What is a web application?
To provide a very simplified definition of what web applications are, we could say that any software program that can be used or accessed with a client like an internet browser is a web application (or web app). Unlike websites, however, web aplications tend to be more complex and serve more than just an informative role.
WordPress, Gmail, online shops, Adobe Spark, Twitter, most of the Gov.UK web system and probably the vast majority of what users commonly refer to as websites are in fact web applications. They can sometimes be staggerly sophisticated state-of-art solutions meant to solve a variety of problems and other times bespoke systems that perform a limited number of jobs extremely efficient and correct.
Web applications vs. websites
We often get asked whether web apps are glorified websites or something else entirely. The answer is not straightforward, because both website and web application can mean different things for different people and disciplines. Some developers and technical architects insist that a web application must, as a rule, follow the client-server model (we mostly belong to this category), others define a web app as simply an interactive web-based platform that accepts some sort of input from the users and others claim that whilst in theory all web applications can be websites, not all websites can be web apps but it doesn’t really matter that much because terminology can get in the way of creating a solution to a problem.
We tend to agree with all these views to some degree. For example, we consider an HTML/CSS/JS page a website and not a web app, even if we use something like a PHP-based contact form to receive messages from users. We commonly consider a web application any content management system, CRM, eCommerce solution, web portal and so on.
What sort of web applications can you develop?
Rather than creating a long list of solutions we can deliver in this sense, let’s just say that as long as PHP is considered, we haven’t yet met a challenge we couldn’t overcome from a technical perspective. Here are some web applications we have worked on within the past year:
- Two bespoke (self-service) ticketing systems
- A bespoke state-of-art and fully-fledged CRM
- A property management system with multiple 3rd-party API integrations
- A complex, engineered-from-scratch bespoke HR solution
We more than welcome challenging projects, both as a company and as developers and technical project managers.
Why develop your web application with us?
By now you can probably tell we like web apps. In fact, for some time now we’ve been developing bespoke web applications for many well-known brands in the UK and elsewhere and over the years we have adopted and refined a streamlined process to assess, design, develop, test, deploy and maintain web applications of various sizes and complexity. We really took bespoke software development to a level not many software companies can achieve.
Some good reasons to consider Totally to develop your web application include impressive technical expertise, seniority and experience of the developers, technical architects and technical project managers and our work attitude in general (we take pride in what we do). We can also demonstrate a strong work ethic, good privacy and security standards in the organisation, excellent coding standards and practices, unmatched communication with our clients and some of our previous work has even won awards.
Let’s have a chat about your web app. We’re happy to come to your office or welcome you and your team at our Kentish Town office in London.
