Web-app? Web what?!
Do you want a website or web-app? What's the difference, and what does my business need?
Let’s differentiate between websites and a web-apps, and describe the advantages they provide.
What is a web-app?
We all know what a website is and why they are vital for growth for most companies. A web application, or web-app, is different. Web-apps are websites that allows visitor interaction. In other words, a website with functionality.
Web-apps are designed to be easily accessible anywhere in the world, just like websites. They also provide the same functionality as the software programs installed on personal and office computers.
Business web-apps either aim to engage with their customers, e.g. allowing them to shop and make purchases, or help to run the business itself. For example, www.Xero.com helps businesses with their accounts.
What are the advantages of web-based applications?
- Clients can interact with you in their own time
- Save staff time (e.g. by reducing inbound client calls)
- Increase staff collaboration and productivity
- Improve brand and competitiveness through innovative technology
- Access vital data from anywhere
- Enhanced data capture and visualisation = better decision making
- Automatic data back up
- Test hypothesizes
- Reach new audiences
- Extra touch point with target market and clients
- No installations required
- Streamline business processes
That’s great, but do I actually need a web app?
Do you want to allow customers to update their details, make purchases, or find out about your latest products and services? Or perhaps you want to streamline your business by reducing manual processes that require staff time.
Do you have the next great start-up idea like Airbnb, Nimble, or Dropbox?
Do you want to better understand clients and your target markets?
Could valuable staff spend more time growing the business and less time running it?
If the answer to any of these questions is yes, I encourage you to look at how web applications can help your business.
Web apps are increasingly more affordable. More importantly they are allowing businesses to save time and generate more revenue.