A relatively new term has popped up in recent years and outside the web industry, it’s a little vague. So what exactly is a web app? And what's the difference from a website?
While there isn’t much of a definite answer, it is generally agreed that websites are primarily informational while web apps are interactive. Websites and web apps aren’t mutually exclusive. A website can be a web app, and web apps can be informational. The term website could also be used to describe any page or site that resides on a domain.
So while all web apps can be a website, not all websites provide the functionality seen in web apps. A lot of the differences are actually in the back end code of websites and web apps, which provide functionality.
Web apps tend to be built on complex code that allows for interactive functionality and are structurally more complex than their website counterparts. Functionality could be adding prices together in a shopping cart, determining your location in a store locator, or sending notifications to friends when you comment on their photo.
So any website function that requires the browser to remember some kind of information or dynamically do something based on what you did, it's most likely a web app. Popular web apps are twitter.com, instagram.com, and gmail.com.
If you’re thinking about a creating your own website, but you’re not sure if you need a website or web app, think about how your site’s content is going to be updated, and whether you require functionality for your users. No matter the difficulty or situation, we’re able to build your website or web app to your needs and requirements.