What is the difference between a web app vs a website?
A website is mostly the same for everyone who visits. It explains what you do, shows proof and makes it easy to call, book or buy. A web app changes depending on who's using it: they sign in, enter information and get something back.
Both run in a web browser, and both can look polished on a phone. The difference is the job. A website's job is to persuade. A web app's job is to get a task done, again and again.
What counts as a website?
If it's mainly pages people read, it's a website, even if it has a few clever parts.
- A service business site with pages for each service, prices, proof and a contact form.
- A brochure site for a professional firm, with team pages and case studies.
- An online shop, which sits close to the line, but is usually built and run like a website.
- A site with a quote form or a booking link that hands off to another tool.
What counts as a web app?
If people log in and do work in it, it's a web app.
- A customer portal where clients check orders, download documents or raise requests.
- An internal dashboard that pulls figures from several systems into one screen.
- A booking or quoting tool that applies your own rules and prices.
- A tool that replaces a spreadsheet passed around by email.
- A first version of a software product, often called an MVP.
Can one project be both a website and a web app?
Yes, and it's common. A business might have a marketing website at the front, with a login button that leads into a customer portal behind it.
They're often planned and built as two pieces that share a design. That way the website can change quickly for marketing, while the app changes carefully, because people rely on it every day.
Which do you need? A step-by-step check
Work through these steps in order. Most businesses get their answer by step four.
- Write down what you want people to do: find out about you, or get a task done.
- Ask whether each person needs to see their own information. If yes, that points to a web app.
- List the repeated jobs your team does by hand: re-typing orders, chasing forms, updating spreadsheets.
- Count the time those jobs take each week. That's the case for an app, or against one.
- Check whether an existing tool already does the job well enough. Buying is often quicker than building.
- If you still need new customers more than you need saved time, build the website first.
How do the cost and timeline compare?
A website is usually quicker and cheaper, because it's mostly content, design and a well-tested set of features. Our custom websites start from £499 + VAT and average 5 days from kick-off to live.
A web app depends entirely on what it has to do: the number of user types, the rules it follows, the systems it connects to and the data it holds. It also needs more testing, security work and upkeep. We price web apps at a fixed price after a short call, once the scope is written down.
Do you need a mobile app instead?
Often not. A well-built web app works in the browser on any phone, tablet or computer, with no app store and nothing to install.
A native mobile app makes more sense when you need features a browser handles poorly, or when your customers expect to find you in an app store. Start with the job, then pick the format.