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Website vs Web App:
What’s the Difference?
Essential Designs
Jul 26, 2019·3 min read
At Essential Designs, we often get mistaken for a
web design company, which is an entirely different
bag of worms than what we do (web application
development). We have focused our business less on
web design, and more on data-driven software
development. This includes mobile applications,
web applications, and custom software. Here’s a
simplified rundown on the difference between a
Website versus Web App.
Websites
We know these. You’re on one! Websites, accessible
through browsers, display useful content. They are
navigable and can present digital content, images,
video, and audio. Websites (vs web apps) are static,
meaning the content doesn’t update dynamically.
Most sites are built using HTML, CSS, and maybe
some JavaScript.
Websites are one-way informational feeds, they do
not allow viewers to interact or communicate back
to the site. Mobile websites are designed
specifically for smaller touch screens, and
responsive design websites automatically adjust to
the size and type of browser in which they are being
displayed.
Web Apps
Web applications are websites with functionality
and interactive elements. Gmail, Facebook,
YouTube, Twitter, etc. are all web apps that are
dynamic, and built for user engagement.
Because web apps are extremely customizable and
can perform a wide range of functionality, they are
generally more difficult to build and require an
experienced team of software developers. A web
application is computer software accessed through
a web browser, often connected to a database to
provide an interactive experience specific to the
individual using it. In Web Apps, Data can be
referenced, stored, and accessed through a
customized interface to simplify the delivery of
information to your customer.
Examples of great Websites:
https://vancouver.ca/ — while this could be
confused for a web app because of the size and
depth, there are no interactive elements to the site.
To use interactive features like Paying a parking
ticket, you are taken to an external web app link.
https://www.intersection.is/ — a very pretty, but
simple agency website.
http://www.jonathandacosta.com/ — a beautifully
functional portfolio/design site with an emphasis on
responsive design for mobile viewers.
http://www.croptheblock.com/ — filmmaking group
with several locations, with video feed directly on
their website.
Examples of great Web Apps:
https://mail.google.com/ — the Gmail web app is
responsive for any device, and they’ve built
connected native apps for Android and iOS devices
as well. It is a powerful and simple app with
functionality like Email, Calendar, Google Drive, live
chat, and more.
https://twitter.com/ — the social media platform
who invented the 128 char “tweet”. With a
simplified layout, moderated content and powerful
servers, it is easy to see how 13 years in the
making, it is one of the most widely used social
media platforms on the planet.
https://www.wikipedia.org/ — while it can
deceptively appear like a brochure, informational
website, Wikipedia is actually a powerful,
multilingual web app. The Wiki knowledge base
enables users to view and collaboratively modify
content and structure of it’s pages directly from
their web browsers.
https://www.kayak.com — a powerful aggregator of
data, Kayak collects flight, hotel, and rental car
information from a slew of websites then filters and
organizes the content presented to the User based
on their search criteria.
https://www.amazon.ca/ — one of the most powerful
shopping platforms on the planet, Amazon is also
one of the largest cloud computing platforms, as
well as distributing video, music and audiobooks
through various subsidiaries.
By Mary MacPherson, Digital Marketing Manager
@Essential Designs
