Custom Web Application Development: A Definite Guide

Custom web applications are all around us & there’s a good chance that you also use them on a daily basis. For example, Facebook & Gmail are custom web apps that are used by hundreds of millions of people. And that’s just the start – From online shopping to booking a flight, we all interact with custom web applications multiple times a day!

From a business perspective, a web app provides a ton of benefits… But the biggest benefit of all is cross-medium availability. That’s to say, mobile apps can only be accessed through mobile phones. Similarly, desktop apps can run only on PCs, laptops, & other computer devices.

But a web application is powerful as it can be accessed through any device with an active internet connection! In addition, a web application also doesn’t require any download or installation prior to use.

So, whether you look at it from a client or even a business perspective, a web application is a win-win situation for everyone!

That’s why today we will look at what is a custom web application & how you can get one developed for your business!

What is a custom web application?

Another hallmark of a custom web application is that it’s accessible through a website… So, in a sense, it behaves just like any normal website, except it offers the functionality of full-fledged software!

Normally, you can easily find publicly available web applications that your business may incorporate. However, there are situations when the only way to solve a problem is to resort to custom web application development.

For example, Roundcube is a free web app through which anyone can provide webmail services on a website. However, the features present in Roundcube wouldn’t be as advanced as Gmail!

So, if someone wanted to provide services equivalent or superior to Gmail, they would have to go towards the custom web app route! And the best way to achieve that is through a custom web application development company such as, ehm, Canadian Digital Consulting!

Different types of custom web applications

A web application can be used to create everything from an e-commerce site to a flight booking portal. So, here are some popular types of custom web applications to further clarify the notion of custom web application development :

1. E-commerce website

An e-commerce website is developed to sell products/services online and is basically a full store. A typical custom e-commerce website includes payment gateways, a shopping cart, search, product catalogs, and inventory management.

For businesses that need customized functionality, an out-of-box e-commerce solution is usually not the answer… In these cases, a customized e-commerce website is developed to include customized features as per the business requirements.

For instance, RedBubble, Amazon, Aliexpress, and even Etsy are all e-commerce companies with powerful web applications. They enable users not only to make purchases, but also to list, sell, and manage products inventory with minimum errors and maximum features and usability.

For businesses that need customized functionality, a publicly available e-commerce solution is usually not the answer… The reason for this is simple – Out-of-box e-commerce solutions are built to meet the needs of a more broad user base.

For example, a business may want to include the ability to send/receive gift cards on its e-commerce site. In this case, finding an e-commerce solution that offers this functionality would be difficult. But with a custom solution, it becomes possible to include the gift cards feature!

Another interesting example can be the following: let’s assume you have an online clothing store… So, to increase interactions and conversions, you decided to add a feature where users can upload their pictures & view how they would look with different clothes on your site.

A classic example of an e-commerce-based web app is Amazon which is the world’s leading online shopping platform. 

2. Web portal

Another type of custom web application is an online portal through which information can be provided to the intended party. There even are two types of web portals; these are:

1. Employee Facing Portals
2. Customer Facing Portals

An employee-facing portal is used by businesses to display information to the company’s employees. It can include the employee’s personal information, salary, benefits, etc. For a business, a web portal is an easy & cost-effective way to store and access private employee information.

Similarly, a client-facing portal can provide information to the company’s clients. For example, a hospital can provide details about the patient’s history or any relevant information through the portal.

In fact, it is common for many laboratories to share the reports of medical tests through online portals. A patient can access the medical reports through their own unique username and password.

And that’s just the start… There are many user-case applications of a web portal across multiple industries. Web portals can be used by educational institution to store students grades and entire history, which so common in the U.S universities!

When students & parents can also access information about academic info through that same portal, the portal might be deemed hybrid.

3. Content management system (CMS)

The next type on our list is a content management system (CMS). Back in the day, most websites were one-pagers & it was totally acceptable. But these days, most sites have multiple pages that must be updated periodically.

It can be difficult to update multiple pages or add new pages effortlessly by editing the source code. And that’s where a CMS comes into play!

A CMS makes it easy to add and modify content on a website without the need for complex coding concepts. In fact, a CMS also makes it easy to change the settings of a website without having to edit the source files.

