Short answer:If you want to present your company, your services and get people to contact you - then a website is enough. Do you want the user tolog in and do something: book, calculate, manage an account, see your data - then you need a web app. Many companies actually need both parts.

What exactly is the difference?

Imagine the difference between abrochureand onetool.

Ahomepageis like an online brochure. It tells you who you are, what you do and how to contact you. The visitor reads, perhaps fills out a form, and moves on. Example: a restaurant site with menu and opening hours, or an agency's site with services and cases.

Aweb app(web application) is like a tool that runs in the browser. The user logs in anddothings. Examples: a booking system, a customer portal where you see your invoices, a calculator, or an internal system for managing orders. You don't need to download anything - it works directly in Chrome, Safari or Edge.

Simple rule: it's mostly aboutshowthings? Homepage. Is it about thatdothings? Web app.

Questions that reveal what you need

Ask yourself these questions. If you answer yes to several of them, it leans towards a web app:

  • Should the userlog inon a separate account?
  • Should they be able tosave or view their own data(bookings, orders, metrics)?
  • Should theyperform something– book, calculate, apply, upload?
  • Should different users seedifferent thingsdepending on who they are?
  • Need the contentupdated in real time?

If you mostly answer no, and the goal is to be seen, build trust and get people to contact you - then a website is the right choice. It is cheaper, faster to build and easier to maintain.

How much does it cost – and how long does it take?

This is an important difference. A web app is almost always more expensive and takes longer, as it contains logic, login and data management that must be built and secured.

  • Homepage:usually SEK 30,000–150,000 depending on the scope, and a few weeks to a couple of months.
  • Web App:often from SEK 150,000 and up - sometimes significantly more - and several months of work.

That doesn't mean the web app is "less value". It does more. But it is important not to order an expensive web app when a website would have been enough - or vice versa.

Common misunderstandings

"A web app is better than a website."No, they solve different things. A knife is no better than a spoon.

"We need an app in the App Store."Not necessarily. A web app runs in the browser and avoids store review. If you want an app feel without the App Store, there is something called a PWA - more about that in another ZORC article.

"We take the web app now so we don't have to rebuild later."The risk is that you pay too much for functions you don't need yet. Better to start right and grow.

Many businesses actually need both

A common and good arrangement: ahomepagewhich promotes the company externally, plus oneweb appbehind login where customers or staff do their work. Imagine a site that tells about your service, with a "Log in" button that leads to the portal. Outwardly a brochure, inwardly a tool.

Then you make the decision

  1. Write down what the user should be able to doon the site. Just read? Or perform things?
  2. Ask if login is required.It is often the watershed.
  3. Start right.You can always expand a website with app functions later.
  4. Get help distinguishing "nice to have" from "must have"before you order.

ZORC helps you choose the right one from the start

At ZORC, we build both websites and web apps - and we're honest about which you actually need. Sometimes we save the customer hundreds of thousands of kroner by saying "one website is enough". Other times, we see that a web app is the way forward and build it to last over time. The important thing is that you don't pay for the wrong thing.

Not sure what your business needs?Get in touch with ZORC and we will go through your needs together and point out the right path - without selling you more than you need.