By Mo Hussein

4 min read

A website is for reading: it explains who you are, what you do and how to get in touch. A web app is for doing: people log in, enter information and get a result, such as a quote, a booking or an update on their job. Most businesses need a good website first, and a web app only for the one task that currently runs on email and spreadsheets.

The difference in practice

The line is blurry, so here's a simple way to draw it. Ask what a visitor does on the page.

If they read, look and then contact you, it's a website. Your home page, service pages, case studies and articles are all website.

If they put something in and the page responds to them personally, it's a web app. A quote calculator that prices their job, a portal where they see their own invoices, a form that books them into a slot your team can actually do: those are apps, even when they sit inside your website.

Web apps also cover screens nobody outside the business sees. A job board for your engineers, a rota for your staff or a dashboard for the directors are all web apps that happen to have no public page at all.

Why it matters which one you ask for

The two are built differently, and they cost different amounts for good reasons.

A website is mostly content. The hard parts are clear writing, speed on phones, accessibility and being found in search. Once it's live, it changes when you edit a page.

A web app is mostly logic and data. It needs logins, permissions, rules about what happens when, somewhere safe to store information and a plan for what happens when something goes wrong. It needs looking after for as long as people use it.

When people ask for "an app" and mean "a better website", they can end up paying for things they don't need. The opposite happens too: someone asks for a website when what's really slowing them down is the quote they work out by hand every day.

What most businesses actually need

Usually the answer is a website with one web app feature built in. Typical examples:

  • A quote or booking journey that collects the right details and gives a price.
  • A client portal where customers check progress and download documents.
  • An enquiry form that creates a record in your CRM or job system, instead of an email someone retypes.

Start with whichever one removes the most back-and-forth today. Build the rest later, once the first one is earning its place.

What about a mobile app?

A web app runs in the browser on phones, tablets and computers, from one codebase. A native app is downloaded from the App Store or Google Play.

For most businesses, a web app that works well on a phone is enough, and it's cheaper to build and keep up to date. A native app makes sense when people need it to work offline for long periods, or need features like background location tracking, or when customers will open it often enough to keep it on their home screen. If none of those apply, we'd steer you away from a native app.

Questions to ask before you brief anyone

  • What do visitors need to do that they can't do now?
  • Who types information in today, and where does it end up?
  • Does anyone outside the business need their own login?
  • What would you stop doing by hand if this existed?

If the answers are mostly "read about us and get in touch", you need a website. If they're about entering, checking or updating things, you need a web app, or a website with one built in.

Common questions

Is a web app the same as a website?

No. Both run in a browser, but a website mainly presents information, while a web app lets people log in, enter data and get a result back. Many sites mix the two.

Do I need a web app development company or a web design agency?

For a brochure site, a web design agency is usually fine. If you need logins, pricing rules, payments or links to your accounts software, look for a team that builds web apps and can show you one they've built.

Can a web app be added to our current website?

Yes. A quote form, booking journey or client login can usually be added to an existing site without rebuilding it.

Is a web app the same as a mobile app?

No. A web app runs in the browser on any device. A mobile app is installed from an app store. Many businesses only need the web app.

See how we build websites and web apps, get a price range with the project estimate, or book a free discovery call to talk it through.