These days, one can easily find freely available content management systems for building & managing websites. A classic example of a free & popular CMS is WordPress.

For someone who wants additional features that can’t be provided through WordPress or any other CMS, they would have to get a custom CMS developed!

Similarly, a classic hallmark of most content management systems is that they are database dependent. But, if you want a CMS that doesn’t use a database (for whatever reasons), you could need a custom CMS!

4. Web service

This web application type utilizes a server-side code to provide a specific service to end customers. A classic example of web service is Google Docs, Gmail, and even Dropbox. All of these fall under the category of web services and are web-based applications.

Out of all the other types of web applications, these are the most popular & even generate the most revenue.

To give you an idea, Adobe Creative Cloud is a collection of web services such as graphic design, web design, photo editing, etc. During Q4 2022, Adobe Creative Cloud earned a total of $4.53 billion.

Your business can also provide web services to the generic public or team members with a service-based web application.

The first route to making a web application is to rely on publicly available source codes and out-of-box solutions. This can help you to accelerate your custom web application development.

The second route is to rely on custom web application development which can help you to introduce unique features.

5. Online community (Forum)

The next type of web app is an online community, also known as a forum. These are online discussion websites where people can come together and talk about whatever interesting topics.

One of the classic features of any online community is that it allows people to register, read User Generated Content (UGC), interact with it, and often, to share it.

An online forum can be built specifically about a particular niche/topic; say, web design, and people can mainly focus on discussing all things about web design.

Now, if we talk about different ways to create an online community, there are two ways. The first one is to use existing forum software, and the second option is to get a custom web application developed through which you create your own feature-packed online community.

6. Social network

There’s a good chance you have used at least one of the popular social networking sites… The names include major players like Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, or ByteDance’s TikTok.

All of these social networks mentioned above are also web applications, or to be more precise, they are custom web applications!

The typical features that are present in most social networks include messaging, content sharing, commenting, and interactivity functions in general.

To make a serious dent in the social network space, the only way forward is to get custom web application development services.

Front-end & back-end frameworks for custom web app development

Currently, there are several options available for creating the front end & the back end of a custom web application… But it’s usually easy to rely on frameworks for developing an app in far less time than coding from scratch. As for which framework to use, it usually depends on the business’s tech stack preferences and needs.

To ensure everything is clear, the front end is the delivered aspect of a custom web application or a website. It’s what the end user can see and interact with. On the other hand, the back end is the dashboard through which everything about the website’s accessed and managed by the webmasters and web app owners.

Front-end frameworks

The front-end of a web app is seen and used by visitors. If you visit Facebook, anything you see on the browser is the front-end part of the website.

Currently, three languages are primarily  used for creating the front-end of a web app. These are:

1. HTML
2. CSS
3. JavaScript

All the frameworks that are used for the front-end are basically derived from the Javascript language.

Now, let’s look at some popular front-end frameworks that are used in web app development:

1. Angular: It is developed by Google and is a popular choice for making mobile apps, web apps, & even progressive web apps. The front-end of PayPal’s app (mobile & web), per se, is built with Angular.
2. Vue.js: Vue.js has gained popularity due to its simple syntax & can be used for mobile web and mobile apps. A good example is front-end of Nintendo’s official website.
3. React: React is developed by Facebook & has become a popular choice over the years. One of the strong suits of React is that it provides a stable platform for high-traffic web apps. As an example, the Facebook platform itself it built using the React framework!
4. NextJS: This framework has been around since 2016 & is used by many famous web apps, such as TikTok, Twitch, and Target. The NextJS framework is built on top of React & offers features such as automatic code splitting, optimization, and server-side rendering.

Back-end frameworks

The back-end portion of a website is where the core functionality is stored. For example, when someone clicks on an “add to cart” button on a website, an actual process starts in the background, which completes the user action.

Although the front-end portion is what’s seen by the users, the back-end functionality is also very important. In fact, a non-functional backend means your entire web app will stop functioning as it is intended to!

Now, let’s look at some popular back-end frameworks that are used in back-end web app development:

• Django – Django is built in Python and provides a rapid development environment for web apps. One of the best features of Django is its scalability & customization. A popular example of Django is Spotify.
• Ruby on Rails – It is built on the Ruby programming language & provides all the tools needed for creating database-dependent web apps. Airbnb’s website uses Ruby on Rails on its back-end and is trusted by millions around the globe.
• Laravel – For those who want to create the back-end of their web app in PHP, the best choice is the Laravel framework. A good example of a website using the Laravel framework is Pfizer (a fortune 100 company)!

