The development of a web application allows you to have an application that is accessible from any browser on any device. Plus, unlike native apps, they don’t require a download.
To understand how to develop a web application, you must first know a little more about this type of development. In this article, we provide you with five types of web applications, some examples, and other considerations that you may find helpful.
What is a web application?
A web application or web app is a version of a web page that has been optimized, usually by a development team, for use from a mobile phone. Thanks to this, it can be adapted to any device.
These are 4 characteristics of a web application that will help you differentiate it from other types of applications:
They require a unique development for any device. One development in HTML5 is sufficient for any operating system.
It is not necessary to download them. The application is hosted on a server and can be accessed from a browser. This means that you need to be logged in to access it.
They are accessible from any browser. If you have a browser installed on your device (Firefox, Safari, Chrome…), you can access the web application.
They appear as a result in traditional search engines. Since they don’t need to be downloaded, you won’t find them in app stores, but they will show up in engines like Google accordingly.
Although native applications allow more complex development, they are also more expensive and not always necessary. The decision will depend on the use to be made of the application.
Types and functioning of web applications
This time we want to make a classification of the types of web applications. This classification will be made according to the function of the presentation of web applications with the content they are to display. We distinguish 5 types of web applications and they are the following.
- Static web application
If we choose to build a static web app, the first thing to know is that this type of web app shows little information and usually doesn’t change much.
They are usually developed in HTML and CSS , although moving objects such as banners, animated GIFs or videos can also be displayed somewhere in the web application. You can also talk about mavendigital Mobile App Development with jQuery and Ajax.
Examples of static web applications would be a portfolio, digital curriculum, or corporate presentation page.
It is not easy to modify the content of static applications. To do this, it is necessary to edit the HTML and update it on the server. These changes will normally be the responsibility of the webmaster or the development company that programmed the design of the web application.
- Dynamic web application
The dynamic web applications are more complex technically. They use databases to load information and this content is updated each time the user accesses the web application.
There are many programming languages for developing dynamic web applications. The PHP and ASP languages are the most common because they allow a good structuring of the content.
Dynamic web applications usually have an administration panel (CMS) to make changes.
The update process is very straightforward and you don’t even have to enter the server to change it. It also allows you to implement many features, such as forums or databases.
The design of dynamic web applications can also be changed to suit the administrator.
- E-shop or e-commerce type web application
If, on the other hand, the web application is a store or a digital commerce, we can say that the development will tend to resemble that of an m-commerce or an e-commerce.
Development is more complicated as it must allow electronic payments by credit card, PayPal or other payment method. The developer must also create a management panel for the administrator. From there, products will be downloaded, updated or deleted, and orders and payments can be managed.
Some examples of web application projects for online sales are carried out by large companies like El Corte Inglés . In this case, the web application is adapted to the mobile device as a mobile application, which makes it possible to interact with it as if it were a native application.
- Portal web application
By portal we mean a type of application in which the home page provides access to different sections , categories or headings. Here are a few examples:
Forums
Cats
email address
Search engine
Access area with registration
- Web application with content manager
In the case of web applications whose content needs to be constantly updated, it is preferable to use a content management system (CMS) through which the administrator can carry out modifications and updates himself.
