the PHP version

Joomla websites are coded in PHP programming language. The language has its own set of vulnerabilities. Use the Vulnerability database to check if there is any vulnerability in the PHP version of your website.

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Vulnerabilities are referred to as CVE (Common Vulnerabilities and Exposure) in this database. To check for vulnerability, enter your PHP version in the search tab.

In case, there are vulnerabilities in the version you are using, submit a support ticket to your website host and ask them to update the PHP version.

3. Check Extensions

Now that you’ve checked if all the extensions are up to date, you should check to see if there are any outdated or unused extensions. Hackers can piggyback on these extensions into your website.

So, preferably create a list of all the extensions and non-core components of your Joomla website. Go to Joomla Vulnerability Database to cross verify the vulnerability status of all the items on your list.

This task may feel like time-consuming, but it will help you root out possible security threats. Set up a time every week for this checking.

4. Go for a reputed and secure Web Host

While choosing a host for your website, don’t just look at the payment plans. It is one place where you shouldn’t try to save. A web host needs to have a robust architecture with security features configured for Joomla websites. A secure web host gives your website an additional layer of protection.

Secure The Walls

After strengthening the core of the website, you need to secure the various components and features of your website. The various ways in which it can be done are described here:

Regularly backup the website

While choosing a web host, check if regular backups are a part of the package you’ve chosen. If that’s not the case, use a reliable backup tool to create a backup of your website. You can set it for automatic back up.

It’s not enough if you just automate the backup. You need to check the backup once in three months to ensure that all the data has been correctly archived.

2. Disable error reporting option

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You may wonder how error reporting can weaken your website defense. The reports could provide hackers with details of the vulnerabilities in your website. So, by disabling this option, you are preventing them from accessing this information.

To disable this option, go to System – Global configuration and navigate to the Server tab. Scroll to Error reporting and set it to None.

3. Use .htaccess file

Joomla has a preconfigured htaccess.txt file. Change it to .htaccess file in the root. By renaming this file, you enable search for search engine optimized URLs. This file has rules by which the URLs can be accessed and provide a layer of security to your website.

4. Install VPN or https access in the administrator folder

Installing VPN or https access in your administrator folder can prevent hackers from observing the traffic and identifying usernames or passwords. Installing an SSL certificate on your website will also enhance the security.

Station a Sentinel at the Gate

A very important part of security is to ensure access only to authorized users. Your website can be secured by preventing unauthorized access using the following methods:

Use an alternative user name for admin login

In most cases, developers use the common “admin” or “administrator” for the super administrator login. Hackers now just need to find the password to enter your website.

But, if you use an alternate user name, which is difficult to identify, then the hacker needs to find both the username and password to hack the site. So, a simple change of the account name can add a layer of security for your website.

2. Check the password strength of the admin login

Follow the basic rules of creating a password – use uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols. For the best security, use long text passwords that are difficult to unravel.

3. Use a 2-step authentication process

A 2-step authentication process will add an extra layer of security. When you log onto your Joomla admin account, you will get a special code in the associated phone number. You need to enter that code to access the account. So, if anyone tries to access your account, you will get a notification.

Block Alternate Routes of Entry and Exit

Hackers may not always use the regular account logins to access a website. They may find the backdoor to enter the website. So, it is important to bar all other possible routes of entry to the website.

Check file and directory permissions

When a website is being built and tested, access is provided to many people. In some cases, access may be provided to a tester to check a bug or a developer to make some change.

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Sometimes, there could be logins created for employees who are no longer working in your company. Over time, these logins will be forgotten. But, they can become entry points for hackers. So, you need to regularly check the file and folder permissions to prevent unauthorized access or changes.

The easiest way to check and eliminate these unwanted access points is by setting up a firewall extension. Second is manually checking and fixing all the permissions. We shall see more in detail about firewall extensions, later in this blog.

2. Remove old admin users

Another possible point of entry for hackers is old admin accounts. These accounts may be created for various purposes. If they are no longer employed or don’t require complete access, then these accounts need to be removed.

To remove old admins, go to the User Manager section and filter using administrators and super administrators. Check for accounts that are no longer required and delete them. While checking, you also should check if there are any unexpected names in the administrator or super administrator list.

Sometimes hackers use a normal account to access your website and then update that account to an administrator or super administrator account.

