![]() While on the surface it may look much like a desktop app, it is still missing some of the powerful under-the-hood features that give desktop apps an advantage, such as access to OS features. Sounds almost just like a desktop app, right? You can access it while offline through caching. There is no browser border surrounding it, you can pin it to your taskbar or homescreen. Once installed, it can be opened and run like a mobile/desktop app. You can install it with one click onto your device. New technologies are making it easier to get the best of both worlds □.Īn evolving technology that seeks to draw on some of the benefits of native applications, a Progressive Web App (PWA) is essentially a web app with a few extra lines of code added to allow it to look and act like a mobile or desktop app. But, as I mentioned earlier, we no longer have to choose between the two. You can see that there are benefits to both approaches. They have their own presence on a user’s desktop, instead of just being another tab in the browser. This makes them great for long-term, daily use. Once installed, desktop apps can open on start-up or become the default application for opening a certain file. There are instances of web apps that work offline and desktop apps that don’t. However, this is just a general rule, of which there are exceptions. ![]() Desktop apps can be opened and run without an internet connection. Web apps typically require an internet connection to access and save progress. The capabilities of a web app are limited by the capabilities of the browser on which it’s run. These steps are just extra effort for the user and provide more chances for things to go wrong and cause frustration.ĭesktop apps can use OS features such as the notification system and file management, while web apps have very restricted access. Desktop apps require the user to install the software and apply updates when major versions are released. Web apps require no installation and updates are applied automatically. ✅ Require no installation or manual updates Desktop apps exist only on the devices they have been installed on. Including on a mobile device or a shared computer. However, when designing and building a web app, considerations still need to be made for different browsers. Web apps will be able to function pretty much the same across different operating systems, while a different version of a desktop app may need to be built for Windows, Mac and Linux - each with its own set of design standards that users will expect. Both have their benefits, from a user’s perspective, in different situations: What do I mean by ‘web app’ and ‘desktop app’? Web apps run inside a web browser, while desktop apps are installed and run on the user’s machine. The first thing we need to understand is the positives and negatives of web-apps versus desktop apps. Our users’ context and tasks, and how these relate to what technology choice might be best for them. The different technical approaches available, and how each one influences the end user experience. To contribute to these conversations, we should have an appreciation for two areas: But what can often be underrepresented is a consideration of the real end-users, and what approach might be best for them. ![]() Of course, a deep understanding of the technical tradeoffs is essential. The choice of whether to build a web-only app, a PWA, a desktop container app or a native desktop application is one that is usually dominated by technical discussions. Why pick between creating a desktop app or a web app when you could have both? We can now get some of the advantages of native desktop applications for much cheaper using technologies such as desktop containers and progressive web apps (PWAs), whilst also maintaining an online offering. Thanks to recent advancements, the gap between web apps and desktop apps is shrinking. Or invest massive resources into building and maintaining both. Once upon a time, if you wanted to create an application, you’d have to decide if you wanted to build a web app or a desktop app.
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