Web Application

A web application is software that runs in a browser and does work — dashboards, booking systems, internal tools, SaaS products — as distinct from a website, which mainly presents information.

The boundary is about state and logic rather than appearance. A site with a contact form is a website. Something with user accounts, permissions, records that change, and rules about who may do what is an application, and it costs several times more to build because most of the work is invisible.

That invisible portion — authentication, permissions, validation, audit trails, edge cases — is typically the majority of the effort, which is why application quotes surprise people who are anchored on website prices.

Why it matters

Knowing which you're commissioning prevents the most common budget mismatch in this industry: expecting website pricing for application scope.

We build this. Website Development starts at $169 — every price is published.

Related terms

SSR, SSG and ISRThree ways of producing a web page: server-side rendering builds it per request, static site generation builds it once at deploy time, and incremental…API IntegrationAn API integration is a connection between two software systems that lets them exchange data automatically — a website sending orders to an accounting…MVP (Minimum Viable Product)An MVP is the smallest version of a product that delivers real value to real users, built to test whether the idea works before investing in the full …

More in Web & Performance

Core Web VitalsLargest Contentful Paint (LCP)Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS)Time to First Byte (TTFB)SSR, SSG and ISRCDN (Content Delivery Network)Headless CMSProgressive EnhancementTechnical Debt

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