7 Important Things When Developing Your Website or App

Dmytro Sikorskyi, Owner, CEO, 15 September 2023

In this video, we’ll talk about 7 important things to keep in mind when developing your website or app:

1. Domain names.
2. Developer accounts.
3. Hosting.
4. Data backups and strong passwords.
5. Source code and design mockups.
6. Trademarks and intellectual rights.
7. User Agreement and Privacy Policy.

1. Domain Names

A domain name serves as the address users enter in their browsers to access your site. Even if you’re primarily focused on app development, it’s essential to have a basic website. This site will host critical components like user agreements and privacy policies, which are mandatory when you plan to publish your app on platforms such as Apple and Google.

First of all, it’s important to understand that a domain name is essentially private property. Therefore, it should always be registered under your exclusive ownership, not the developer’s. Failing to do so can lead to potential legal complications in the future. Additionally, if the developer fails to renew the domain for any reason, it might be snapped up by somebody looking to hold it for ransom or by competitors. This underscores the critical importance of domain ownership. This is critically important.

Secondly, it’s important to consider the different domain name zones available. The most popular one is “.com,” but there are numerous others out there. When selecting a name for your project, it’s crucial to keep in mind that many, even some of the most peculiar, domains in popular zones are already taken (although many of them are not used, but bought for resale). If the name you have in mind is already taken in the “.com” zone, and especially if it’s already in use by another website, I strongly recommend carefully weighing your options before choosing the same domain name in a different zone. Users have become accustomed to typing “something dot com” in their browsers when searching for a website. Consequently, they might end up on a different site if your domain is not “.com”. Furthermore, in the future, a competitor could acquire a domain in the “.com” zone, thus causing huge problems for you, which may even require changing the name of your project.

2. Developers’ Accounts

Another crucial aspect is ensuring you have access to the accounts through which your apps (this doesn’t apply to websites) are published on platforms like the Apple App Store or Google Play (or other stores). Without this access, you won’t have the ability to update or remove your app when necessary. Over time, the stores themselves might even remove your applications due to their outdated status. Additionally, it influences how users perceive the app’s publisher — whether it’s you or the developer.

3. Hosting

Chances are, your project will require hosting. Essentially, hosting is the server space where the data for your website or application is stored, and where it operates partially. It’s also advisable to have complete access to your hosting. Without it, your project will be entirely reliant on the developer (including their responsibility to pay for it on time, for instance).

4. Data Backups and Strong Passwords

It might sound simple, but from our experience, many clients tend to use overly straightforward passwords and often overlook the importance of data backups. I can still recall my surprise when I first saw the server operating system log and the database management system log. Every single minute, there were numerous attempts from all corners of the world to guess passwords.

To illustrate, eight years ago, the attackers managed to breach the servers of a Ukrainian hosting provider where our virtual server was housed. As a consequence, the data on our server got encrypted. Without our backups, recovering that data would have been impossible. This incident also underscores the significance of keeping backups physically separate from your operational data, considering that an entire data center could be vulnerable to an attack.

Here’s another example. Barely a month ago, one of Ukraine’s cloud service providers accidently deleted our virtual server due to a lack of coordination among their departments. Thanks to our regular backups, we only suffered a data loss of a few hours. It was certainly frustrating, but fortunately not catastrophic.

Moreover, just two weeks ago, an old client who had us develop an internal accounting system for them about five years back reached out. They had somehow accidentally deleted some of their critical data. Thankfully, we were able to restore everything effortlessly, all thanks to our backups. Without them, it could have been a disastrous situation.

It’s essential to be prepared for the possibility that something unexpected could occur at any moment, leading to data loss. Therefore, it’s worth considering these scenarios in advance.

5. Source Code and Design Layouts

Developers create the code that’s used to build your website or application, but reversing this process is nearly impossible. Hence, it’s essential to ensure you always have an up-to-date copy of the source code. Otherwise, in the event of unforeseen issues, you might find yourself facing the daunting task of starting from scratch.

The same principle applies to design layouts. While it’s not as critical as it is with code, having access to design mockups can be a valuable asset. If you need to make changes or refinements down the road, having a mockup in hand can save you a considerable amount of time and money.

6. Trademarks and Intellectual Property Rights

I once knew someone, a long time ago, who had their domain name forcibly taken away through a legal battle because it violated the rights of the person who owned the corresponding trademark. Even though it could be argued that it was essentially fair use, that didn’t sway the outcome. It was a rather disheartening situation, given the many years invested in developing the project, only to have to start from scratch. So, when selecting a name for your startup, I strongly recommend checking for existing trademarks to safeguard yourself from such scenarios. Additionally, it’s a good idea to register your own brand. This process is relatively straightforward.

Regarding intellectual property rights, it’s crucial to ensure you have the proper permissions when using images, sounds, or music in your project. Often, freelance designers, for example, might not consider these aspects.

7. User Agreement and Privacy Policy

If you’re in the process of developing an app and have intentions to release it on platforms like the Apple App Store, Google Play, or any other app store, there are two essential documents you must have: a user agreement and a privacy policy.

My advice here is not to take this matter lightly. Avoid simply copying any document from the internet. Instead, invest time in carefully laying out terms and conditions that are tailored to your project and can shield you from potential legal issues.

That’s all for now. I hope you found this information valuable. If you have any questions regarding this topic, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us, we will be happy to help you.