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Website, web app or mobile app: what your business should build first

Been told your business needs an app? Start with what people need to do with it, not with the word "app".

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Build a website when people need to learn about you and get in touch. Build a web app when people use software in the browser to get something done, such as placing an order. Build a native mobile app when the product depends on what browsers can't do reliably, such as some background work or hardware access.

A note on where we stand: we build websites and web applications, not native mobile apps. Our custom software development work covers web apps, internal tools and client portals. Our website design and development work covers company websites. Where a native app is the right answer, this article says so plainly.

What is the difference between web development and app development?

Web development builds websites and web apps, which run in a browser on any device. App development usually means a native mobile app, built for one phone system and installed from its app store.

  • Website. Pages people read to learn what you do, see your work and get in touch, such as a company site with a contact form.
  • Web application (web app). Software people log in to and use in a browser, such as an order desk, an approvals queue or a client portal.
  • Native mobile app. An app built for iOS or Android, and usually installed from that system's app store. MDN Web Docs, Mozilla's reference for web developers, calls these platform-specific apps.
  • Progressive web app (PWA). A web app that people can install like an app, and that can work offline.

A useful first test, though not a definition: does anyone log in to do something? Logins usually point to a web app. But a public quote calculator is a web app without logins, and a site with a members' area is still mostly a website. What decides it is whether people read pages or use software to get something done.

Which one should you build first?

Build the one that matches what people need to do today, and keep the first version small. The rows hold whoever builds it.

Website, web app or native mobile app: what to build first
If this is trueThen build
People need to find you, read what you do, see your work and get in touchA website. Add an online store if they also need to buy from you.
Customers, staff or partners use it to do something, usually after logging in: place an order, book, approve, update a record or track a jobA web app. It runs in the browser on a phone, a tablet or a computer, from one build.
People come back often and want an icon on the home screen, or need to keep working on a weak connectionA web app built as a progressive web app. It can be installed from the browser and can work offline.
The product depends on background work, or on a device feature that some widely used browsers don't support, and you have tested thatA native mobile app, from a mobile app developer. We don't build these.
Your customers expect to find you in the App Store or Google Play, and the app does more than show your websiteA native mobile app. Plan for a developer account with each store, and store review of each update.
The "app" would only show your website inside an app frameDon't build it. Improve the website instead. Apple's review guidelines ask for more than a repackaged website.
Leave it aloneVisitors only need to read, see your work and contact you, and the website already answers their questionsKeep the website, and improve it.

Website, web app and native app, side by side

Notes with sources follow the table.

Website, web app and native mobile app, side by side
QuestionWebsiteWeb appNative mobile app
Who uses itAnyone: prospects, customers and people checking you outPeople with an account: customers, staff, partners or field teamsPeople who install it, usually returning customers or staff
LoginsUsually none, apart from an admin area for your teamUsually, and each person sees what their role allowsOften, inside the app
Where it runsIn a browser, on any deviceIn a browser, on any device, from one buildOn the phone system it was built for, such as iOS or Android
How people get itA link or a searchA link. As a progressive web app, it can also be installed from the browserUsually from the App Store or Google Play
UpdatesLive when you publish themLive when you release them, with no store reviewReviewed by the store before release
Offline useUsually needs a connectionPossible as a progressive web app, when it is built for itPossible, with background work inside the phone system's limits
Device featuresRarely neededCamera and location with the person's permission; some features only in some browsersDevice features such as the camera, GPS or accelerometer
NotificationsNot usuallyPossible with permission; on iPhone and iPad, once it is added to the Home ScreenPossible with permission
Store listingNot neededNot needed; Google Play is possible through an Android wrapperNeeds a developer account with each store

Where they run. Because the web works across systems, MDN says a website can run on different operating systems and device classes from a single codebase. A web app shares that strength, while a native app is built for one system.

How people find it. The same MDN guide notes that websites are indexed by search engines and shared with a link. A native app's strength is the store itself: one place where people find and install apps, and an icon on the device afterwards.

Updates. A website or web app changes when you release it; a store app goes through review first. Apple says it reviews all apps and app updates that developers submit. Google Play also reviews app updates before they go live.

Store accounts. A store listing needs a developer account with each store. To distribute apps, Apple requires membership of its developer programme, and the programme has an annual fee. Google Play charges a one-time registration fee. Check the current amounts there.

Device features. A browser can reach more of the phone than the word "website" suggests. With the person's permission, a web page can use the camera and their location. Support for other features is patchy: MDN says Web Bluetooth does not work in some of the most widely used browsers.

