When you need a web application or an intranet
Not every idea fits into a website. Some belong in a web app or a private intranet — here is how to tell.
Websites present information. Web apps let people do something. Intranets do both — for your own team, behind a login.
Signs you need a web application
- Users create accounts and log in.
- They upload, edit, calculate, book, or manage something.
- There is a dashboard, a workflow, or an admin panel.
- The core value is a function, not a page of text.
Examples: booking systems, member portals, custom calculators, small SaaS tools, internal quoting tools.
Signs you need an intranet
- Your team keeps asking the same questions.
- Documents live in five different shared drives.
- Onboarding a new hire takes days of copy-paste.
- You want internal news, procedures and schedules in one place.
Both are heavier projects than a marketing site, but the ROI is direct — either new revenue (web app) or saved hours (intranet). Web app builds are available on my services, and intranet development is on the roadmap. Feel free to get in touch to discuss scope.
Ready to start?
Related reading
- Website types explained: simple sites, CMS, webshops, landing pages, web apps and intranets
A plain-English guide to the main website types, when to use each, and how they map to the services I offer.
- Shopify vs custom webshop — how to choose
Both can work. The right answer depends on catalogue size, margins, integrations and how much you want to touch.
- CMS or a simple static site — which one fits you?
If you plan to publish regularly, you need a CMS. If not, a fast static site will serve you better and cost less.