Today I learned that shipping a web app is very different from making it actually usable.

One of the things that has always struck me as odd about web application development is how we deliver our applications.

We’ve become very proficient at creating web applications:

• The frameworks are fast

• Deployment is easy

• Hosting is affordable

But distribution? Not so much.

The challenge isn’t building, but distribution // What I realized

Once I've finished my project, I typically have to settle for one of these choices:

• A GitHub repository (fantastic for developers, not good for much else)

• A link to where it is running (works, but it’s difficult to “package”)

• A document on Notion or another platform explaining how to use it (cumbersome)

There is no analogous option for: "install this web application".

For mobile applications, the solution is provided by app stores.

In the world of web applications, we don't really have an answer.

Deployment vs Distribution

It took me some time to figure this out.

To deploy a web app is: “It’s live somewhere”.

To distribute a web app is: “People can find, access, and use it without friction”.

These are two completely different challenges.

For now, we mostly deal with the former.

What’s lacking?

Well, if I were to summarize what it lacks, it would be that we have:

• No standard means for presenting web apps

• No discoverability layer

• No way to package something as a reusable unit

• No lightweight mechanism for distributing an app other than by providing a link to it

In other words, we lack an intermediate layer between code and a finished SaaS product.

But are there any efforts to fix this?

There seem to be a number of intriguing possibilities.

Such possibilities include:

• Creating modular projects

• Making them easy to access without installation

• Making web apps more accessible

I have come across solutions like https://unstore.io/ where this idea is being explored.

It might be too early to say, but I think it is the right way to go.

This is why it's important (especially for indie developers)

When working on side projects or micro apps, this discrepancy is quite obvious:

You don't want to create an entire SaaS, handle users and dashboards, or do anything with infrastructure except running your app.

Instead, you just want to deliver value and let people use it.

The problem is that at this moment, it's way harder to go from "I've created something" to "People are using it".

What this made me realize

Web development has made both creation and deployment much easier.

However, distribution still relies on “DIY” solutions.

I would not be shocked to find out that in just a few years, there will be more standardization involved in:

• Sharing

• Discovering

• Reusing web applications

Something closer to an app store experienced on the web.