When you are looking at improving your online offerings for both your employees and clients, you’ve no doubt heard the term web applications used before. If you are wondering what the difference is between web applications and other types of applications, we’re here to help. Keep reading as we share the essentials of web applications with regard to business.
What are web applications?
Web applications are software programs that are stored and executed on a remote server and delivered over the internet. Web applications can offer many benefits to business owners and clients. When commissioning a web application to be built by an external developer ensure it is accessible to your whole audience. Examples of web applications include online calculators, e-commerce shops, and webmail.
How do web applications work?
Web applications are accessed through your web browser, so they don’t need to be downloaded. Standard web browsers you may use for this include Safari, Google Chrome, or Mozilla Firefox. For the web application to work, a web server, database, and application server are needed. The web server will manage the initial request from the client, and then the application server completes the task. The web application uses the database to store information they need to retrieve or save.
One of the top reasons you may want to consider creating a web application is that they have a much shorter development cycle than other apps. Common front-end languages used include: HTML5, JavaScript, or CSS. Whereas the back-end (server-side) is coded in more traditional languages such as Python, Ruby, C# or Java. Don’t worry if you don’t know any of these languages, as our team will complete all of this work for you, and you aren’t required to understand them in order to enjoy the benefits of web applications.
What are the benefits?
Let’s take a look at the benefits you will experience from using web applications instead of other types of software.
Offer your application to a wider audience
Web applications allow multiple users access. You don’t need to have different application versions to fit different devices, as everyone will be using the same version. Web applications are great for non-technical users, as they are easy to access and interact with. This is particularly important for companies whose customers will need to interact with their web applications, for example, a booking system.
Installation not required
Many of us worry about the risks of downloading software from the Internet or onto our mobile phones, which is where web applications come into play. You don’t need to install anything onto your laptop or mobile phone to use a web application. You’ll simply view it from your web browser in the same way as you would surfing any page online. This also saves your users time when using the app, as they won’t have any downtime while waiting for it to download. This will minimise the chances of them walking away and using your competitor’s apps instead.
Access through different devices
One of the biggest concerns for businesses designing apps is creating something that will work on mobiles, desktop computers, laptops, and tablets. With over 50% of browsing taking place on mobile devices, it’s critical that you design an application that will also work properly on the smaller screen. However, you don’t want to alienate your desktop and laptop users by just creating a mobile app. For this reason, web applications will widen your audience and expand the offerings for your customers.
And different browsers…
You’ll no longer have to deal with the Windows vs Mac issue that still plagues website development to this day. Instead, you can create a web application that almost anyone can easily use regardless of their browser.
Quicker to develop
One of the top reasons we recommend web applications is development is simpler than other software types. If you are looking to enhance your features for your clients or employees in a rush, web applications will resolve this issue. Our team will be happy to discuss your requirements and get to work straight away on your new web app. It’s an ideal solution for anyone who is looking to enhance their offerings while they are still expanding their business.
In summary
Web applications are something that any company could benefit from using. As you can see, there are many significant advantages of using these over other options. Our team a BSPOKE Software of web application developers will be excited to collaborate with you on your next project and guide you through the process from start to finish. For more information or to get started on your next web application project, contact our team today.
