Half the people who ask for "an app" need a website. A few who ask for a website need a system. Here is how to tell them apart before anybody quotes anything.
A website
For: telling people who you are and getting them to contact or buy.
Pages that anyone can visit — home, services, about, contact — with forms that email you. An online store is a website with a shopping cart. If your goal is being found and being chosen, this is it.
A web app
For: running part of your business.
Software that lives in the browser, usually behind a login: a booking system, a customer portal, a job tracker for staff, a quoting tool. Nothing to install; it works on any device with a browser, including phones. When people say "we need a system" or "the spreadsheet is killing us", this is what they mean.
A mobile app
For: something people use often, on the move, that needs the phone itself.
Installed from the App Store or Play Store. Worth it when you genuinely need push notifications, the camera or GPS in the field, working offline, or an icon on the home screen that people tap every day. Not worth it just to "have an app" — a web app can be added to a home screen and looks and behaves almost the same.
A quick test
- Will the public use it without logging in? → Website.
- Will your team or your customers use it behind a login, from a browser? → Web app.
- Does it truly need the camera, GPS, offline use or push notifications, daily? → Mobile app. Otherwise, start with a web app.
The good news
They are not separate purchases. A web app usually starts with a website in front of it, and a mobile app usually needs a web app behind it. We build all three from the same team, so starting small does not mean starting over later.
Not sure? Pick I'm not sure on the spec form and describe the problem. We will tell you which one it is.