What is a Web app?

Web applications, or Web apps, are primarily interactive software applications that run on a web server instead of on a device’s native Operating System (OS, for short).

The reason why many applications run on the web is that users can access them really easily, by simply typing in the URL or searching for it. Also, it doesn’t require downloading which makes Web apps all the more accessible.

Although more complex developments are often made into native apps, which can be downloaded via a native app store, web apps can get pretty feature-packed as well. Native apps can become pretty pricey to develop, too, which may put off a lot of potential ideas.

Types of Web Applications:

If you have a great idea for an application, you have to consider some criteria in which your idea may fall before you can really decide what solution to go for.

Here are a couple of categories that might just help you out.

1. Static Web Apps vs. Dynamic Web Apps:

All Web Apps are either static or dynamic.

Static Web Apps are fixed and, hence the name, lacks flexibility. Its architecture offers little interactivity and personalisation is non-existent. If you only need to get a couple of quick info’s out there on the web, a static web page is fine.

Dynamic Web Apps are thus the opposite of Static Web Apps. They are based on a dynamic framework which is the software that keeps the whole show running. They are fully customizable and bespoke, meaning the architecture of the Web App depends on your preferences and what you need it to do.

2. E-commerce

This kind of Web App allows you to buy and sell stuff online. It features product lists, payment solutions, some sort of content management system, reviews, and maybe even blog posts. Some e-commerce platforms also allow you to do more complicated actions like send newsletters from the platform itself.

You can get pretty creative with an online store through the quest of keeping content fresh and blooming. The more you dabble and experiment with content, all the better for your Search Engine Optimisation (SEO).

Plenty of well-known names and already existing physical stores sell via an e-commerce Web Application. Known examples of successful e-commerce Web Apps are Amazon and Apple’s online store.

If you’re interested in starting your own online store, or if you want to upgrade your already existing one, check out ShopCircuit. It’s Pyango’s super-useful Web Application solution for e-commerce junkies.

3. Portal web App

Portal Web Apps are essentially web apps in which you access a bunch of information via sections, categories, or tabs of some kind. Portal Apps are useful for things like chatting, mailing, or registration services.

4. Multi-Page Apps (MPA) vs Single- Page Apps (SPA’s)

MPA’s are highly dependent on the back-end side of development. It has a more classical architecture, which means when data is requested, a whole page reload is required. However, Asynchronous JavaScript and XML (AJAX) has made it possible to send and receive data from a server in the background (hence, “Asynchronous” ).

SEO is simple with MPA’s since your developer can add meta tags, which are basically content descriptors that help tell search engines what a site or page is about.

SPA’s, on the other hand, consists only of one single Web page that rewrites the page as the user browses it, rather than loading a new page from a server. This kind of Web App feels more like a native App to users, which has its obvious benefits.

Developing a SPA is really fun and dynamic since there are so many existing open-source tools, libraries, and frameworks to make use of to develop them. Front- and- back-end developers can also work in harmony on an SPA together, since the front- and back-ends are clearly separated.

5. Content Management Systems (CMS)

CMS’s are so important when it comes to Web Application development, so we just had to mention it here. Administrators make use of CMS’s to manage what’s going on on your page. CMS must be intuitive and easy to use. They are very often part of other kinds of Web Applications such as webshops.

A well-known example of a CMS is Wordpress. It’s open-source, making it totally free, thus a lot of people use it to create their websites and blogs. A huge amount of educational content is out there on the internet for people to learn how to make use of this tool, too, which adds to its authority as a CMS tool.

So, what kind of Web App is right for me?

Good question- and a question we can’t really answer for you since each and every project has different requirements. We recommend chatting to your developer about this, the most feasible solution will then come to surface.

PS: If you’re in the market for developing an awesome idea, don’t be shy. Get in contact with us at Pyango and we can help you create the custom solution you need.

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