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Showcase site or web app: which one for your project?
People often conflate “site” and “application.” They're not the same thing, nor the same budget, nor the same timeline. Choosing the right one from the start avoids paying for what you don't need — or outgrowing it too soon.
Two very different things
| Criterion | Showcase site | Web app |
|---|---|---|
| Its job | Present, convince, generate leads | Deliver a service online |
| What it holds | Your offers, your brand — largely static | Accounts, data, business logic, payments, dashboards |
| What it requires | Speed and SEO | Architecture, tests and maintenance |
| Indicative budget | €3,000 – €10,000 | On quote, in iterations |
| Usual timeline | 3 to 6 weeks | In iterations |
The showcase site
It presents: your business, your offers, your brand. Its job is to convince and generate contacts. It's largely static, fast, optimised for SEO. If your need is “be found and create desire,” a showcase site is enough.
The web app
It does things: user accounts, data, business logic, payments, dashboards. Its job is to deliver a service online. It's a product, with architecture, tests and maintenance. If your users must log in and act, you need an application.
Does the visitor come to read, or to do?
How to decide
It's the only question to ask. If they come to read and contact you, it's a site. If they come to perform a recurring task, it's an application. Many projects start with a showcase site and add an application once the need is clear.