Web Brochures vs. Web Applications
This page compares web brochures with web applications. "Web brochure" is a term for websites, which primarily offer information to users, but only little interaction with respect to data entry or selection. A typical web brochure is a museum website where users can learn about a museum's exhibits. Web applications may also offer information, as is done, for example, in product catalogs. But their main goal is to enable users to accomplish a certain task, like ordering products from an online store.
Examples
The following examples of a web brochure and a web application look very similar, but the users' tasks and interests are quite different for the two. The web brochure shows a museum's catalog. Users may want to browse the catalog, in order to see what the museum has to offer, get background information for the exhibits, and learn when the museum is open to the public. The application example also offers a catalog, but here the users browse the catalog in order to find and order products, like T-shirts or shoes. The main or eventual goal of the users lies in the ordering action, even though many users may find browsing the catalog inspiring.
Figure 1: Example of a web brochure (catalog of the Hermitage museum); it presents a typical stylish page in a newspaper-like look with text and graphics (click to enlarge image)
Figure 2: Example of a web application (Quelle online shop); though the look is similar to the first example, there is more interaction on the pages (click to enlarge image)
Comparison
|
Web Brochures |
Web Applications |
|
|---|---|---|
|
Goal |
Information: |
Interaction: Data entry, data selection, checking, ordering |
|
Emphasis |
Professional look, graphic design |
Optimal support for the work flow |
|
Implementation |
Few interaction steps (e.g. data entries) Navigation (browsing) - many integrated hyperlinks with jumps to other pages |
Simple applications Preferably little navigation (apart from catalogs) |
|
Support |
The "typical" web style guides (e.g. Yale web style guide) |
MiniApp guidelines, these guidelines |
Source: SAP Interaction Design Guide for Internet Application Components