Series Overview

Web technology has come along away since the dawn of the internet over two decades ago.  Its advances has enabled the creation of web applications that mimic or even surpass their traditional software counterpart.

I decided to create a small series of blog posts to talk about what makes web applications great and why you might consider them for your next project. The information presented does not only address the benefits from a developer's point of view, but also for an end user or an investor.

Reason #1 : Cost

Distribution

Web applications are simply websites with advanced controls and dynamic content. This web nature means users don't have to download or order any installation packages to use the application. All they have to do is go to the application's web address and they're ready to go. This ultimately reduces costs of distribution for developers, as well as the purchasing costs for the end users.

In addition, businesses who utilise these web application can save on distribution costs too. As with most companies, the IT department is responsible for installing all the software packages that are needed by its employees. Time spent setting up every employee's system to use an application adds up especially if the company doesn't have a process in place for group software deployment or if the application isn't compatible with such processes. This additional time adds to the overall IT expenses. 

Development

There is a vast amount of open source software and tools out there that can be used to kick start the development process of any web application. This will save developers a lot of development time and costs. 

Infrastructure

Depending on the application's level of demand, developers can make use of shared servers (shared hosting or VPS) to host their web applications at a fraction of the cost of dedicated servers.