[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":403},["ShallowReactive",2],{"$fi_SA3l8D9e4tuLzFLMXUroEj8Vi4FUp0B2g2TbBke08":3,"post-do-you-need-a-web-app-or-a-website":147},{"site":4,"features":8,"stripe":10,"bridalfile":12,"navigation":13,"branding":124,"footer":127},{"id":5,"name":6,"domain":7},"7578a1b2-a8ec-462f-8980-d46ebefc76a2","Pwa Developer","pwadeveloper.uk",{"products":9,"bookings":9,"event_capacity":9,"ugc":9},false,{"enabled":9,"test_mode":11},true,{"enabled":9},{"footer":14,"header":42,"services":67},{"id":15,"name":16,"items":17},"4c83a83d-7d89-442d-8e4c-717e61d71c19","Footer Navigation",[18,22,26,30,34,38],{"id":19,"url":20,"label":21},"b8c9d0e1-f2a3-4b4c-5d6e-7f8a9b0c1d2e","/about","About",{"id":23,"url":24,"label":25},"c9d0e1f2-a3b4-4c5d-6e7f-8a9b0c1d2e3f","/blog","Blog",{"id":27,"url":28,"label":29},"d0e1f2a3-b4c5-4d6e-7f8a-9b0c1d2e3f4a","/contact","Contact",{"id":31,"url":32,"label":33},"e1f2a3b4-c5d6-4e7f-8a9b-0c1d2e3f4a5b","/websites","Websites",{"id":35,"url":36,"label":37},"d1e2f3a4-1111-4a2b-8c3d-dddd11112222","/services/nuxt","Nuxt",{"id":39,"url":40,"label":41},"d2e3f4a5-2222-4b3c-9d4e-dddd22223333","/services/supabase","Supabase",{"id":43,"name":44,"items":45},"090e7007-6dd0-4416-8ce2-2680c446d2a9","Main Navigation",[46,48,52,56,58,60,62],{"id":47,"url":20,"label":21},"c3d4e5f6-a7b8-4c9d-0e1f-2a3b4c5d6e7f",{"id":49,"url":50,"label":51},"a43446fd-355b-474a-a846-6f02ba7b4f68","/services","Services",{"id":53,"url":54,"label":55},"6b5e66d9-5267-4948-86b9-11ef75fcf821","/how-i-build","How I Build",{"id":57,"url":32,"label":33},"a1b2c3d4-5e6f-4a7b-8c9d-0e1f2a3b4c5d",{"id":59,"url":24,"label":25},"d4e5f6a7-b8c9-4d0e-1f2a-3b4c5d6e7f8a",{"id":61,"url":28,"label":29},"f6a7b8c9-d0e1-4f2a-3b4c-5d6e7f8a9b0c",{"id":63,"url":64,"label":65,"target":66},"e5f6a7b8-c9d0-4e1f-2a3b-4c5d6e7f8a9b","https://www.youtube.com/@anothermagentodev9161","YouTube","_blank",{"id":68,"name":69,"items":70},"9a2b3c4d-9999-4a2b-8c3d-aaaabbbbcccc","Services Menu",[71,77,83,89,95,101,107,113,119],{"id":72,"url":73,"icon":74,"label":75,"description":76},"1a2b3c4d-1111-4a2b-8c3d-111122223333","/services/pwa","fa-solid fa-mobile-screen-button","PWA","Installable, offline-first apps",{"id":78,"url":79,"icon":80,"label":81,"description":82},"2b3c4d5e-2222-4b3c-9d4e-222233334444","/services/wordpress","fa-brands fa-wordpress","WordPress","Themes, plugins, rescue work",{"id":84,"url":85,"icon":86,"label":87,"description":88},"3c4d5e6f-3333-4c4d-8e5f-333344445555","/services/magento","fa-solid fa-cart-shopping","Magento","Ecommerce & platform work",{"id":90,"url":91,"icon":92,"label":93,"description":94},"4d5e6f70-4444-4d5e-9f60-444455556666","/services/vue","fa-brands fa-vuejs","Vue & Nuxt","Reactive frontends, SSR apps",{"id":96,"url":97,"icon":98,"label":99,"description":100},"708192a3-7777-4081-8293-777788889999","/services/headless-cms","fa-solid fa-cube","Headless","Structured content APIs",{"id":102,"url":103,"icon":104,"label":105,"description":106},"8192a3b4-8888-4192-93a4-88889999aaaa","/services/ai-consultancy","fa-solid fa-robot","AI Consultancy","Where AI actually helps",{"id":108,"url":109,"icon":110,"label":111,"description":112},"a1b2c3d4-1234-4a2b-8c3d-aaaa11112222","/services/migrations","fa-solid fa-arrow-right-arrow-left","Migrations","Move platforms, keep your SEO",{"id":114,"url":115,"icon":116,"label":117,"description":118},"b2c3d4e5-2345-4b3c-9d4e-bbbb22223333","/services/technical-seo","fa-solid fa-gauge-high","Technical SEO & Performance","Core Web Vitals & speed",{"id":120,"url":32,"icon":121,"label":122,"description":123},"c3d4e5f6-3456-4c4d-8e5f-cccc33334444","fa-solid fa-globe","Custom Websites","Bespoke sites, not templates",{"logo":125,"logoDark":125,"favicon":125,"tagline":126},null,"WordPress & Web Developer in Hull, East Yorkshire",{"summary":128,"copyright":125,"address":129,"contact":133,"socialLinks":134,"openingHours":146,"logos":125},"Senior freelance web developer in Hull, East Yorkshire. 