The short verdict
- A website is mostly content people read. A web app is mostly things people do.
- AI app builders treat both as apps, which suits one and not the other.
- Many projects are both. Split them: website on a content platform, app where it is.
01Why the difference matters now
Tools like Lovable, Bolt and v0 build everything as an app: a JavaScript project with components, state and often a database. That is exactly right for a booking system or a dashboard. For a homepage, a pricing page and a blog, it is like building a brochure as software. It works, but it makes editing, search and upkeep harder than they need to be.
02How to tell which you have
| Question | Website | Web app |
|---|---|---|
| Do people log in? | No | Yes |
| Is each visitor’s view different? | No, same for all | Yes, based on their data |
| What changes most often? | Text, images, posts | Features and logic |
| Who changes it? | Marketing, founders | Developers |
| Does search matter? | A lot | Rarely, behind a login |
If your answers are mostly in the left column, you have a website, even if a tool built it as an app.
03What each one needs
A website needs
- An editor non-developers can use without breaking things.
- A CMS for anything that repeats: posts, case studies, jobs.
- HTML pages that search engines and share previews can read.
- Speed on a first visit, from people who have never been there before.
A web app needs
- Accounts and permissions.
- A database and logic around it.
- Version control and testing, because changes can break real users’ work.
- A developer, sooner or later, whatever tool started it.
“Build the app like software and the website like publishing. Most trouble starts when one is treated as the other.”
04When it is both
Most software companies have both: a marketing site that explains and sells, and an app that customers use. The common setup is to split them by address.
- yourdomain.com on a content platform like Webflow, edited by the team.
- app.yourdomain.com wherever the app lives, maintained by developers.
Each part then gets the tools it needs, and a change to the homepage cannot break the login. A generated project that mixes both can usually be split this way without rewriting the app.
05Signs you have the wrong home
A website on an app stack: every text change needs a developer or a prompt, pages share one title, the blog is a folder of code files. An app on a website platform: logic held together by embeds and third-party scripts, user data in form submissions. Both are fixable, and both get worse the longer they run.
06Questions people ask
Can Webflow run an app?
It can handle simple member areas and forms, but it is not built for complex apps. For real app logic, keep a proper app stack.
Will splitting the project hurt SEO?
Usually it helps, since the marketing pages become easier to index. App pages behind a login are not meant to rank anyway.
Can the two parts share a design?
Yes. Matching fonts, colours and components makes the switch from site to app feel like one product.
Which one have I built?
Send us the link. We will tell you, and whether the marketing part would be better off on its own.
