web app is client–server software application in which the client runs in a web browser. Common web applications include webmail, online retail sales, wikis, instant messaging services and other functions.
The general distinction between a dynamic web page of any kind and a “web application” is unclear. Web sites most likely to be referred to as “web applications” are those which have similar functionality to a desktop software application, or to a mobile app. HTML5 introduced explicit language support for making applications that are loaded as web pages, but can store data locally and continue to function while offline.
Single-page applications are more application-like because they reject the more typical web paradigm of moving between distinct pages with different URLs. Single-page frameworks like Sencha Touch and AngularJS might be used to speed development of such a web app for a mobile platform.