3. Remove unused non-core extensions

Extensions that are no longer being used can also serve as entry points for hackers. However, to prevent any unexpected problems, first disable the extension. If there are no adverse effects on the website, go ahead and delete them.

Position Guards on the Towers

Guards on towers lookout for possible sources of threat. Similarly, you need to have guards to keep a watch on possible cyber threats. A few ways in which you can identify threats are:

1. Sign up for Security notifications from Joomla

It will be easier to secure your Joomla website if you can get a heads up on the changes or updates in the Joomla core and extensions.

Joomla sends two kinds of email notifications – one when any vulnerability is discovered in the core and second when a vulnerability is discovered in the extensions or non-core components. Update your email address in Joomla Core Security Notifications to receive email notifications.

2. Set up an application firewall

A firewall will analyze all the incoming traffic and identify possible sources of threats or cyber-attacks. Firewalls can be customized to prevent access from certain geographical locations or IP addresses.

To make the most of the firewall, carefully go through the documentation and features. You can also use a cloud-based firewall.

Conclusion

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It is important to incorporate security features right from the time when the design and architecture are conceptualized. Security features should be evaluated while selecting the framework, web host, content management system, and all the other components of a website.

By doing all this from the start, the core of the website can be secured. After that, other security features can be added to the website.

If you are planning to build a website, go for a team of developers who are experienced in building Secure Joomla websites and enhancing its security features. The team should also be able to help you with regular updating and maintenance.

To work with the best team of developers and designers to build your secure Joomla website, contact Probytes. We are a leading website development company that can help take care of all your website creation requirements.

15 Top Trending Web Development Techniques to Watch Out In 2020

Posted on February 24, 2020 by probytesnextjs

The web development domain is continually evolving and growing. These emerging trends are derived from various technologies in artificial intelligence, big data, programming languages, and more. Website owners need to update themselves regarding the top trending web development techniques in 2020 to upgrade their websites.

These latest trends not only affect the look and feel of the website but also its performance.

This blog will explore trending web development techniques in 2020. Check to see if your website has all these advanced technologies and features.

1. Progressive Web Applications

Progressive Web Applications (PWAs) started getting popular last year and is fast gaining traction this year. This technology involves leveraging the quintessential HTML5 in developing web applications that look and function both like a website and a mobile application.

PWAs feature an application shell structure to load fast even at lower internet speeds. They are built with Transport Layer Security, which ensures privacy and data security.

Read Also: Best 10 Website Redesign Tips

The highlight of PWAs is that they work even offline. These web apps can be accessed directly from the mobile home screen by clicking on the icon and don’t require to be downloaded.

2. Artificial Intelligence

15 Top Trending Web Development Techniques to Watch Out In 2020-AI

AI is one of the top web development techniques in 2020. The current trend is not just integrating AI-solutions in websites, but using Artificial Intelligence to build websites.

Artificial Intelligence solutions are increasingly being used to boost operations, influence sales, engage customers, and generate insights for analysis. AI-based technology is used for analyzing emotions of customer comments. This information is used to drive better customer engagement.

It is also used to send personalized notifications to customers and optimize websites and applications for voice search. AI and neural networks are used to ensure copyright protection in social media platforms.

Artificial Intelligence is also being used to counter and prevent cyber threats. A forecast by Statista states that AI will be used for the following functions by 2025:

Recognizing, classifying, and tagging static images and objects
Processing patient data
Predictive maintenance
Content distribution on social media platforms
Navigation
Text query of images
Automatically detecting geophysical features

3. Programming Languages

Developers need to update themselves about the latest programming languages. C, Java, C#, and JavaScript are programming languages that form the core of millions of web applications that are still in vogue.

With the development of Artificial Intelligence, Python started gaining popularity. It is still one of the top programming languages and will continue to be so in the coming years.

JavaScript will still continue to be the most preferred computing language for front-end website development. A new language in the block is Golang from Google. This open-source programming language can also be used to build websites.

4. Web Assembly

WASM or Web Assembly refers to a small, fast binary format that is used to build client-side apps, games, music, and video streaming applications, CAD applications, and high-speed web apps. This low-level byte code can be generated using programming languages such as Rust, C, and C++.

The byte code directly runs in a browser. A web assembly integrates into a web platform and helps harness the hardware capabilities. It also supports non-browser embedding.

5. Single-page Applications

Single-page Applications or SPA’s have been around for a few years now and will still continue to be popular in the coming years.

