3 Types of Web Applications

We use many web applications every day for workflow optimization, weather checking, lunch ordering, news scrolling. Each online website or platform that requires you to perform any action on it is a web app.

They are significantly advantageous for business development. Web applications can increase the number of clients, improve customer relationships, automate task estimation and give you new opportunities to scale your business.

When deciding on web app development, you should know exactly which type of web application you need. Our team prepared a detailed explainer for you. We will highlight 3 types of web applications by their architecture: Single-Page, Multi-Page, and Progressive web applications.

Single-Page Web Applications

In some articles, you can read that SPA is an app where you can see only one page. But here comes a misunderstanding. This name of type occurs because the application consists of only one *.html document and one web page. In this document proceed all magic: added Angular, React (or other JavaScript framework) scripts perform program logic and all necessary operations.

Single-page applications can be static or dynamic. Static SPAs are easy to recognize. Almost all landing pages are of this type.

Dynamic single-page applications are not so easy to define. On the user side (in your browser), you can see it as a multi-page website. There could be a menu with different tabs in the application. Also, the loading process and transitions to selected functions may seem like a new page load. But in fact, a page refresh never occurs in single-page apps, and everything happens programmatically on one page.

Pros of SPA:

• The development process is easier and faster.
• Easy to debug and create a mobile app for project scaling. Developers can reuse a backend code.
• SPA uses cache effectively and works even offline.

Multi-Page Web Applications

Applications of this type proceed traditionally. Every change as transitions on the site, updating information occurs server request and rendering a new page from the server in the browser. They could have a lot of content and required many UI optimizations.

Often it uses AJAX to transfer data between server and browser. This technology allows updating only needed parts of the app. But also, it is more complicated to develop.

Pros of MPA:

• It provides a visual map for users, and app navigation is understandable.
• Appropriate for SEO optimization.

Progressive Web Application

Progressive Web Application (PWA) is something in between a website and an application. To get started with PWA, the user needs to download and install the site as an application. Subsequent access to the site is through the icon on the user's desktop. When clicked, the site quickly opens without an intermediary in the form of a browser.

Progressive Web Apps are great for frequently updated services. Customers will keep coming back. Push notifications will allow periodically grab the attention of users and encourage them to visit the application.

Pros of PWA:

• They are cross-platform and can work on different operating systems.
• Installation takes place with one click.
• The site is accessible by the icon on the mobile device, even in offline mode.
• Allow you to send push notifications like an app.
• Reduce competition in search engines.

Are you planning to develop a web application for your business? Read more about the web application development process on our website.