15+ years building fast, custom websites and web apps in WordPress, Magento, Vue and Nuxt. Work directly with the developer.",{"line1":125,"line2":125,"city":130,"state":131,"postalCode":125,"country":132},"Hull","East Yorkshire","United Kingdom",{"phone":125,"email":125},[135,138,142],{"url":64,"icon":136,"platform":137},"fa-brands fa-youtube","youtube",{"url":139,"icon":140,"platform":141},"https://github.com/adamcjackson1982","fa-brands fa-github","github",{"url":143,"icon":144,"platform":145},"https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamcjackson/","fa-brands fa-linkedin","linkedin",[],{"id":148,"slug":149,"title":150,"excerpt":151,"content":152,"content_format":393,"featured_image":394,"published":11,"published_at":395,"meta_title":396,"meta_description":397,"fields":398},"977cb06c-2e77-42d9-b0fc-5ce9b3c825c5","do-you-need-a-web-app-or-a-website","Do You Actually Need a Web App, or Just a Website?","Half the Hull businesses who ask me for an app need a website with a good form. The other half were quoted for a website and needed a system. Five questions that settle which one you are.",{"type":153,"content":154},"doc",[155,161,165,169,176,180,184,188,193,197,252,256,261,265,269,273,278,282,286,299,304,308,312,324,329,333,365,369,374,378,382],{"type":156,"content":157},"paragraph",[158],{"text":159,"type":160},"A fair few of the enquiries I get from Hull businesses start with someone asking for an app, or a portal, or a system. When I ask what it needs to do, about half the time the honest answer is a website with a decent contact form.","text",{"type":156,"content":162},[163],{"text":164,"type":160},"The other half genuinely do need a web app, and they have been quoted for a website by three people who did not spot the difference. Both mistakes cost money. One wastes it up front, the other wastes it eighteen months later when the thing cannot do what the business needs.",{"type":156,"content":166},[167],{"text":168,"type":160},"So here is how I work out which one you are actually asking for, before anybody quotes anything.",{"type":170,"attrs":171,"content":173},"heading",{"level":172},2,[174],{"text":175,"type":160},"The plain difference",{"type":156,"content":177},[178],{"text":179,"type":160},"A website publishes. You put information on it, visitors read it, some of them get in touch. The content changes when you change it. Everyone who visits a given page sees the same thing.",{"type":156,"content":181},[182],{"text":183,"type":160},"A web app does work. Someone logs in, and what they see depends on who they are. They enter things, the system stores them, calculates something, and gives them back a result they could not have got on their own. Two people using it at the same time see different screens.",{"type":156,"content":185},[186],{"text":187,"type":160},"That is the actual line. Not how it looks, not whether it is on your phone. Does it publish, or does it do work.",{"type":170,"attrs":189,"content":190},{"level":172},[191],{"text":192,"type":160},"Five questions that settle it",{"type":156,"content":194},[195],{"text":196,"type":160},"I ask these on the first call. If you answer yes to two or more, you are looking at a web app.",{"type":198,"content":199},"bulletList",[200,212,222,232,242],{"type":201,"content":202},"listItem",[203],{"type":156,"content":204},[205,210],{"text":206,"type":160,"marks":207},"Does anyone need to log in? ",[208],{"type":209},"bold",{"text":211,"type":160},"Not you editing the site. Your customers or staff, seeing their own data.",{"type":201,"content":213},[214],{"type":156,"content":215},[216,220],{"text":217,"type":160,"marks":218},"Does it need to remember