Website Or Web App: What’s Better For Your Business?

Written By

Rakhi Sethi

Blogger

Last updated at July 19, 2022

Website Or Web App: What’s Better For Your Business?

Over the years, we've noticed that most business owners are unsure whether to create a website, a web application or both when developing a robust online presence.

Understanding that websites and web apps are not the same thing before choosing which is ideal for your business is important.

difference between website and web app

So before picking one, you should think about your target audience, goal, budget, and required features. Uncertainty in your mindset might make it difficult to make decisions.

Thus, in this article, let's talk about the distinction between websites and web apps so that you can decide which will prove better for your business.

What is a Website?

The website is a collection of web pages, multimedia files, or content. It needs a web server to save data and a domain name that occurs as its address. Any individual, business, or organization can develop and maintain a website to provide their services & products.

You can host a website on single or multiple web servers. And also access it via a network like the internet or a private local area network using an IP address. Some well-known examples of websites are Wikipedia.org, Amazon.com, and Google.com.

Every publicly available website concurrently makes the World Wide Web. Also, you can see some private websites that you can only open on the private area network, for example, your company’s in-house website, where you are working as an employee.

Typically, websites are committed to a specific objective or topic, for instance, education, marketing, social networking, entertainment, news, etc. Users can access websites on multiple devices, like desktops, laptops, smartphones, & tablets via a web browser.

We can categorize websites into two broad areas: interactive and static. Interactive websites are a subset of the Web 2.0 network of websites and allow communication between site visitors and the website administrator. While static websites collect user information, they do not allow for direct user interaction.

Features of a Website

Compatibility with all leading browsers like Internet Explorer, Chrome, and Firefox.
Includes well-planned information in the form of different categories and sections that makes it easy for users to search.
Have a mobile-friendly interface and is scalable to distinct screen sizes.
Comprises well-formatted content and increases readability for users.
Provides convenient navigation.
Offers quicker load times.

Why do you Choose a Website?

It assists you to build your social presence.
It enables you to accomplish the branding of your business.
It aids you to achieve your business objectives.
It improves customer support.
It is a useful approach to showcasing your services & products.

What is a Web Application?

In contrast to computer-based software applications that are stored locally on the Operating System (OS) of any gadget, a web app or web application is a software program that runs on a web server. An end user can access web apps via a browser and an internet service. Examples of some popular web apps are PayPal, PharmEasy, WordPress, Spotify, Zomato, etc.

Web apps can operate inside a browser and no complicated installation is required for them. These applications are automated using a client-server architecture, where a remote server is typically hosted by a third party that provides the services to the user.

Read Also: Know the difference between Native Apps Vs Hybrid Apps

Web apps require little disk space on the client side and the client shows data. Further, these applications can fix some of the compatibility problems and all they need is a browser.

The most common languages used for frontend web app development are HTML, CSS, and JavaScript because these languages are widely supported by mainstream browsers. You can also utilize a tech stack like LAMP or MEAN for the backend.

Features of a Web App

Web applications can work cross-platform and are accessible on different browsers.
Web apps can host on the cloud like public, private, etc as it has high throughput and low memory.
The web application creation and deployment procedure takes less time.
Traditional web applications feature a small amount of client-side functionality, but they rely entirely on the server for all navigation, updates, and queries.
Web apps support diverse payment systems, and make it easy for users to do online payments.
Web apps include strict and robust security and user authentication.
Web apps allow easy verification with automated testing processes.

Why Should you Choose a Web App?

You can utilize web apps on any platform such as Linux, Windows, and Mac since they support modern browsers.
In comparison to desktop applications, web apps are easy to maintain since they use a similar code in the complete application.
You can release web apps at any time and in any structure. So there is no need to notify your development team to update their apps.
Mobile app store authorization is not mandatory in web applications.
You can use a computer or mobile device to access the vital data processing of a web application.
Web apps are accessible 24*7 from any device.
Web-enabled applications are internet-based apps that may be downloaded using the web browser on a mobile device. As a result, you don't need to download or install them.
Web apps are a cost-effective option for users. Since desktop software are costly and SaaS applications work on the “pay-as-you-go” method.

Quick View of Website Vs Web App

Website	Web App
A website includes text and visual content that users can watch and read but does not affect its operation.	In the web app, users can read the web page content and also opens the restricted data.
The website commonly has static content which is accessible to all users.	A web app is designed for interaction with end-users.
A website shows the gathered data on a particular page.	The web app operations are relatively difficult and higher compared to websites.
Users’ authentication is not necessary for informational sites. Users just need to register themselves to get quick updates & access additional options.	Web applications need users’ authentication since they offer a much wider range of alternatives than websites.
In websites, small changes never require full deployment or re-compilation. You can make changes via updating HTML code.	In web apps, you will need to deploy and recompile the entire project to make the changes.
Websites do not demands to be pre-compiled.	Web apps require to be pre-compiled before deployment.
A website is a large product, that you can access with the help of a browser.	Web apps’ creation is a part of the website. They are not a comprehensive website.

Which One Should you Choose?

Before picking a website or web app you must know your business goals. For example, if your business is offline and you are not planning for the eCommerce business, then you can consider developing a traditional static website. Further, if your business is online, then you can pick a web application to present your products & services.
Web app development is more complex and costly than website development since it necessitates experienced UX/UI specialists, testers, and developers. So if you have a limited budget you can start with a static website that is less pricey than web apps.
If you want extensive marketing of your products, then web apps can prove as the best option. Web applications enable you to stay in connection with your customers, analyze their behavior and make marketing strategies according to that.

Conclusion

After reading this blog, we hope you now understand the differences between web apps and websites and decide what kind of digital product you want to create for your business. If you’re still in dilemma to decide between the two, get in touch with Noetic. We have a dedicated team of experts who can assist you in both development & consultation.