What is a progressive web app, and what can it do?

MDN defines a progressive web app as an app built with web technologies that gives a user experience like that of a platform-specific app. Like a website, it runs on many devices from one codebase. Like a native app, MDN says, it "can be installed on the device, can operate while offline and in the background".

What a progressive web app can do

What it needs, and where it stops

To be installable, MDN says, a PWA needs a web app manifest and must be served over HTTPS. A web app manifest is a small file that tells the browser the app's name, icons and how it opens.

A PWA stops where the browser stops. The Background Synchronization API lets a web app put off a task until the connection is stable. MDN says it does not work in some of the most widely used browsers. If the app depends on a feature like this, test it on your users' phones before you decide.

A PWA does not need an app store, but a Google Play listing is possible. Android's documentation describes Trusted Web Activity as a way to open your web app, such as a PWA, from your own Android app. Chrome's quick-start guide then points to deploying that app to the Play Store. Apple's App Store sets a bar a wrapper must clear. Its guideline 4.2 says an app "should include features, content, and UI that elevate it beyond a repackaged website".

Do you need a mobile app for your business?

You need a native mobile app when the phone has to do work that a browser can't do reliably. MDN lists the strengths of platform-specific apps: their own icon, working offline and in the background, and device features. Three signs point that way.

  • The product depends on the device, such as a feature built on Bluetooth hardware, which some widely used browsers don't support.
  • It must keep working when nobody is looking at it, offline or in the background. Native apps can do more here, but the phone system still restricts apps in the background, so test it on your users' phones.
  • Your users expect a store listing, and the app does more than show your website.

If one of these is true, a mobile app developer is the right call. If none is true, you probably don't need one yet. A web app works on the same phones, and can be built as a progressive web app if people want an icon.

What we build, and what we don't

Our Custom Software page puts it plainly: "We build web applications, which work on phones through the browser. We don't build native mobile apps at the moment." If the tool would replace a spreadsheet, start with when a spreadsheet is enough. If a ready-made product might do the job, read off-the-shelf, low-code or custom software.

What a sample linen store would build firstSample
Business
Kesar & Co., a linen-clothing store at kesar.example, selling to shoppers and to a few wholesale buyers.
Shoppers
A website with an online store. Shoppers browse, read about the linen and buy. Nobody needs an account to look.
Wholesale buyers
A web app with logins. Each buyer sees their own orders and reorders from a phone. The store team approves each order on the same app.
Native app
Not now. Nothing here needs a feature a browser lacks, and no buyer has asked for a store listing.
Later, if buyers ask
Make the web app a progressive web app, so buyers can add an icon to the home screen.

A hypothetical example, not a client. A real plan is written with you and goes into the written scope.

Before you decide: questions to answer

Six questions settle most of this. Rough answers are fine.

Bring this to the call

  • Who will use it: the public, customers with accounts, staff or partners?
  • What each kind of user needs to do, in a sentence each.
  • Whether anyone must work offline, and where: a warehouse, a site visit or a delivery route.
  • Any device feature it must use, such as the camera, location or a Bluetooth device.
  • Whether your customers expect to find you in an app store, and why.
  • What it replaces or connects to today: the website, spreadsheets, forms or WhatsApp groups.

Next step: find your row in the decision table, answer the six questions, and tell us what people need to do. We'll reply within 24 hours with a few questions or a time for a call.

Questions

What is the difference between a website and a web application?

A website is mainly for reading; a web application is software people use to get something done. A business can have both, often with the web app behind a login on the same domain.

Should I build a web app or a mobile app?

A web app, unless the product needs something browsers can't do reliably or customers expect a store listing for more than your website. A progressive web app sits between the two.

Do you build mobile apps?

Not at the moment: we build web applications that work on phones through the browser. If your project needs a native app, a mobile app developer is the right call.

Can a web app be listed in the App Store or Google Play?

Sometimes, inside a wrapper: Google Play through a Trusted Web Activity, while Apple asks for more than a repackaged website. A web app reached by link needs no listing at all.

How much does it cost to build an app?

It depends on what you need. Tell us about the project and we'll send a written quote with the scope, timeline and what's included. For larger or less defined tools, Discovery & Scope comes first and ends in an estimate you own.

Sources

Reviewed and edited by Online Scope before publishing. Something out of date? Tell us at info@onlinescope.in. How we write the Blog.

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Know what people need to do? Tell us, and we'll reply within 24 hours with a few questions or a time for a call.

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