Website Vs Web App- Which One Is Best For Your Business?

Over the years, we’ve been that with regards to establishing a strong online presence, most of the entrepreneurs get confused about whether to build a website, a web application or both. Before you decide the best one for your business, you must understand that websites and web apps are not synonymous, both are different things. You should consider the following things before you decide the one-

• Target audiences
• Intended purpose
• Available budget
• Essential Features

Unclear ideas can hinder your decision making process, prompting ridiculous expectations from the web development company. To avoid these problems, let us discuss the difference between website vs web app. Before that will see the details of website and web app one by one.

What Is A Website?

A website is a collection of interconnected web pages and multimedia files. It requires a web server to store data and a domain name which appears as its address. It can be developed and maintained by an individual, business or organization to offer their services. A website is hosted on a single or multiple web server. It is accessible by a network like the internet or private local area network via IP address. Mobile websites are designed for smaller touch screens and also responsive design websites dynamically adjust to the size and type of browser to which they are being displayed.

Know the amazing tips to speedup your website at- How You Can Speed Up Your Website?

Why You Need A Website?

• Helps you to create your social proof
• It helps you in branding your business
• Helps to achieve your business goals
• Increases customer support
• It is an effective method to showcase services and products

Characteristics Of Website-

• User-friendly navigation and web design
• Quality and relevant Web Content can be richly displayed.
• Can be easily searched using search engines like Google.

What Is Web App?

A web app is a program or software accessible through any web browser. HTML, CSS and JavaScript are the most popular languages used for the frontend development of web apps as these languages are supported by major browsers. And for backend you can use tech stack like LAMP, MEAN. Unlike mobile apps, there is no specific SDK for creating web apps. SaaS development is the best approach for perfect app development. Web apps are extremely customizable and can perform a lot of functionality hence they are more difficult to develop and require a skilled team of software developers. Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and Gmail are some examples of web apps that are dynamic and user engagement. 

Know the effective considerations to choose the technology stack for web app at- Effective Considerations to choose the technology for Web Application.

Why You Need A Web App?

• Web applications uses the same code in entire apps hence they are easy to maintain as compared to desktop apps.
• Web apps can be used on any platform like Mac, Linux and Windows also.
• For web apps, there is no need for mobile app store approval. 
• Flexibility to access web apps. You can access it 24/7 from any PC.
• You can use a computer or mobile device to access the data.
• Cost effective for organizations
• No need to download or install web apps, as they are internet based apps and accessed through mobile’s web browser.

Characteristics Of Web App-

• Mostly Cross-platform
• Modular and loosely coupled
• Cloud-hosted and highly scalable
• It is easily tested with automated tests.

Website Vs Web App-

1. Created For-

A web application is designed for interaction with the end user. 

A website mostly consists of static content. It is publicly accessible to all the visitors.

2. Interactivity-

The main difference is the different degree of interaction available. Website includes text and visual content and users can’t interact with it whereas an app allows users to not only read but also manipulate the data on the page so as to carry out interaction between user and business.

User interacts with the website interface and get responses with online chats, electronic payments, document downloads and so on. Online store is a web app that allows users to search products through catalog and buy products. Social network is also an example of web apps that include unlimited content sharing, blog platforms, chats and customized content.

Many websites support interactivity because users appreciate and respond to that feature and hence some website owners add small web app elements to their websites. For example, Some restaurants adds google maps widgets on their contact page so as to assist users to find a direct route to their restaurants. This way, website visitors spend more time reading or viewing the page.

3. Integration-

For integration with other software or online tools, web apps are more useful than websites. Integration is the action of bringing different components together to build a comprehensive system. Developers can integrate web apps and sites with software including ERP, CRM etc. Integration in eCommerce is the integration of an app with CRM systems. With this, all application user data is collected and stored automatically. It is used by online shop teams to know the custom behavior, buying habits and to deal with the negative reviews.

Integrations are optional for websites whereas for web apps it is a part of primary function. 

4. Authentication-

You can include authentication features into a web app or traditional website. The primary difference is that web applications can’t work without a user sign in. Authentication is carried out through user’s login and password, IP or fingerprints scanning, social network verification and so on. Multi-level authentication allows you to protect users’ data in a better way. You can access the web apps personalized features once you have an account to a web application.

Authentication on regular websites is required so as to separate free static content and paid one, or to allow users to comment on articles, block spammers etc.

5. Task And Complexity-

The website displays the collected data and information on a specific page. Web application functions are quite higher and complex compared to a website.

6. Compilation-

The web apps must be precompiled before deployment. The website doesn’t need to be pre-compiled.

7. Deployment-

For web apps, all changes require the entire project to be re-compiled and deployed.  Whereas, for websites, small changes never require a full re-compilation and deployment. You just need to update the HTML code.

Which One To Choose?

• Before selection, you must know the business objectives. If your business is offline or you do not plan about an eCommerce business, then you can choose a traditional static website. If your business is online, then can go with the web application.
• Web apps development is more complicated and expensive than traditional website development because it needs skilled UX/UI experts, testers and developers. Whereas static website development is less expensive than web apps. 
• In terms of marketing, web apps have the better approach. A web application will give you the opportunity to stay in contact with your customers, study their behavior and increase loyalty.

Final words-

These are some basic information about the website vs web app. You must consider the above points before choosing the best one for your business. If you are still confused to choose between, we are here to help you through consultation. We have a dedicated team of experts for consultation and development. You can hire PHP developers of Solace team to build custom websites and web apps. Connect with Solace and get a free quote for website/web app development. We will be happy to help you.