something between visits? ",[219],{"type":209},{"text":221,"type":160},"An order history, a booking, a job sheet, a saved quote.",{"type":201,"content":223},[224],{"type":156,"content":225},[226,230],{"text":227,"type":160,"marks":228},"Does it do a calculation or a decision? ",[229],{"type":209},{"text":231,"type":160},"Working out a price, allocating a slot, checking availability, flagging something for review.",{"type":201,"content":233},[234],{"type":156,"content":235},[236,240],{"text":237,"type":160,"marks":238},"Would two different users see different content? ",[239],{"type":209},{"text":241,"type":160},"If yes, there is a database and permissions behind it, which is a different build.",{"type":201,"content":243},[244],{"type":156,"content":245},[246,250],{"text":247,"type":160,"marks":248},"Does it replace a spreadsheet somebody currently maintains by hand? ",[249],{"type":209},{"text":251,"type":160},"This one is the strongest signal by a distance.",{"type":156,"content":253},[254],{"text":255,"type":160},"That last question is how most of my real app projects have started. Someone has a spreadsheet, it works, three people now need it at once, and it has stopped working. That is a web app and it is usually worth building.",{"type":170,"attrs":257,"content":258},{"level":172},[259],{"text":260,"type":160},"Where people go wrong in each direction",{"type":156,"content":262},[263],{"text":264,"type":160},"The expensive mistake is asking for a system when you need a website. It happens when someone has a big idea about where the business is going and wants the build to cover all of it. You end up paying for logins nobody uses and an admin area with four records in it, and the front of the site, the bit that actually brings enquiries in, is the thing that got rushed.",{"type":156,"content":266},[267],{"text":268,"type":160},"The other mistake is quieter and costs more. A business asks for a website, gets one, and then starts running the operational side through a mix of email, a WhatsApp group and a shared spreadsheet, because the site cannot do it. Nobody flags it as a problem because everyone is coping. Then you hire two more people and coping stops working.",{"type":156,"content":270},[271],{"text":272,"type":160},"Neither one is anybody being daft. The words are just not very precise. \"App\" gets used for everything from a phone icon to a booking system to a WordPress plugin, and it means nothing on its own.",{"type":170,"attrs":274,"content":275},{"level":172},[276],{"text":277,"type":160},"What each actually costs you, roughly",{"type":156,"content":279},[280],{"text":281,"type":160},"A website is a known shape. I can look at the pages, the templates and the integrations, and give you a fixed number. It is done, it goes live, it needs the odd bit of maintenance and not much else.",{"type":156,"content":283},[284],{"text":285,"type":160},"A web app is not a project with an end. It is a thing you now own that has users, data, and a support burden. The build is usually the smaller half of the cost over five years. That is not a reason to avoid it, but you should go in knowing that you are taking on a system, not commissioning a job.",{"type":156,"content":287},[288,290,297],{"text":289,"type":160},"Which is exactly why I try quite hard to talk people out of one if a website will do. I have written before about ",{"text":291,"type":160,"marks":292},"how I put a number on a website",[293],{"type":294,"attrs":295},"link",{"href":296},"/how-i-quote-a-website",{"text":298,"type":160}," and the honest version is that apps are harder to quote for precisely because they do not finish.",{"type":170,"attrs":300,"content":301},{"level":172},[302],{"text":303,"type":160},"The middle ground nobody mentions",{"type":156,"content":305},[306],{"text":307,"type":160},"Most of the