Byng Blog
When does a website become a web application?
22nd December 09 - Posted by Ollie Maitland
Many hardened web developers get upset after they have spent years honing their software development skills making slicker, sicker and faster web applications only to find themselves confused being a graphic designer. To a programmer this feels like a painter confused with an architect and when vice versa a seamstress confused with a fashion designer!
Although graphic designers and programmers have very different skills, both are vital very to the success of both websites and web applications design. Yet the distinction between a creative, artistic designers and analytical problem solver is an important one to consider when distinguishing between a "website" (something a graphic designer is very good at) and a "web application" (something a developer is geared up to do).
OK, now we've established there are two types of expert in the website and web application engineering fields how do the results differ, what happens if I ask a graphic designer to build a web application or a programmer to design a website? Let me draw you a table and then you can decide!
Considerations when building a...
| Website | Web Application |
|---|---|
| Led by the marketing department to fulfil a marketing objective | Led by the operations department to fulfil a business need |
| Designed to improve sales, gather new customers | Designed to improve efficiency, increase customer satisfaction and plan business needs |
| Typically on a 3 to 12 month timeline | Typically on a 1 to 5 year timeline |
| Minimal engagement with the supplier post completion | Continual engagement with the supplier and high understanding of the ongoing business need |
| Visuals and imagery are extremely important to separate the customer from their competitors | Usability is important and generised workflows |
| Usage of the latest trends and fashions | Technology should demonstrate stability and testing in other environments |
| Replace the website in a year or so | Hopes never to address this area of this business in my lifetime! |
| I expect the person building the website to spend more of their time building graphical concepts | I primarily expect the developer to build use-cases and understand the business need |
From the table above we can see that the differences are actually fairly marked. Websites and web application should be easy to tell apart - but in the modern internet and information highways they tend to be intertwined. Should they?
Our view is that websites and web applications should be kept as separate concerns. Merging the functions can be done without merging the technologies. The implementation of a simple API on the web application provides the website builder (and any future incarnations) the ability to build to a common platform without stressing the development of the web application.
So the answer to the original question is... you should have both a website and web application!
Tagged with : web applications, ria
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