How to develop a custom web app

There are many great practices to ensure the development of an awesome custom web application. Let’s take a quick look at some of the common steps  involved in custom web application development:

1. Brainstorming

Unless you’re motivated to read this article with a ready idea, you’d definitely want to take one (or one hundred!) brainstorming sessions. You need to develop the core idea of your web app, be it a stolen idea or an original, unique one.

Sure, a unique & innovative idea can be a great way to create something truly extraordinary… But there’s nothing wrong with picking something that’s already been done and then improving it!

2. Market research

Just because you have come up with an awesome idea doesn’t mean it will automatically be the next great thing. That’s why the second step is where you start getting out there (online) and see if there’s an enough market need for your app idea.

De facto, it also means you’re having a closer look at what’s already working out there, and how powerful existing competitors are in your target niche. This will involve making a list of the features present on the competitor’s web application or features that should be present on them.

Let’s say that you want a video-sharing social networking site, and you already have a great idea. In this case, you will look at YouTube, TikTok, DailyMotion, and other famous video sites… It’s a very broad and common concept, but you get the idea!

3. Features planing

Now, make a list of the features that should be present in your web application…

In the earlier step, we looked at the competition and made a list of the features present in them. Now, we also need to spot other vital features existing apps are missing & we can in corporate in our future web app.

Put simply, just prepare a list of the features your future web application will most likely incorporate!

4. UX and UI designing

At this stage, the development of the user interface (UI) is started. This step involves the conceptualization of the customer-facing side of the app. And since we are talking about the user interface (UI), we can’t ignore the user experience (UX) as well!

To create a UI that delivers the best UX, you need to make sure that your app’s design is useful, accessible, desirable, and accessible.

5. Custom web application development

Once the visual design of the web application is complete, the next step is to start the development process. This involves the use of back-end frameworks to develop the functionality of your web application.

In most cases, the design phase of a web app doesn’t take as much time as the development of the back-end logic. So, out of all the processes involved in custom web application development, that’s the one that will take the most time!

6. Testing

At this stage, the web application is tested internally or by providing beta access to a select number of users. The key idea behind testing is to find any bugs or performance issues that could cause problems for the end user.

Once these issues are identified, they are fixed to create a final product that can deliver great UX. Additionally, timely identification and fixing of these issues ensure that your product doesn’t disappoint the user once it goes live.

For example, Google gave a live demo of its AI chatbot in which a question was asked. The AI-powered chatbot gave a wrong answer which wiped off $100 billion from Google’s market capitalization! How about that!?

In short, not doing proper testing and solving the issues can lead to brand deterioration and financial loss to your business!

7. Launch

Congratulations! Your new web application is ready to hit the market! In the start, you will have to allocate a sizable marketing budget for customer acquisition. And if your app is good enough, it could even benefit from word-of-mouth marketing and UGC later down the road!

Custom web application development cost

So far, we have talked about web applications, their types, and the steps that are involved in their development. Now, here’s the million-dollar question: What is the cost of custom web application development?

Unfortunately, there’s no one size fits all answer to this question… There are several key factors that can dictate how much you will have to spend on getting a custom web app developed from scratch.

Here’s a list of factors that can decide how much it will cost to get a custom web app developed:

• Complexity – A simple web app will cost less, while a highly complex web app will cost more! For example, creating a web app like Google Docs will cost more than a simple app that can convert word files to PDF.
• Development Team – Who’s going to develop your app? The experience and efficiency of the development team can also dictate the final price.
• Time – Do you want to get your time app developed and launched in a short term? Then be ready to pay more!

Now, if we talk about an average estimate, be ready to pay anywhere from $5,000 up to $250,000 for custom web application development. Basically, as the number of features and complexity increases, so does the cost!

Needless to mention, security is a big deal for custom web apps. Make sure you review this guide for better understanding.

Conclusion

On the surface, the process of web app development may appear onerous and eventually costly. But when you consider all the benefits that a custom web app can bring to your business, it becomes a no-brainer!