Differences between a web application and a website?

What are the differences between a web application and a website?

Many Internet users only think in terms of websites. When we browse the Internet and connect to a domain, we often think we are arriving on a website. However, in recent years in particular and the advent of Web 2.0, websites are increasingly disappearing to make way for web applications, which are more dynamic and allow real interaction with users. So what is a web app? What are the differences between a web application and a website? Scroll tells you!

What is a web application?

A web application is an application host on a server, which is access via a browser and an Internet connection. The difference between a web application and a mobile application is that the web app does not need to be install: you use it directly online.

The web application can therefore be define by its technology itself, by the way it is built. Like what mobile app development company in uae do.

The other approach that can be used is its practical aspect: a web app is used and manipulated by Internet users. We don’t just browse the different pages of an app: we request it to perform certain specific actions. Think about your mobile applications: web apps are the equivalent of these applications, but they do not require software installation. You can access them directly online, via your browser (Chrome, Firefox, Safari or other).

Web applications like Google

Generally speaking, web applications are base on data sources. Thanks to their interface, they allow Internet users to assemble and format these data sources to obtain a certain result. To help you build your apps, there are no-code App Builders: powerful tools that allow you to build applications yourself, such as SaaS, via drag and drop.

You know dozens of web applications, sometimes without knowing that they are, and you probably use them daily.

The best-known example is probably Google. Google is a web application: you connect to the site to launch a search. Dynamically, the mobile app development uae will provide you with results that it considers to be relevant to answer your query. You can then browse through these results and discover the sites and web apps that meet your needs.

Another example of a web app: Airbnb. The tourism giant allows you to enter information about your search (location, dates, number of people, budget, etc.) and offers you accommodations according to your criteria. The application goes further: it allows you to get in touch with owners to rent their accommodation. It also allows you, if you are an owner yourself, to register your accommodation in its listings, so that it appears when an Internet user launches a search that matches your characteristics.

What is a website?

Unlike a web application, a website generally allows few interactions. Websites are content hosted on a server and that can be accessed online by connecting to a certain address. For example, this article that you are currently reading is hosted on the Scroll server and you access it by connecting to its URL. You cannot modify it.

A website is therefore a set of content that you can browse, view and read. It does not, in itself, offer user interactions: you can simply navigate between the different contents. A mobile application development uae can help you more.

On the other hand, a website can contain one or more web apps. Let’s take, once again, a concrete example to illustrate this: a classic e-commerce site. On an e-commerce site, you will find content that you have no control over as an Internet user: product sheets, the homepage, etc. But most e-retailers offer a filter system so that you can choose products that particularly interest you: size or color for clothing, price ranges, brands, etc. These filters are often base on web applications, insert into a site.

The difference between a web application and a website

There are therefore several differences between web applications and websites. The first is in their construction. Web applications, as we said, are base on databases and a program, which will draw from these databases to display information to users. The website, on the other hand, will be built using static content.

The second difference between apps and sites concerns the rendering. A website has a uniform rendering for all its visitors.