web apps
web apps

Last Updated on August 23, 2022 by Ghiselle Rousso

Many companies only have web apps and some have both web and mobile apps. For example, you can access Cox cable bundles from the phone application and web too. Similarly, a lot of companies offer both web and mobile applications. Still, it has been a debate that whether web apps are better than mobile apps. Both types of apps have their pluses and minuses. In this article, you can see five major differences between the two to see for yourself what’s better.  

See the following aspects to decide what type of applications are better:  

Platform 

A web app is generally an application that opens up in your browser. To access these apps, you either have to click on a link leading to them or search for them using the search bar of your browser. Grammarly, Docs, and Sheets are some examples of web apps.  

Mobile apps on the other hand are bound by their platforms. If you have an Android phone, you can download apps from Play Store. And Apple users can download applications on their phones from the App Store. A native mobile app is bound by one of these platforms. Thus, a lot of times you may see apps on one platform that are not available on the other.  

There are hybrid applications too that are present on both platforms. But overall, web apps are more easily accessible.  

UI/UX 

The UI/UX or the design of applications is another department where web apps and mobile apps have clear differences. You may have noticed how mobile applications are generally easier to use. You can easily get accustomed to using new mobile applications easily as they are designed with mobile user-friendly qualities in consideration.   

When compared to mobile applications, web apps usually do not have the same level of ease of use. But from the UI point of view, you can do a lot to make the visuals more pleasing. On the flip side, thanks to the ease of use, many web apps now have a UI/UX similar to mobile applications.  

Features 

Web apps generally have more options and features. Online photoshop, Office 365 applications, Gmail, and Outlook are some of the most fitting examples. The mobile variant of all these apps does not have that many options. So, in terms of functionality, web apps clearly have an edge. 

But with the apps that do not have such a range of options, there aren’t many differences. In other words, you get similar experiences on either type of app.  

Accessibility  

Since web apps are applications that work on your browser tabs, you cannot access them in the absence of an internet connection. So, an internet connection is mandatory. If you lose your internet connection, you can end up losing your progress. Some applications have cookies or cloud backup that keep your progress from getting wasted. Still, no internet means no access definitely is a problem.  

In contrast, mobile applications are usually installed in the flash storage of your device. This means you can access applications when you are offline too. So, this is the advantage mobile applications have over web apps.  

Performance 

How good an application performs on a device depends on the specs of the device. For example, an app on a mobile phone with a mid-range chipset and lower gigs of RAM will not perform as smoothly as it does on a phone with a better chipset and more RAM. The same is true with computers too. Apps work better on high-spec devices.  

Your mobile allocates resources to run a particular application. These resources are generally your phone’s RAM and storage. But the problem with web apps is that they open on your device by using a browser. So, your computer’s resources have to support both the tabs on your browser and applications. Thus, apps put more burden on your laptop or PC. Also, the performance of apps gets affected by this burden. It is also to be understood that developers make the mobile versions more optimized for these devices. 

Therefore, usually, mobile applications generally offer better performance. Thankfully, you can now use mobile (android) apps directly on Windows too. So, you can access both the web apps and installed mobile apps both on your PCs.  

Conclusion 

Mobile apps and web apps both have their pros and cons. The advantages and disadvantages depend more on the type of applications you are using. Web apps usually have more features than mobile apps and offer better accessibility. But these are just pros and cons and your choice of apps is up to you.