A website or a web application?
A website presents your business; a web application is where its work gets done.
| A website | A web applicationSee custom web software | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is for | Pages to read: who you are, what you offer and how to reach you. | Work to do: booking, ordering, checking, reporting. |
| Who uses it | Anyone who finds it. | The people who sign in: your staff, your customers, or both. |
| Sign-in and data | Usually none, apart from a contact form. | Accounts, and a database that keeps your data. |
| Examples | A company site, a portfolio, a menu with opening hours. | A booking system, a customer portal, a tool that replies to Google reviews. |
| What drives the cost | The pages, the design and the content. | What it has to do: its screens, its data and the tools it connects to. |
| After launch | New content from time to time. | A check every hour that it is up, that people can sign in and that its pages load: a service you book with us. |
| Changes later | New pages and text, often added by you. | New features, each priced before it is built and tested before it goes live. |
The differences that matter.
Pages to read, or work to do.
A website tells people about your business. A web application lets them get something done with it: book, order, check or report.
Sign-in and data.
Most websites need neither. A web application has accounts and a database, so it has to show the right data to the right people.
What it takes after launch.
A website mostly needs new content. A web application is used every day, so a failure stops real work. Once it is live, we check it every hour and get an alarm if something fails, as a service you book with us.
What each option covers.
A website
Pages that present your business, what you offer and how to reach you. It is made to be read and found, and you can often update the text yourself. If that is all you need, a website is the right choice.
A web application
Software people sign in to and work with, with its own data behind it. This is what we build: custom web software made for the way your business works. Among our own products, ReplyFlow replies to Google reviews and SignalScore runs credit checks for Swiss companies.
Which fits your situation?
If people come to read about you, you need a website; if they come to get work done, a web application.
See custom web software
Frequently asked questions.
Can a website grow into a web application?
In parts, yes. A sign-in area or a booking tool can be built as web software of its own, linked from your website. Your website stays as it is.
Do you build websites?
No, not on their own. We build custom web software: the software your business works in, not the pages that present it. If a website is all you need, a studio that builds websites is the better choice.
What does a web application cost?
It depends on what it has to do. Once that is written down, you get a fixed price in a written offer, and nothing is built until you agree to it. Any change beyond the agreed scope is priced before it is built.
Tell us about your project. Send us a message and we will get back to you.