What Are the Advantages and Disadvantages of Web Applications?

Businesses can give their users interactivity without having to use the time and resources necessary for building a mobile application. Web-based applications ultimately ease the development process.

That said, weighing the cons of web application development against the pros is still useful for getting the kinks ironed out.

Advantages of Web Apps

First, you should take a closer look at the advantages of web app development. Youll find that web apps are an efficient option for boosting the UX of consumers who prize user engagement when it comes to their web browsing.

1. Easier Development

Once again, most mobile app developers and web developers are not one and the same. This is a shame because that means if you want the best of both worlds, youll always need at least twice as many developers or at least twice as much talent.

2. More Convenience

Web apps do not need to be downloaded and installed. Or in the case of PWAs, the download and installation wont be the equivalent of the app actually taking up space on your device.

And with progressive web apps specifically, you can get many of the benefits of mobile apps with none of the hassle. While smartphones these days seem to be ever-increasing their storage space in what seem to be squared increments.

3. High Portability

Got a smartphone? You can use a web app. A laptop? Even better! Users can access web apps from any device. Got a tablet? You can use a web app.

Basically, web apps are entirely multi-platform. They provide users with an entertaining exchange no matter the operating system, whether that be Android, iOS, PC, etc. so long as users maintain an internet connection.

Disadvantages of Web Apps

Of course, a pro and con list would be futile if there were only pros. Naturally, web app development has disadvantages too.

1. Reduced Speed

Despite all the praise, web apps cannot replace mobile apps and will operate a bit slower than an application that is hosted on a local server.

PWAs definitely try to mitigate this side effect, but theres no veritable evidence that theyve successfully eliminated this disadvantage altogether.

2. Limited Functionality

Since web apps arent native, they dont have the same capacity to collaborate effectively with the hardware and operating system of your specific device.

Native technology will always carry an advantage over non-native technologies. As system settings differ from one device to the next, and web apps are by definition multi-platform.

3. Decreased Access

Generally, web apps need internet access to perform well or in most cases, to perform at all. Though PWAs do deter from this typecast, the most interactive of web apps will not respond if you dont have a web connection.

3 Types of Web Applications

There are different types of web applications with different behaviors depending on how theyre built. While all these web application types still use web technologies.

Single-Page Apps

A single-page application (SPA) differs from a traditional multi-page application where new pages load only when you click a link. SPAs wield their power from only one page, typically deploying an infinite scroll mechanism to display all its content.

Server-Side Web Apps

Server-side software is essentially synonymous with back-end development. Back-end development is composed of building the databases, servers, application programming interfaces (APIs).

On the bright side, server-side web apps are normally more secure and offer more browser compatibility than client-side web apps. Though server-side applications by and large still display content and/or UIs, the most dynamic of code resides in the web server.

Client-Side Web Apps

Client-side web apps are dominant in front-end development, meaning the user interface (UI) is the focus of these types of apps.

Any data or business logic that the app might use to function is dynamically loaded at start-up. As a result of client-side rendering, there is little to no buffering time for loading a page.