1. Home
  2. Insights
  3. Websites and apps
Websites and apps

Website, web app or mobile app: which does your business need?

A website tells people about the business. A web application does work for them in a browser. A mobile app does work on a phone, often where there is no desk. Most businesses need one of them first, not all three.

Published

A website, when the job is to be found and trusted

If customers need to find you, understand what you sell and get in touch, a fast, well-structured website that your own team can update is the answer. In Saudi Arabia that usually means Arabic and English versions, built for phones first.

A web application, when the job is work

Bookings, orders, records, portals for clients or staff: anything people log in to and act on. A web application runs in any browser, needs no app store, and is updated once for everyone.

A mobile app, when the work happens away from a desk

Drivers, technicians, sales teams, parents: people who create or need information on the move, sometimes without a signal. A mobile app can work offline, use the camera and location, and send notifications.

How to decide

Start from the task and the person doing it. If it is reading, it is a website. If it is doing, at a desk or anywhere with a browser, it is a web application. If it is doing on the move, it is a mobile app. Many businesses grow from the first to the third over time, on the same records.

Questions businesses ask

  • Does every business need a mobile app?

    No. A mobile app earns its cost when people do work on the move, offline or with the phone's camera and location. For being found and contacted, a website is the answer.

Read next

Talk to the team that will build it.

Tell us what the operation needs to do. We will tell you what it takes to get there, including the parts that are not straightforward.

Start a Project