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What are the differences between an application and a website?

If you are questioning the importance of a website or an application for your business, know that you need to analyze different variants. More and more companies choose to bet on a website and also on an application for various reasons. However, this scenario is not justified in many cases. Sometimes, a website is more than enough to achieve the specific goals of your own business, so you don’t need to worry about creating an application.

 

However, many people still don’t understand the big differences between an application and a website. Will it be necessary to invest in these two platforms or is only one enough? If so, which one will be better? These are just a few doubts that invade the minds of many entrepreneurs. As such, in this article, we will address the differences between an application and a website, in order to help you decide which option is most viable for your business.

 

 

Why is a website important for your business?

 

Because we live today in an increasingly digital world, a business that does not have a website is practically a business without an online identity. We can look at a website as a sample of what it has to offer its customers, where it presents not only its products or services, but also its brand values, its history, among other aspects. As a whole, small elements on your website can reflect the image of your business to potential customers.

 

In addition, a website is a medium that allows your business to achieve even more visibility and establish greater credibility. Social media is a great way to present your brand and get people to know about it these days, but a website reveals a different level of professionalism and more commitment on the part of the company.

 

In addition to all this, a website also allows revealing the identity of a brand, whether through the logo, colors or type of language used. Thus, through this platform, the public can find your business more easily and have a clear image of it.

 

 

Why is an application important for your business?

More and more companies are betting on an application to expand their business and achieve a variety of benefits, including creating a loyal relationship with customers or having more direct communication with them. An application is also useful if you want to stand out from the competition, since, at least in Portugal, this is not a platform that is still widely used by most companies.

 

In one application, you can essentially present all kinds of information present on your website and add some extra features that may be useful for your customers. However, you should think very carefully about the reasons why you want to bet on an application, as this is a big investment. For example, for many companies, platforms such as a website and social networks are necessary to achieve the goals they want, so applications would even be an unnecessary investment or with little adherence.

 

 

Website vs application: what are the differences?

 

Now that we’ve covered the importance of each of these tools for business, we’ll focus on the differences between the two on several levels:

 

  • Accessibility

 

While a website is accessed from a URL in a browser’s search bar, an application is downloaded directly to a smartphone from the App Store or Google Play. Therefore, most of the time, it is faster to access an application than a website.

 

  • Purpose

 

A website and an application can also be distinguished in terms of their purpose. For example, a mobile application is usually ideal for encouraging frequent and repeated use by the public, thus increasing customer loyalty. On the other hand, a website focuses more on informing the audience and not so much on converting them right away.

 

  • Updates

Both applications and websites are subject to frequent updates. On a website, these updates happen without the user realizing it, as it is an automated process. The worst that can happen is that you are unable to access a given page for a few minutes, but then everything returns to normal.

 

In applications the scenario is quite different. Usually, the user needs to give permission for such an update, so it is not an automatic process. However, as with websites, it is possible that you will no longer be able to access the application until the update is completed.

 

  • Visibility

 

A website has the great advantage of allowing the public to find your business more easily. However, applications do not allow such significant reach and visibility. Websites are still the best option if you want to focus on increasing the visibility and recognition of your business among the public.

 

  • creation and maintenance

 

Usually, a website is easier to create and update compared to an application. Anyone can create a website using free templates available online. On the other hand, the creation of an application involves a much longer process and not performed by anyone.

 

Furthermore, a website does not require separate versions for different systems like iOS or Android. As for the applications, it will be necessary to bet on different versions that adapt to different devices.

 

  • Cost

 

Usually, websites are cheaper to create, because as already mentioned, you can easily find free and high quality templates online. From them, just change the colors, fonts and images according to your taste. On the other hand, applications require a very specific level of knowledge, so they can only be created by specialists, which, of course, weighs heavily in the final accounts.

 

 

Both a website and an application can be very useful for your business. However, we can say that, at least for now, all businesses have a website, but not all have an application. This can be interpreted in two ways: firstly, you should create a website if you don’t already have one to establish your online presence. Second, you should create an application if warranted. You can check out an article we wrote about creating an app for your business.

Catarina Fonseca
Catarina Fonseca

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