Web Services vs Web Applications

Web services and web applications are both ways to build and extend the functionality of your company’s website. They are different in many ways, but each has the benefits that make it a good choice for specific projects. Learn more about web services vs web applications.

Difference Between Web Services and Web Applications

Web applications are standalone programs that use web services to run. You can access web applications to perform tasks that range from retrieving information, posting personal blogs, and contributing comments.

On the other hand, web service is a means by which two computers communicate directly via the Internet or another network with the help of an application layer protocol suite such as HTTP. The data transmitted across these networks are processed by programs commonly referred to as web services.

What Are Web Services?

Web Services are sets of pre-defined operations for computing services on a network. They are published using a standard XML-based language and transported using open Internet protocols like HTTP and SOAP. Web services that follow the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) standards are known as W3C Web Services.

What Are Web Applications?

A web application is an application that runs in a web browser. It may be a website with a lot of interactivity or an app with little to no visual elements. A web app has more capabilities and usually more flexibility than a website. Web applications are used to fill a need in the business world. They are built around specific solutions that solve everyday problems.

Why Use Web Services

Web services are more flexible than Web applications, allowing you to easily change your data structure without redesigning your entire application. They also scale better than Web applications because they are not dependent on a particular language or platform and can be deployed anywhere on the Internet with little effort or cost involved. Finally, web services provide increased security compared with traditional client/server architectures because all communications occur over an encrypted channel instead of being sent directly from one computer system (the client) to another computer system (the server).

Benefits of Web Applications

Web applications are more interactive, user-friendly, and secure than web services.

• They let users interact with the application using a browser or mobile device
• Web apps can be accessed from anywhere and at any time
• They are also available on different devices, such as desktop computers, tablets, and smartphones.

Types of Web Applications

The types of web applications range from e-commerce to cloud storage to video conferencing to social networking websites. Here are some common types of web applications:

• E-commerce stores. These sites can be enhanced with additional features for customers, such as reviews, wishlist and ratings.
• File sharing and cloud storage. These services allow users to store files online and access them anywhere.
• Document collaboration. Many businesses use cloud-based business applications for multiple users to collaborate on a single document.
• Information management applications (IMAs). These applications help businesses manage data through large databases that multiple users can update.

Types of Web Services

Web services are applications that are hosted on the web. These include:

• Client-server
• Web APIs
• SOAP services
• REST.

Conclusion

Web applications and services have their benefits and drawbacks. Web services are a good option f you’re building an application that requires communication between multiple systems or devices. On the other hand, if your project only needs to run on one computer or device, then web applications might be a better option.