Website or Web App: Which Does Your Business Need?

Most small businesses need a website, not a custom web app. A website presents what you offer and brings in enquiries. A web app does work: people sign in, enter data, come back to it and change it. Only when your idea genuinely needs that is custom development worth considering.

In between sits the option people overlook most often: a website plus a ready-made tool for bookings, payments, newsletters or invoices. Three questions usually settle it. Who logs in? What data is stored per person? And does software for your workflow already exist?

The difference in one sentence

A website informs; a web app performs. A website looks the same to every visitor: services, prices, team, contact details. A web app shows each user something different: their orders, their appointments, their documents.

Both live in the browser. A web app is built with the same web technologies as a website and can even behave like an installed app on a phone. The difference is not the technology but what the application does for the people using it.

The decision table

Read each row and note which column describes your plan. The column with the most hits is your starting point.

If most of your hits are in the middle column, that is good news. Your task is common enough that someone has already solved it.

Five checks before you commission anything

• Is there at least one ready-made product that covers your core workflow, and have you actually tried it?
• Would customers or staff use the application regularly, not just once?
• Can you describe in three sentences what the first version must do?
• Do you know who will maintain the data, answer user questions and arrange updates after launch?
• Have you budgeted for hosting and maintenance as well as the build?

If the first answer is yes, trial that tool first. If you hesitate on questions two to five, it is usually too early for custom development.

Things that look like a web app but are not

• A contact form is a standard part of any website.
• A booking widget from a scheduling provider is embedded in your site, and the logic runs on the provider's side. Even Google Calendar offers appointment schedules with their own booking page, though some features need an eligible paid plan.
• A newsletter sign-up belongs to your newsletter service.
• An online shop is its own category, with dedicated shop systems.
• A client area with downloadable PDFs can often be a shared folder or the portal built into your industry software.

If your question is specifically about bookings, Booking software or a custom app goes deeper.

Three examples

What a web app adds to your responsibilities

A custom application is more than a bigger website. You take on responsibility for logins and stored data. The security risks of web applications are well documented; the OWASP Top 10 is the reference list of the most critical ones. Access rights in particular need careful planning and testing.

If personal data is processed by service providers such as hosting or email services, the GDPR generally requires a data processing agreement with each of them (Art. 28). That applies to many ready-made tools, too, so it is not a reason to build or not to build.

Accessibility can matter as well. Germany's Accessibility Strengthening Act (BFSG) has applied since 28 June 2025. The federal accessibility agency names online appointment booking, alongside online sales, as an example of a covered service, while a purely informational website is generally not covered. Micro-enterprises providing services are exempt: fewer than ten employees and annual turnover or balance sheet total of no more than €2 million. If you are unsure whether your service is covered, get legal advice.

Whatever you choose, a commercial website in Germany needs an Impressum (legal notice) that is easy to find and always available (§ 5 DDG). That is part of the website, not the app.

And if it really should be a web app?

Then start small. Decide which single job the first version must do and consciously leave everything else out. Web App MVP: features for version one shows how. What drives the cost, and which running costs come on top, is covered in How much does a custom web app cost in Germany?.

The same principle applies to the website: more pages are not automatically better. What a business website costs explains what to budget.

What Ichii offers for either route

Ichii builds business websites of up to 10 pages for a one-time €790 net, and small, clearly defined web apps from €1,999 net, one-time; for an app, the final price depends on the agreed functions and is fixed in a written quote before the start. The entry price does not cover every platform: portals with complex roles, ERP connections or many integrations are outside that scope. Hosting, third-party services and technical maintenance from €29 per month are charged separately, and all prices are plus VAT.

Your next step

Work through the table and the five checks. If you land on "website" or "website plus tool", look at the business website offer. If you are still unsure, describe in the project enquiry who should do what with the application and choose "Not sure yet". We will work out the answer with you on a call.