Web Development Vs. Custom Software Development — What’s the difference?

With the increase in the importance of technology, business owners are getting influenced by it and opting to have an online platform for their business. People prefer to have a web application to connect their employees and clients over the internet or digitalize their working style by getting software that centralizes their work.

Both web development and custom software development are popular in the market for their digital services. But which to select is a big question for organizations that want to go digital. Therefore, in this blog, we will walk through the differences between web application development and software application development and explore a few details.

What is Web Development?

Web development is simply a website building and maintenance process. It is a procedure that makes the website look good, perform well, and work robustly. Web development refers to aspects like coding and writing for building websites. It uses CMS (Content Management Systems) to make content changes available.

The web app developers can use open-source tools like GlassFish, LAMP, BerkeleyDB, and Perl for the development process. With the help of tools like these, the development team can create applications as web services like Dropbox, Google Drive, and Adobe Creative Cloud.

Division of Web App Development

Web application development is mainly divided into two areas, and they are -

1. Server-side

In web development, the back-end processes are supported by the server-side design. These back-end processes are meant to create a digital infrastructure for the web pages.

2. Client-side

Client-side development focuses on the features of the applications that help the users to navigate. It also allows the users to instruct the website about what they want, and the response will be given to them by the server-side system.

Popular Languages Used to Create Web Application

• JavaScript
• JavaScript/JQuery Frameworks
• CSS/HTML
• Java
• Python
• Go

Types of Web Application Development

Web app development is not just limited to smartphones; instead, it is also designed to run on various fixed computers, mobile devices, browsers, and laptops. Here is the list of different types of web app development -

• Static Web Application
• eCommerce
• Portal Web Application
• Animated Web Application

What is Custom Software Development?

Custom software development is nothing but a process to create computer software using various programming languages that provide unique functionalities for different businesses. It is a planned initiative with multiple stages that helps in creating operational software.

The custom application development process is carried out with the use of computer programming. It uses techniques like requirements definition, code design, data flow, process flow, code creation, testing, and debugging to give a user-centric end product.

Stages of Software Development Life Cycle

There are various stages the software development process follows in order to develop and enhance computer systems. They are -

1. Preparing Specification
2. Defining Criteria
3. Specification of the Criteria
4. Development
5. Testing
6. Implementation
7. Deployment

Popular Languages Used to Create Software Application

• Java
• Python
• Ruby
• C#
• C++

Types of Custom Software Application Development

The customized software applications provide unique products to the businesses as per their requirements and market needs. Some of the best types of software app development are -

• Real-Time Applications
• Big Data Applications
• Mobile Applications
• Desktop Applications

Understand the Difference Between the Job of Web Developer and Software Developer

1. Work of Web Developers

The web app developers create websites and applications that focus on the user’s requirements. The web developers work on databases and software that is known as back-end development. Some experts also work on virtual interface and design, known as front-end development, and such experts are called full-stack developers.

The web developers have few responsibilities as follows-

• Use of scripting and programming languages like JavaScript for creating code of the website.
• Components like prototyping, planning, and designing of the application.
• Running tests to measure the performance of each feature.
• Creating & testing program interface
• Creating, testing, and updating databases.

2. Work of Software Developers

The software developers are the experts that are included in the high-tech sector. They are responsible for creating a perfect combination of creativity and technical skills. Software developers must have the ability to understand the parameters of the project and create the out of box project.

Software development experts aim to create software projects for computers and devices associated with it. Many different skills are expected from expert software developers. They are-

• Working independently, analyzing needs, designing flowcharts, and creating databases.
• Capabilities of designing, developing, and testing software from the base.
• Work experience with Java, Android, Java Framework, JavaScript, and iOS programming.
• Conduct research for upgrading and changing features of the software.
• Understand data structures, web services, software design, algorithms, and XML.

Standard Skill Sets Required by Both Web Development Team & Custom Software Development Team

1. Focus on Detailing

Be it web development or custom software development, focusing on the detailing is essential for both. The app developers must be able to listen and understand the client’s perspective about the project. The app developing engineers might reuse the code written by someone else to provide exceptional features, and to do this, they need to interpret the developers’ instructions.

Besides this, the developers need to be very attentive while coding as one mistake can fail the entire feature or even the whole system.

2. Learn & Understand Pattern

The custom software development services providers and web developers must be well-trained and focus on improving their skills with each passing day. They should understand the changing pattern of technology and should get tailored to it with time.

3. Learn to Write Algorithms

Working on every application might not be easy. There will come some problems that cannot be solved by writing a line of code. Therefore, the developers need to break it down into small pieces and create a code that the computer understands. This concept is known as the Algorithm. To create an algorithm, there is a set of instructions that must be followed to create a layout, and then it can be converted into a code.

The Difference: Web Development Vs. Custom Software Development

The difference between web development and software development is very confusing but also has different factors that make these two processes unique in their own aspects. The developers of these two development procedures need to learn computer fundamentals, data structure, computer architecture, and programming code to provide a perfect solution. But in comparison to software development, web development is a more straightforward process to learn and work on for any developer. Now, let us see the comparison between web development and custom software development in various aspects.

1. Host

When it comes to custom software development, hosting is not involved. And on the other hand, if it is a website, there is a need to host it on the internet or the intranet. To host the web application, the development team needs to choose the best suits like a third-party platform to its own infrastructure.

2. Customization

Customization has its benefits and drawbacks at the same time. This is especially the case with software development applications. But that is not the case with web applications. They have broader options for customization.

3. Performance

The software applications primarily focus on performing better in simulation and database management. It also has some kind of limitations in creating innovative software. While the web applications can work well on multiuser systems and even on data centralization systems.

4. System

The software applications have to be used on the same machine they have been mounted on. At the same time, web applications can be accessed from any platform. This is because the web-based services have been introduced to a server.

5. Architecture

The architecture of custom software development only focuses on client-based. While in the case of web development, coding is known as the graphic arts of website content.

6. Platform

In software development, a project is created by considering a particular platform. This can sometimes make the application rigid. While on the other hand, web applications can be developed for multiple platforms.

7. Security Protocols

Custom software applications do not need extra security protection, but web applications do. Web applications need to be protected from malware and viruses as it is easily available on the internet for hackers to attack it.

8. Scripting

The coding in software development can be achieved without any scripting language. While in web development, scripting is commonly used.

9. Content

When it comes to content, custom software development has panels that create static content. While with the web-based application, the static pages, and the interactive pages, everything needs well-organized content.

Conclusion

To explain it in a generalized manner, one can say that software development is a window-based application created by a custom software development company to satisfy the needs of a particular client. At the same time, web app development is creating and designing apps that work on the internet or intranet, which can be used by a broader audience.