Every service nowadays has apps. If you want to order a pizza but don’t really feel like talking to someone, you can choose your pizza and toppings over a website or mobile app. Need to check your bank account? Don’t worry, most banks have apps where you can do this.
What I’m trying to say is, apps are the future and their use will continue to grow.
App use and demand rose with the use of smartphones, and experts are predicting that they will experience even more growth in the years to come.
There are apps where you can order clothes, read the news, listen to music and watch movies and shows, order food and have it delivered, they have found their use in all spheres.
But with app popularity comes the inevitable question: should you use a web application or a desktop one for your business?
Today we will talk about why web applications are a better choice than desktop ones.
Let’s get to it.
What are desktop and web applications?
Yes, both are apps and both are widely used, but there are a few differences between them.
Firstly, a desktop app needs to be installed on your computer before you can use it. Desktop apps are computer programs and don’t need an internet connection in order to be used.
A web application, on the other hand, doesn’t require any installation and runs on your web browser. Contrarily to the desktop app, a web application needs an internet connection if you want to use it.
Web apps pros
Here are a few reasons that make web applications superior:
- Web apps are accessible anywhere
- There is no update hassle
- You don`t have to worry about system requirements
- Web apps cost less
- They are more cost-efficient
1. You can access them anywhere
Need to look at a document you made months ago, but you aren’t home? Web applications have got you covered.
If you use a desktop or offline app for writing or note-taking, you can only look at your files on the device the desktop app is installed on. But, if you use a web application for the same purpose, you can access all of your files anywhere.
Every establishment nowadays offers WiFi and there are internet cafes everywhere, so your files can always be with you without you having to transfer them manually and carry them on a flash drive.
2. No updating hassle
How many times did you have to download an update for a desktop app and install it before you could use the app? Even though this doesn’t happen as often as it used to (thank you, automatic updates), there are still some desktop apps that may require a manual update every once in a while.
Web apps require no such thing and you won’t ever have to worry about wasting your time on manual updates.
3. You don’t have to worry about system requirements
Not everyone has a great computer or laptop that can run every program.
Most people use the most basic computers because they need them for the most basic purposes: watching videos or writing. So, if there’s a service that they like but it has an offline app that their computer struggles with, it can be a real bummer.
This is another great thing about web applications: system requirements are completely unimportant. All you need is a stable internet connection, and some of them are even crafted to work even if your internet isn’t the best.
Just think about all the online photo editing services. The vast majority of people don’t use Adobe Photoshop either because they don’t want to learn it or because their computer struggles to run it.
Of course, they would choose the easier and better working option and just slap a filter on their photo in two minutes and call it a day, instead of messing around with the color curves for half an hour.
4. Web apps cost less to make
Both desktop and web applications take months to make, but web apps are cheaper.
If you want a desktop app, be prepared to spend a lot of money because you will want a good programmer, and they aren’t cheap.
5. Web apps are more cost-efficient
When people think of desktop or offline apps, they usually associate them with one-off payments. I already mentioned Photoshop, and there are a ton more programs that you have to purchase for hundreds of dollars if you want to use them.
Web apps, on the other hand, have a subscription type of payment. If you need to use a web application only for a certain project or a certain amount of time, you can pay to use it for a week. Whereas with desktop apps, you can make the mistake of buying a really expensive desktop application and use it only once or twice and never again.
But, like all things, nothing is ever perfect and even web applications have some cons. I think that it’s important to weigh both pros and cons before making an important decision, and making an app for your business definitely is one of them.
Web applications cons
So, here’s what’s bad about web applications:
- You can`t access them without internet
- Security isn`t good as it is with desktop apps
1. No internet, no access
Yes, we have internet wherever we go, but not all countries have amazing internet. In fact, the majority of the world has a really bad internet connection.
People living in smaller cities and towns often have the option of only one internet provider, who is most often… Well, not great. They don’t have competition in that area and people cannot abandon their service and switch to a different provider, so they don’t care much about people’s internet being bad.
This is one of the reasons why desktop apps are still in use.
2. Less security than desktop applications
While it is true that your information is safer in the cloud because computers can always break down and cause loss of everything that is on them, it is also true that everything that is on the internet is more or less vulnerable to hackers and information theft.
If you use an offline app, you’re minimizing this risk.
Conclusion
Everything has its pros and cons, sometimes one more than the other, and in the case of web applications, there are definitely more pros.
They allow you to access your files anywhere where there’s the internet, it’s guaranteed that you won’t ever have to update them manually, system requirements are a thing of the past, and they’re more cost-efficient and cheaper to make.
But in the end, it all comes down to personal taste and needs, so if you think that what your service needs is a desktop and not a web application, go for it.
If you choose the web app as a solution to your problem, you can always contact the w3-lab digital agency.
Thanks for reading!
