A Web application designer is someone who is able to understand and reiterate to the client what the client wants a program to do and to solve an existing problem or challenge. Web applications are essentially software solutions that run on a Web server. They are designed to increase profits, increase efficiency, or reduce costs of a manual or legacy business process.

On the Web there are two basic categories of sites; static web pages where what you see is what you get. On the other hand, a Web application is a software application that is accessed via Web browser over a network such as the Internet or an intranet. It is also a computer software program that is coded in a browser-supported language (such as HTML, JavaScript, PHP, etc.) and reliant on a common web browser to render the application executable.

Web applications are popular due to the ubiquity of a client, sometimes called a thin client. The ability to update and maintain Web applications without distributing and installing software on potentially thousands of client computers is a key reason for their popularity. Common Web applications include Webmail, online retail sales, online auctions, wikis, discussion boards, Weblogs, Customer Relationship Management programs (CRM), and many other programs.

Even in today's business environment, there are many businesses who still process their information manually or who are dependent on outdated legacy applications that cannot effectively share their output with other databases. A Web application may be the solution to your inefficient business process if speed, automation, and flexibility are some of your desires.

Why do you believe a Web application may be the solution you are looking for? What specifically do you need the application to accomplish? How will you measure its effectiveness once it is complete?

We have several teams of custom web site designers who specialize in custom Web applications for medium to large companies in the industrial gas supplier market. What inefficient business process do you have that could be made more efficient and more effective through a custom Web application?

How should one go about choosing a custom Web site designer? Start with list of what you want your new or revamped web site to do. For most companies, the primary reason to have a web site is to get more customers. Your web site should be an investment in your business development efforts. But how exactly do you do this?

Put yourself in the shoes of your potential customers and ask yourself what you would look for if you were looking for the products or services you offer. Better yet, if you're already an established company, ask your current customers what they would do if they didn't already do business with you. How would they go about finding a supplier of your products or services?

What keywords would they use to search for what you have to offer? Would they even use a major search engine? Would they perhaps ask around their personal or business network to find out whom others have used and how satisfied they were with the company they chose to do business with? Chances are, they would likely at least conduct some research in both areas.

Before you build your new Web site or redesign your current one, the most important step is to decide how your prospective customers will find your site, and find it useful and how you will effectively convert visitors into customers. A Web site in and of itself is only piece in the conversion equation.

In the case of a larger company, prospects would likely turn to internal resources for services while looking externally for products. Whom do we know who can provide the products or services we need? If they were to decide to search on one of the major search engines, what terms, or keywords would they use to search for to achieve their objectives?

Typically, a custom web site designer or custom web application designer will be capable of both the design and development of your Web site or application. However, in some cases, a custom Web site designer will only create the graphic design of the overall look and feel while another person - often within the same company will provide the programming development - create the code that makes the site function.

Remember too, that custom Web site designers sometimes create internal or Intranet applications designed for use by employees or vendors and not necessarily your customers. In this case, these designers work with custom web application designers to either automate or improve currently inefficient business processes.

In any event, custom Web site designers and developer work together, usually under the direction of a project manager as well as hand-in-hand with the client to create a Web solution that satisfies all of the client's needs which - even with extensive upfront planning often grow throughout the project lifecycle.