Although for the average person it may seem that they refer to the same thing, web development and software development are different things. The first is related to the creation of websites or applications that deserve to be hosted.
What is web development?
It is the process of creating and maintaining websites or applications. It involves a variety of actions ranging from coding and design, to content management and web server management. For its development, you need programming languages such as JavaScript, PHP, HTML and CSS. The use of each one will depend on the type of activity they carry out.
Web development takes place in the background. Its correct performance allows a site to function properly, look good and offer a good user experience . In cases where the project being worked on is extensive, several professionals can deal with the different aspects that web application development company and its requires.
What is software development?
As for software development, it consists of a cluster of activities typical of the field of computing, which carry out a software project , from its planning to its development and delivery to the client. Likewise, it includes the actions of writing, solving and maintaining the source code of a program.
Thanks to its implementation, end users can use functional, agile, dynamic and practical websites. Likewise, professionals dedicated to this area are trained to look for flaws in programs, applications and operating systems, in order to provide solutions that improve them.
How is web development different from software development?
Taking as reference the information presented above, the most notable differences between web development and software development will be explained below :
1. Regarding the host
- The final product of software development does not require hosting, because it is stored directly on the device where it will be executed.
- Web development requires web hosting, also known as hosting , through the Intranet or Internet.
2. Regarding architecture or engineering
- The implementation of software development focuses solely on the customer. In this context, the client refers to a software or computer, which accesses a server to retrieve special services or data from it.
- For its part, web development contemplates both the client and the server.
3. Regarding the system
- Applications obtained from software design are usually used on the same device on which they have been installed. Therefore, in many cases, it is not possible to access them from other machines.
- As mentioned above, the digital products obtained from web development are hosted on a server. Therefore, you can access them from different platforms.
4. Regarding design
- The design in software development requires following a set of specific recommendations, which programmers have to take into account. This way they will be able to write clear, understandable and easy-to-maintain code.
- For web development, graphic arts are applied to Internet content. The design of websites is essential because the trust that a user may feel towards a brand will depend on it , preventing any difficulty that prevents them from appreciating the content through which they accessed.
5. Regarding the content
- Carrying out software development methodologies, sections of fixed content are created. It includes all those texts and images on the site that will not be modified in the short term, for example, page descriptions, instructions, buttons, menus, among others.
- Web development makes it easy to manage static pages and interactive web content. The latter allows users to carry out an action on it, some examples are videos, ebooks or questionnaires.
6. Regarding security protocols
- Security develops throughout the software development life cycle. It involves constant checks in construction, starting from the initial phases. In this way it is possible to detect and correct any errors that may occur.
- Unlike web development where applications and sites deserve greater protection against malware , viruses or attacks from cybercriminals . Therefore, it focuses on protecting users against any attempt to access, use, modify or interrupt their accounts that are not authorised.
Likewise, it is worth noting that web development focuses on applications that perform correctly in different browsers - for example, Chrome, Opera, Firefox, among others. While software development, in addition to being able to make applications for the web, also focuses on the progress of codes that are capable of working on other machines , such as an appliance or a product that is part of the Internet of Things.
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