In the debate of website vs web application, let’s start out with what is a website? It is a collection of web pages found on the internet. These websites contain images, audio, video, and text. A website can have a single page or multiple pages. A website is made to provide visual and, in some cases, audio information to the viewer.
You will need an internet connection and browser such as Chrome, Firefox, or Safari, to access a website. When it comes to websites, you have multiple kids as well. You have archive websites, Blogs, eCommerce, dating, social media, etc.
A good and simple website idea is one a restaurant may put up, where you can see the menu, the working hours, location, etc. Another good example is Facebook, Instagram, etc.
Why you need a website?
Keep customers up to date: One of the main reasons why having a website is very important is that it helps keep your customers, fans, and followers up to date with what you are doing. You can publish updates about your work/life/company/brand on your website using text, images, and even videos that make up high quality content.
Growth: A website can help you bring in more customers. Using the right SEO and marketing, you can drive your sales with organic traffic to your site. This means good growth for your brand/company.
A professional approach: Multiple statistics have shown that people generally would like to do business with a brand/company with a website. This is mainly because making a website requires time and effort. This shows how professional you are in the field. Most people would not like to conduct business with a brand/company that doesn’t have a website.
Spread your business worldwide: A website is accessible from any part of the world. Having one with proper promotion means that people from other countries will also be aware of your brand/company. Once you break your geographical barrier, you will see huge growth in sales.
Characteristics of website
Now let us take a look at the key features of a website vs a web application. The following are the characteristics of a website:
User-friendly UI: One of the key characteristics of a website is being user-friendly. Anyone of any gender or age should be able to access your website easily and navigate it.
Usable for anyone: Making sure your website is attractive to everyone is what helps it grow. You can have a specific demographic in mind, but it should treat everyone else like outcasts that stumble upon your website.
Fast and easy: The website should load fast for anyone with any internet connection. Nobody likes waiting; if your website is slow, you will lose customers.
Good quality content: This is something very important for your website. You need to have good, high-quality content on your website that is related to what your website stands for.
Modern: Your website needs to have a modern touch to it so that it doesn’t feel outdated when used.
Reliable: The main key factor in having a good website is the reliability factor. Your website should be able to run and be accessed at any time from any part of the world.
What is a web application?
After talking about a website A web application is a program only accessible with an internet connection and a browser. This web application is linked to a database. The web application can have interactive features if the developer adds them. Compared to websites, a web application is much harder to create as it is very customized.
A web application also requires a team to create as there are multiple working components to it. Some well-known examples of web applications are Amazon, Facebook, Twitter, etc.
Why you need a web application?
Security: The level of privacy and security you get in a web application is much more than a website, as a team designs the application.
Customer support: Customer support is much better for a web application than a website. You will also find multiple customer support options on a web application compared to a website.
Increase efficiency: Everything is much more streamlined when done via a web application than a website. There is less time taken as it is all coded into the application and more accurate.
A simplified way of working: For activities like banking, shopping, and traveling, web applications have made life much simpler.
Characteristics of a web application
Accessibility: As a website, a web application must be accessible easily. They must be running well at any hour of the day or night for anyone around the globe.
Quick and easy to update: Every web application needs to be easy to update as it keeps the functionality at its best.
Cross-platform: A web application must be accessible from not just a web browser on your pc but also your mobile, tablet, etc.
Good storage: Online storage is a must for web applications as it will store user and developer data for quick and easy access. Here you can read more information on web application architecture.
Website Vs. Web application
Factor
Web Application
Website
Purpose
It is designed to be used by anyone with interactive features.
It is designed to be used by anyone on a public platform with mostly static information.
UI
The UI of a web application is very interactive, with anyone being able to manipulate any bit of information.
A website has static information in text and visuals, which is meant to give information with not that many interactive features.
Authentication
The authentication is much higher here as the level of coding and information possessed by the web application is much higher.
Since a webpage has little to no confidential user or developer data, the authentication is very limited.
Complexity
A web application is very complex and has to perform various tasks.
A website is very simple and only displays the owner’s data.
Software used
Multiple types of software are used in producing a web application.
The software is very simple for a website, as basic coding is required.
Making changes
Making changes to a web application is very hard as there are many complex steps to follow, and once the changes are made, the entire application needs to be recompiled and deployed.
Making changes to a website is very simple as the coding is easy, and there aren’t too many steps to follow. Once the content is changed or added, the website can be deployed again.
When do you need a website vs. a web application?
This entirely depends on you. What are your needs? If you need something that will display your brand/company, you will need a website. It will be a web application if you wish to make it more interactive and feature-packed. The differences between websites and web applications are mentioned above and should help you decide. Both have their pros and cons and it depends on which you need to boost your business.
Final Word
We hope this article cleared your doubts on website vs web application. Now, based on your work, you can get a team or design it yourself. They are both important in today’s digital world. Depending on your work you can do which one suits you the best.
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