A website presents information. A web app lets people log in and do things, runs in the browser and can be installed on a phone's home screen. A store app is downloaded from Google Play or the App Store and can use more of the phone. For most business systems a web app is enough, costs less and updates instantly. Choose a store app when you need deep access to the phone, heavy daily use, or to be found in the store.
The three, side by side
| Website | Web app | Store app | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it is for | Telling people about you | Letting people log in and do things | The same, with more access to the phone |
| How people get it | A link | A link. Can be added to the home screen | Downloaded from a store |
| Works with no connection | No | Yes, if built for it | Yes, if built for it |
| Notifications | No | Yes on Android. On iPhone, once added to the home screen | Yes |
| Camera and location | Limited | Yes | Yes |
| Bluetooth, background tasks | No | Limited | Yes |
| Updates | Instant | Instant | Through the store, after review |
| Found in an app store | No | No | Yes |
| Store accounts | None | None | Google US$25 once. Apple US$99 a year |
| At ADA Lab | ADA Web, from N$1,199.99 | From N$12,999.99 | From N$34,999.99 |
What an installable web app is
Developers call it a progressive web app, or PWA. It is a web app that a phone can install: it gets an icon on the home screen, opens full-screen without the browser's address bar, and can keep working without a connection. To be installable in Chrome it needs to be served securely and to carry a small file describing its name, icons and start page. On iPhones, web apps added to the home screen have been able to send notifications since iOS 16.4.
What phones people here use
In September 2026, Android accounted for 81.47% of mobile web use in Namibia and iOS for 18.53%, according to StatCounter. A web app works on both from one version. If you build for a store, build for Android first or for both together.
When a store app is the right choice
- You need Bluetooth, background location or other deep access to the phone.
- People will open it many times a day, for a long time.
- Being listed in the store is part of how customers find you.
- Your users expect to find you there and will not trust a link.
When a web app is the better choice
- It is a business system used by your own staff.
- Customers use it now and then: to book, apply, pay or check something.
- You want one version to maintain and updates that reach everyone at once.
- Data is expensive for your users, and a download of tens of megabytes is a barrier.
- The budget is limited and the idea is not yet proven.
A sensible order
- A prototype to test the screens, for N$3,999.99.
- A web app as the first working version.
- A store app later, if use proves the need. The server and the records built for the web app carry over.