Our Thoughts on the Principles of Modern Web Development
Last week I was interviewed by Joe Stangarone of mrc to get my thoughts on the most important principles of modern web development. Simplpost is a relatively new web platform, and as a result it's built on top of these more modern development principles. Here's my full unedited thoughts on the topics I believe to be important.
Mobile First:
You have to offer a superb experience on mobile devices because that's what most users are using now. Starting out the design and development process focusing first on mobile works much better than adding in mobile support later. It also helps with honing in on the key functionality of the app, and keeps things from getting overly complicated.
User Centric:
We get much better results when developing the product from the perspective of the end user. A developer's notion of how a tool will be used can be vastly different from the real world use. User testing and surveys really help streamline that process and should be used throughout the development process. You want the project yto stay on track and always be aligned with what the user is expecting.
Test Driven:
Integrating testing into every aspect of a project as you go saves time in the long run. It helps you find problems early, and adding in testing later will result in something getting missed.
REST API:
Creating and using your own REST API is a great way to make sure a project can grow quickly internally, as well as through third parties. It gives the project a simple protocol for communication between components and allows for faster development and feature additions.
Beautiful Design:
A really amazing design can really help sell anything. The bar for a good design keeps rising and users are expecting top notch design from any app. The fastest way to lose a user is to have a subpar design that doesn't grab them right away.
Check out the full edited article with other insights here: http://www.mrc-productivity.com/blog/2014/03/7-principles-of-modern-web-development/
You have to offer a superb experience on mobile devices because that's what most users are using now. Starting out the design and development process focusing first on mobile works much better than adding in mobile support later. It also helps with honing in on the key functionality of the app, and keeps things from getting overly complicated.
User Centric:
We get much better results when developing the product from the perspective of the end user. A developer's notion of how a tool will be used can be vastly different from the real world use. User testing and surveys really help streamline that process and should be used throughout the development process. You want the project yto stay on track and always be aligned with what the user is expecting.
Test Driven:
Integrating testing into every aspect of a project as you go saves time in the long run. It helps you find problems early, and adding in testing later will result in something getting missed.
REST API:
Creating and using your own REST API is a great way to make sure a project can grow quickly internally, as well as through third parties. It gives the project a simple protocol for communication between components and allows for faster development and feature additions.
Beautiful Design:
A really amazing design can really help sell anything. The bar for a good design keeps rising and users are expecting top notch design from any app. The fastest way to lose a user is to have a subpar design that doesn't grab them right away.
Check out the full edited article with other insights here: http://www.mrc-productivity.com/blog/2014/03/7-principles-of-modern-web-development/
