When working with code, the most important thing every developer should know is that research is vital to the web development process.

If a client has tasked you to create something specific for their website or web app, you will need to do research on that specific enhancement to see if it is possible.

Research is the Foundation of Everything:

Research serves as a foundation to limitless possibilities for any project or strategy.

For us as web developers, it helps us see what is possible to implement on a website and how we can make it fully functional.

Regrettably, we’re not wizards – We can’t just make a website work as the client desires, but we can try our best to be close to the client’s vision. That is why research is of utmost importance.

The Research Process:

As mentioned before, research is vital to the web development process. It is also important to web design. Whether you are developing a web app or designing a website via WordPress, the concept remains the same.

Your research will take you to various places. It might include plugins, JavaScript functions, PHP upload functionalities, CSS design, Laravel extensions and more!

The internet has a variety of research materials and sources that can help you in your endeavours to make a functional feature or design for your project.

A Series of Unforeseen Circumstances:

When doing research, you will need to be cautious. As huge as the internet is, you’d be quite surprised how little information it sometimes provides.

When you do find what you are looking for, you might immediately think that you are in clear waters and it is smooth sailing from thereon, however it is not always the case.

There are multiple variables that would generally be problematic in your quest to implement a certain feature on the web app or site.

Some might include the following:

• Outdated information
• Lack of specific instructions
• Missing resources
• Unforeseen errors

There is no guarantee that you will always encounter these issues, but it all depends on what you are looking for.

It is imperative to always double check the code given to you by research sources. In my experience, I tried implementing an upload functionality that would help upload files faster to a database, but the resource website that gave me the code didn’t have the same code that was being displayed on their demo.

If unforeseen errors are displayed, you could research on that specific error. It is very important to ensure that you use specific keywords. Typing in these specific keywords, in the search engine, has a tendency to give results that you weren’t looking for.

There is nothing wrong in asking for help, because you cannot struggle with something for more than a day. Review the code together and plan how you’re going to handle the current predicament.

If all else fails, please remember this very important rule:

Never suffer in silence. If ever in need, phone a friend. Two heads are better than one.