WeChat Web App vs. WeChat Mini Program

A WeChat web app and a WeChat Mini Program both run in WeChat without an app store download, but they are built differently. A web app is a mobile website built with the WeChat API and hosted on your own servers. A Mini Program uses Tencent’s framework and runs on Tencent’s servers, with tighter WeChat integration.

This article compares a WeChat Mini Program and a WeChat web app. It was written in 2017, when WeChat was about to reach 900 million users and Mini Programs had just launched: the dated points are marked as such below.

What Is a Mini Program?

In a previous article, we talked about the Mini Program (Mini App). Simply put, it is a small application that users can open by scanning a QR code or searching for it in WeChat. There is no app store download: once opened, it appears among the Mini Programs recently used in WeChat.

What Is a WeChat Web App?

At QPSoftware, we call it a WeChat app; it is more commonly known as a WeChat web app. These H5 pages and WeChat web apps open in WeChat’s built-in browser (see what an H5 page is). Even before the WeChat world was talking about Mini Programs, developers were building them with the WeChat API.

What Are the Differences Between a Native App and a WeChat Web App?

To develop any native app, whether for Android or iOS, a developer must know the specificities of each platform, such as the languages it is programmed in. The programming languages for Android apps and iOS apps are entirely different, so an app built for one platform uses the languages specific to it (and this is not the only difference between Android and iOS). The same is true of a WeChat web app: it uses the WeChat API.

Another difference is that you need to download a native app, but not a WeChat web app. You do not have to go to the App Store or Play Store: all you need is a link or a QR code to open the app.

Last but not least is the price. Depending on the specifications, developing a WeChat web app costs less than developing a native app for both Android and iOS.

What Are the Differences Between a Mini Program and a WeChat Web App?

There are many differences between these two applications. First, Mini Programs have been developed by Tencent’s WeChat, which means that they use the WeChat framework, whereas WeChat web apps do not.

Furthermore, what makes Mini Programs convenient is that they are stored on Tencent’s WeChat servers, so they are optimized for use with WeChat. WeChat web apps, on the other hand, are stored on the servers of the company that develops them; in our case, on QPSoftware’s servers.

In 2017, Mini Programs were extremely limited: they had only been released earlier that year and were still quite simple, and their developers were limited to a 2 MB package. Tencent’s documentation on subpackages now allows 30 MB for all the packages of a Mini Program (20 MB when a service provider develops it on the owner’s behalf), while the main package and each subpackage are still limited to 2 MB. This was not the case with the WeChat web apps developed here at QPSoftware, which have almost no limitations and can be as fast and complex as a native app.

One interesting feature of Mini Programs is that you can connect them to your Official Account. When users open your Official Account profile, they can see whether a Mini Program is related to it. This is convenient, but an Official Account can also be configured to display the link or QR code of your WeChat web app.

Some say that WeChat web apps are slower than Mini Programs, but this is not always the case. With a good framework and a good server, a WeChat web app can be as fast as a Mini Program.

With a Mini Program, payment goes through WeChat Pay, so you are limited to this payment method. In 2017, the same was true of a WeChat web app: WeChat Pay was the only payment method available.

In 2017, Mini Programs were only available in Chinese, whereas a WeChat web app could be in any language. And while WeChat Moments is one of the best-known features of WeChat, Mini Programs could not be shared there at the time: sharing was limited to groups or individuals. WeChat web apps can be shared with anyone, anywhere.

What Was the General Opinion in 2017?

The debate below dates from 2017, when Mini Programs had just launched. They have since spread widely: our guide to Mini Program platforms in China shows how Baidu, Alipay and Douyin followed WeChat with their own.

At the time, there were two sides to WeChat Mini Programs. On the one hand, WeChat users and experts were interested in this new option, although Mini Programs were too simple and still needed more development. On the other hand, some of the same users and experts did not think Mini Programs would be very useful, and expected their appeal to fade once they were no longer new.

Moreover, Alipay had just released its own Mini Programs in response to WeChat. Each of these Mini Programs has its own framework, which means that developers have to learn new languages to build these apps. Here are the different frameworks that were in use:

• Java for Android
• Swift for iOS
• WeChat Mini Program framework
• Alipay Mini Program framework
• A general web framework for websites (React, Angular and Ember: there are several standards)
• Besides the languages for the front end (the part that users see), developers also have to learn back-end frameworks to manage the data, such as Node, Ruby, Scala, Go or Python.

As you can see, there are many frameworks to learn to code for different platforms. That is why, in 2017, we found a WeChat web app more convenient and simple than learning these new Mini Program frameworks, whether WeChat’s or Alipay’s.

What Is Your Next Step?

WeChat is unavoidable in China. In 2017, it was too early to tell whether Mini Programs would be as successful as WeChat itself, so we recommended WeChat web apps. Today, both formats are common, and the right choice depends on your project: a web app for freedom and campaigns, a Mini Program for tight integration with WeChat. If you are interested in WeChat H5 page development or would like more information about Mini Programs, do not hesitate to contact us: we will be glad to help you.

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