Is There a Difference Between Website and Web Application
If you think there is no difference between websites and web applications, then you are wrong. There are lots of differences based on various aspects. Read further to delve better understanding of web application development and websites.
What is a website?
A website is a single or multiple pages comprising content, images, videos, or GIFs, which is hosted on single or multiple web servers under a single domain name. An individual, business, or organization can develop it. It is accessible via a network like the Internet or a private local area network.
Created with different aims, but the common goal of a website is to provide information about a brand or brands. It is a one-way informational feed that can be accessed using a URL address or searching name on a search engine. With a better ranking, it helps in getting organic traffic on the website. You can hire the services of an experienced web development agency to stand out from the crowd.
What is a web application?
A web application is an application software that need not to download as it can be accessed via web browsers like Firefox, Google Chrome, etc. Unlike mobile applications, the web app will update itself. It is an ideal choice of organizations as it reduces cost for business as well as end-users, plus its subscription based features helps to reduce software piracy. Most of the web apps use CSS, HTML5, JavaScript for the front-end development and for server- side programming, Ruby, Python, and Java are used.
What is the need for a website?
There are various reasons for a business to have a website, following are some major:
- It helps in branding your business;
- It helps to gain organic traffic;
- A helpful way to showcase your services and products;
- Provide accessibility to your business 24X7;
- It helps potential customers to discover your business;
- It is one of the reliable tools for marketing your business;
- Boost the growth opportunities.
What is the need for a web application?
- It can be accessed 24X7;
- Easy to maintain web app compared to the desktop app as the former use the same code in the entire application, which results in no compatibility issues;
- It does not require mobile app store approval for its publication on the internet;Web Application
- It is a cost-friendly way to build a brand on the digital platform;
- Since it supports all modern browsers like Windows, Linux, etc, the web application can use any platform;
- To use it, you don’t need to download or install it as it can be accessed through a mobile’s web browser.
Difference between website and web application
Purpose
Website: It provides static information, and it is accessible to all visitors.
Web Application: Its major purpose is to provide an interactive platform with the end-users.
Task and Complexity
Website: It displays information and collected data on a particular page. Its features are easy to understand.
Web Application: Its features are complex and higher compared to its website.
Authentication
Website: Authentication is not compulsory for the informational website.
Web Application: It needs authentication as it offers a greater scope of options.
User Interaction
Website: It provides one way interaction as users can only read the content or watch video. The user can not change its functionality.
Web Application: Here users can read and view content and can manipulate the restricted data.
Deployment
Website: In case of minor changes, there is no need for full recompilation and deployment. Just need to update the HTML code.
Web Application: Even a minor change needs re-compilation and deployment of the entire project.
Afterwords
We hope that after knowing the difference between website and web application, your confusion to make the final decision gets clear. You can even contact an experienced web development company to make a better decision.