Website, app or system: which do you need?
A website is enough more often than people think. Here is how to tell whether you need a website, an app or a system of your own, and why it pays to start small.
Short answer
Most companies that ask for an app actually need a good website, and some that ask for a website need a system. The difference is who will use it, how often and for what.
Website
When people need to find you, understand what you do and get in touch or buy.
App
When the same people do the same thing often, right on their phone.
System
When you work internally, or when customers need to log in.
| Website | App | System | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who uses it | Anyone who finds you | The same people, often | Staff or logged-in customers |
| How you get there | Link or search | Icon on the home screen | Login |
| Needs installing | No | Yes | Usually not |
| Typical project | Company site, web shop | Booking or reporting on the phone | Internal tool, customer portal, connection between systems |
When a website is enough
A website fits when people need to find you, understand what you do and get in touch or buy. It is reached from a link or a search, needs no installation and works on every screen.
Choose a website if:
- you have none, or one that no longer reflects the business
- you want to start selling online or move your web shop to a new platform
- the site is slow, hard to update or hard to find in search engines
When an app is right
An app pays off when the same people need to do the same thing often, right on their phone. It stays on the home screen and is built for exactly that task.
Choose an app if:
- your customers or staff need to do something often, right on their phone
- you have a web service that needs to work better on mobile
- you want to replace manual routines with a tool of your own
We build apps for iOS and Android from one shared codebase, for example with React Native. That gives you both platforms without building and paying twice.
When you need a system
A system is something you use internally, or that your customers log in to. It can be an internal tool, a customer portal or a connection between systems you already have.
Signs that a system is what you need:
- the same information is typed into several systems
- you have outgrown spreadsheets and manual routines
- customers or suppliers need a place of their own to log in
Often the best first step is not to build something new, but to connect what you already have so information does not have to be moved by hand.
Start with the problem
The question is rarely "should we have an app?". The question is what takes time, what goes wrong and who it affects. Once that is clear, the choice of solution tends to follow.
Larger projects can be built in stages. Start with the part that does the most good, use it for real, and build on once you know what is needed. That is cheaper than guessing right on the first try.
If you are unsure which one you need, that is exactly what the first meeting is for.