Hull businesses I work with need a website with one app-shaped feature in it. A proper booking flow. A customer area where people can see their previous orders. A form that routes to different people depending on the answers.",{"type":156,"content":309},[310],{"text":311,"type":160},"That is a normal thing to build and it is not a full system. You get a fast, well-built site with the one bit of machinery you actually need, rather than a platform where ninety percent of it is unused. Start there. If the machinery turns out to be the important part, you can grow it, and you will be growing it with a year of real usage telling you what it should do.",{"type":156,"content":313},[314,316,322],{"text":315,"type":160},"If it does go that way, the question of whether it should be installable on a phone comes next, and I have covered that in ",{"text":317,"type":160,"marks":318},"PWA vs native app",[319],{"type":294,"attrs":320},{"href":321},"/pwa-vs-native-app",{"text":323,"type":160},". Worth reading after you have settled the website-or-app question, not before.",{"type":170,"attrs":325,"content":326},{"level":172},[327],{"text":328,"type":160},"How to have this conversation with a developer",{"type":156,"content":330},[331],{"text":332,"type":160},"Do not lead with the solution. Do not open with \"I need an app\". Describe the thing that is annoying you.",{"type":198,"content":334},[335,341,347,353,359],{"type":201,"content":336},[337],{"type":156,"content":338},[339],{"text":340,"type":160},"Who does the annoying job at the moment.",{"type":201,"content":342},[343],{"type":156,"content":344},[345],{"text":346,"type":160},"How long it takes them each week.",{"type":201,"content":348},[349],{"type":156,"content":350},[351],{"text":352,"type":160},"Where the information lives right now, honestly, including the spreadsheets and the notebook.",{"type":201,"content":354},[355],{"type":156,"content":356},[357],{"text":358,"type":160},"What goes wrong when it goes wrong.",{"type":201,"content":360},[361],{"type":156,"content":362},[363],{"text":364,"type":160},"How many people will be using whatever we build, on day one and in two years.",{"type":156,"content":366},[367],{"text":368,"type":160},"Any developer worth working with can take that and tell you what shape the answer is. If they can only tell you after you have specified it for them, that is worth noticing.",{"type":170,"attrs":370,"content":371},{"level":172},[372],{"text":373,"type":160},"Where I land",{"type":156,"content":375},[376],{"text":377,"type":160},"Nine times out of ten, the honest recommendation is: build the website properly, keep it fast, and add the one feature that removes the worst of the manual work. Then look again in a year with real numbers instead of assumptions.",{"type":156,"content":379},[380],{"text":381,"type":160},"The tenth time, the spreadsheet has already broken and the app is overdue, and every month spent not building it costs somebody a day a week.",{"type":156,"content":383},[384,386,391],{"text":385,"type":160},"If you are not sure which one you are, that is a fifteen minute conversation, not a project. I do a free half hour with no pitch attached, and I am happy to tell you a website will do. ",{"text":387,"type":160,"marks":388},"Book one here",[389],{"type":294,"attrs":390},{"href":28},{"text":392,"type":160}," and bring the spreadsheet.","tiptap","https://sktegczfmabucrnpgrvp.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/media/7578a1b2-a8ec-462f-8980-d46ebefc76a2/pwa-svg-blog-pwa.svg","2026-08-20T08:00:00+00:00","Web App or Website: Which Do You Need?","A Hull web developer on the real difference between a website and a web app, five questions that decide it, and the middle ground most businesses need.",{"tags":399},[400,401,402],"web-apps","websites","hull",1787990429303]