What is the difference between an app and a website, and which one do you actually need?

People often say "app" when they mean "website," and the two get used interchangeably enough in everyday conversation that it is worth being precise before spending money on either one. A website lives in a browser, is found through search, and is built to be seen by anyone who lands on it. An app, whether that is a mobile app on a phone or a web app used like software, is built to be used repeatedly by a smaller, specific group of people to do something.

If what you need is for people to find you, understand what you offer, and get in touch, that is a website, and building an app for that job usually adds cost and friction without adding anything a visitor actually wanted. If what you need is for a specific group, your staff, your regular customers, a delivery team, to do a repeated task more easily, that is closer to an app, and a website alone will not solve it no matter how well it is designed.

A fair number of businesses genuinely need both eventually: a website that brings people in, and a tool that keeps things running once they are past the front door. The mistake is usually building the second one before it is needed, or trying to force the first one to do the second one's job.

If you are not sure which side of that line your business is on, the simplest test is to ask who the thing is actually for: anyone who might be interested, or a specific group doing a specific job. The answer usually settles it.