This web development technique involves dynamically rewriting the current page displayed on the screen instead of loading a new page from the server.

This method allows visitors to explore the entire website without having to navigate. SPAs also adapt to all devices, enhancing the website’s responsiveness.

6. Motion User Interface

You just have 9 seconds to capture the attention of your website visitor and keep them on the website. It is this short attention span that spurred the use of animation and interactive graphics to grab a visitor’s attention.

Motion user interface includes the use of background graphics, attractive headers, animated charts, hovers, and other animation elements. This emerging website development technology is expected to gain momentum in 2020.

7. API-first Design

Traditionally, the backend team works first on the API and then the front-end development team receives it. When developers follow this process, it takes a long time to build a website.

The API-first design focuses on first developing the API and then building the product over it. This technique not only makes the web development process faster but also reduces the need to re-write codes.

It streamlines the development process and makes it more efficient to build APIs for different platforms and portals.

8. Accelerated Mobile Pages

Accelerated Mobile Pages (ACP) is an open-source library that is used to build lightweight, secure, and responsive web pages. ACP’s load faster as they are built using restricted CSS, HTML, JavaScript codes.

Though modular and responsive designs are also popularly used, Accelerated Mobile Pages will continue to trend in 2020.

9. Neural Networks

15 Top Trending Web Development Techniques to Watch Out In 2020-neural-networks

Neural Networks are a subset of Artificial Intelligence. This neural network technology uses the principle of searching for dependent relationships and matches. It needs time for self-learning, but the chances of errors are less.

This trend is just in the nascent stage now and is expected to see huge developments in the future. In the coming years, we could probably see complete website solutions being developed using Neural Networks.

10. Internet of Things

Internet of Things (IoT) connects smart devices, gaming consoles, smart vehicles, enterprise apps, smart homes, wearables, and websites in one comprehensive network.

Businesses and service providers need to have seamless connectivity across all portals and platforms to deliver the best user experience.

A study by Statista shows that nearly 31 billion devices will be connected together by the end of this year. This means that websites and applications need to be developed keeping IoT as the base.

11. Static Site Generators

Static Site Renders or Generators is another emerging trend that is posed to go big in 2020. These generators counter balance the effect created by the motion user interface.

Static site renders are best for news portals, university websites, government websites, and similar sites. In such sites, animation doesn’t add any value to the website and only distracts the visitors.

Also, the addition of animation elements could reduce the page load speed, which is not preferable. In such cases, developers can use Hugo, Jekyll, and similar generators to build static websites quickly and easily.

12. Voice Search

15 Top Trending Web Development Techniques to Watch Out In 2020-voice-search

It is projected that nearly 50% of all search queries will be done using voice commands in 2020. The increasing use of voice search means two things for website owners.

One is to optimize the website for voice searches. Second, is to make the website mobile friendly as most voice search happens on portable devices. It is very easy to add voice recognition APIs and widgets to your website.

13. Frameworks

15 Top Trending Web Development Techniques to Watch Out In 2020-frameworks

When we talk about the top trending website development techniques in 2020, we shouldn’t miss out on frameworks. Structure-oriented JavaScript frameworks such as Vue and React are still the top used frameworks.

GatsbyJS is a React-based framework that is used to generate static sites. CSS libraries are still the popular choice for front-end development. Another popular framework that we can expect to see more in 2020 is Bootstrap.

14. Chatbots

Gartner reports that around 85% of online customer conversations will take place without human intervention by 2020. AI-powered chatbots have already started taking over this part of customer relationship management.

Powered by neural networks and machine learning, chatbots will soon gain human-like conversation techniques. Virtual assistants like Alexa, Siri, and Cortana are already helping businesses engage with customers through verbal communication.

Chatbots not only communicate with customers who have queries but also help generate leads and expand the customer base. This year will see more personalization of chatbot conversations.

15. Adaptability

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A survey by Statista reports that mobile data traffic is growing at a compound rate of 46%. This means that websites should be responsive and adapt to different devices and platforms.

Headless CMS allows developers to build websites and applications using their favorite frameworks and tools and have complete control over the application lifecycle.

Conclusion

Probytes is a leading web development company that has nearly a decade of experience in building customized websites for clients across the globe. We have a team of talented and experienced developers who stay updated about the latest web development techniques.

If you want to incorporate any of the top web development techniques in 2020 on your website, contact us for a consultation.