Mauve Internet

Web Application Development

A web application is any system of software enabling complex interactivity between a client and server. This allows web pages to change according to the instructions in a program running on the server. It might collect, process and display information, control processes, or simply change randomly every time a page is loaded.

Why develop applications?

A site which does not contain any application development is known as a static site. A static site can only serve pages and be read, much like a book. Computers allow us to achieve much more - they are by nature interactive. The web, too, offers the opportunity to drive interactivity across the network, and exploiting this to its full potential can boost sales and cut the cost of maintaining a website.

Access to you

Your website become a tool for communicating with you. People use the internet at all times of the day, and your website will always be there telling them what they need to know. With a web application they can talk back to your website, leaving messages or even purchasing products.

Automating your business

Your website would repeatedly be "employee of the month" if it were human. It works 24 hours a day telling people what they want to know about you and your products or services. With a web application it can take orders, talk people through your services or products, maintain your records and even send mailshots to customers at the same time.

Easier control of information

Many web applications are simply useful for arranging the information you want to put online and making it more accessible to visitors. What if a visitor wants to see all your products sorted by size rather than by price? How can they filter out the products which would be of no use to them? This kind of information would be time-consuming if not impossible to create by hand, and update whenever your product list changes.

Greater Site Popularity

Dynamic sites get more hits because visitors know that the information, prices and so on are up to date. Dynamic sites are easy to spot: they exude a feeling that the site is live and well-maintained, and this increases the likelihood that people will bookmark the site, return to it, and suggest it to friends.

What is the cost?

We need to meet with you to draw up an extensive specification for your project before we can give an estimate of the cost. The magnitude and complexity of your project will both be a factor.

I'm not sure of our requirements.

We can help! We would be happy to consult with you regarding your ideas. By explaining to you what can be done, how much it will cost, and how much value it might have, your decision will be much easier to make.

What tools do you use?

We use open-source languages and tools as far as possible. Most of our websites are based on Python, which is famously used in Google, and PHP, which runs hundreds of thousands of sites across the web. We also use Java (which is not open-source as such but is planned to be eventually) for its robustness in larger applications and client-side applets, but Java is not best suited to rapid development of smaller applications.

Do you do Web 2.0?

Web 2.0 is a buzzword invented by technologists to pitch to investors. It does not directly imply any specific technology, although it loosely corresponds to AJAX interactivity. We provide this, so yes, it could be claimed we work with Web 2.0!

Can I sell the software you develop for me?

Mauve Internet retains copyright in all application software that it develops. This allows us to reuse code and reduce the cost to our clients. The software we develop is then provided under license. The license is perpetual, transferrable, and saleable, with the condition that the software be run only on a single site at any given time. Other terms may be negotiated upon request.