What is a Web Application (Web App)?

Posted by Aram on 26 June 2012 | 0 Comments

A web application is a website that acts like a piece of software that users can access and interact with via the internet. Of course we interact with almost all websites but by definition an application has a more specific function, usually providing users with the ability to store and manipulate information. The most common web application on the net today is Facebook as well as Twitter and Linked-in.

Web applications or webapps are extremely popular these days as they are much easier to deploy than traditional software, as your users only need a web address and an internet browser. Maintaining and upgrading your application is also faster and less intrusive on the user (sometimes they are completely unaware of any updates, which is great!). Because web apps are built using modern tools of the internet they can also be developed much faster and more efficiently than traditional software, with user interfaces and workflows designed specifically for the tasks at hand.

Benefits of web applications:

Web applications allow businesses to build software designed specifically for their needs at a faction of the cost of developing desktop software;
Web applications can integrate many other tools that businesses use such as email, social media and staff account information.
Web applications do not require any complex "roll out" procedure to deploy. A compatible web browser is all that is needed;
Browser applications typically require little or no disk space on the client;
They require no upgrade procedure since all new features are implemented on the server and automatically delivered to the users;
They provide cross-platform compatibility (i.e. Windows, Mac, Linux, etc.) because they operate within a web browser.
With new technologies such as HTML5 and CSS3, developers can create richly interactive environments natively within web browsers.

Examples of popular web applications:

Basecamp - A project collaboration tool made by 37Signals.
FreeAgent - An amazing small business application that helps you managing your invoicing, billing and time tracking.
Campaign Monitor - Anyone that needs to send great looking marketing emails should check this one out.
ZenDesk - For businesses that need to provide a digital help desk service.
Blogger, Youtube, LinkedIn and don't forget Facebook, yes it's a web application.

A web app for your business?

So how can a web app help your business? Here are some examples:

An intranet which allows your staff to collaborate, collate knowledge and store their own information such as to-do lists, client details and project notes;
An app which facilites training for your staff, recording completion and success rates;
A membership management application for managing members, payments, event attendance and current statuses.
An event application, allowing users to submit their own events and manage them through the app.
An application that allows the deployment of new micro-sites for specific product lines or events.

These are just some of the possibilities, the great thing being that a web app can be built to do anything you want it to, just the way you need it to!

How can Aab Web help?

Aab Web started out just building websites for clients, but we quickly descovered that all that time we put in to understanding how people use the web could be even more usefull designing websites that allowed users to complete specific tasks online. So although we still build great websites, we spent an increasing amout of our time developing applications that help our clients businesses become more efficient and dynamic. We've developed several web applications for organisations such as the NHS, MPC, Permira and Whirlpool and are working on some exciting new ones for clients at the moment. If you are interested in discussing the possibility of a web app for your business, don't hesitate to get in touch with Aram on 020 8444 9718 or send us a message.