Web applications are software applications which are delivered over the Internet, as opposed to being run from a CD or a computer desktop. A web application is stored, maintained and updated on a remote server. The connection between your browser and the server is an IP (Internet) connection, hence the term "web-based". These applications are not simple web pages or database lookup routines -- they are true applications: software which provides some sort of computer-based functionality.

The primary differences between a web application and a standard software application include:
1) Web applications are not installed via a CD or file download of the entire application
2) The user interface (GUI) is the Web Browser
3) While some portions of the application may technically "run" on the local client computer, the physical program is housed and maintained on a remote server computer (web host).

Virtually any software application can be delivered as a web application, from personal applications such as address books, calendars and time management to business applications like accounting, billing and project management.