Difference between Arcgis Online Apps; Instant apps, Experience Builder, etc..

[JonJones1]

Hi all,

I recently discovered this blog post stating that I should switch to using Experience Builder instead of Webapp Builder. https://www.esri.com/arcgis-blog/products/web-appbuilder/announcements/arcgis-web-appbuilder-roadmap...

I have a follow-up question that if anybody here would be willing to answer it would be amazing :).   It has always seemed to me that "Instant Apps" and "Configurable Apps" look very similar to the type of products I could produce using Webapp builder. 

My question is, should I stop using those two options as well and eventually default to using "Experience Builder" instead of Web Appbuilder, Instant Apps, or Configurable apps?   Or am I just confused?

As a side note, I have never really understood the purpose of those 3 options fully, it seems to me that Instant Apps and Configurable Apps were just meant to be methods to get you a "quick start" on making webapps. Was that conclusion correct, or was I missing the intended uses of Instant Apps and Configurable Apps all along? 

[RussRoberts]

Even though this post is a couple years old it can help answer some of your questions. 

https://www.esri.com/about/newsroom/arcnews/how-to-choose-the-right-web-app-in-arcgis-online/

This video can also help

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l78_r-MG7cc

[DerekLaw]

Hi @JonJones1, 

> It has always seemed to me that "Instant Apps" and "Configurable Apps" look very similar to the type of products I could produce using Webapp builder. 

This is a fair statement. Basically "Instant Apps" is the rebranded product name for "Configurable Apps" which is a collection of focused apps - this means typically they would only support 1-3 workflows. Apps built with ArcGIS Web AppBuilder typically offered more configuration options and functionality. 

>  it seems to me that Instant Apps and Configurable Apps were just meant to be methods to get you a "quick start" on making webapps. Was that conclusion correct, or was I missing the intended uses of Instant Apps and Configurable Apps all along? 

100% correct. Beginners could start with "Instant Apps" - as they get more experience, they could then start using ArcGIS Web AppBuilder, or now Experience Builder. 

Hope this helps,

[JonJones1]

Sweet! So, correct me if I am wrong, I should start slowly walking away from all 3 of these; Instant app, Configurable apps, Web Appbuilder, and make new "apps" using Experience Builder? Is this fair to say or am I missing the boat?

Side question about dashboards, should I still be using dashboards or should I be making all new dashboards within Experience Builder as well? Or is that capability just not there yet?

Just wondering and thank you for your time :).

[JenniferAcunto · Accepted solution]

Instant Apps and Experience Builder use the newer javascript 4.x - so you can continue to use either of these products. 

Web AppBuilder and Configurable Apps use javascript 3.x and should be avoided. 

Instant Apps is the replacement for Configurable Apps and is useful for simple, targeted apps. While Experience Builder is the replacement for Web AppBuilder and allows for more custom workflows. 

[DerekLaw]

Hi @JonJones1,

> I should start slowly walking away from all 3 of these; Instant app, Configurable apps, Web Appbuilder, and make new "apps" using Experience Builder? Is this fair to say or am I missing the boat?

I wouldn't quite say that. In GIS, there are always multiple ways to solve the same problem. 🙂

So, you can still use the Instant apps (formerly called the Configurable apps) - as you like, depending on the business use case. I do agree that moving forward try and use Experience Builder instead of Web Appbuilder. 

> should I still be using dashboards or should I be making all new dashboards within Experience Builder as well? Or is that capability just not there yet? 

ArcGIS Dashboards is the premier option to create dashboards apps IMHO. Experience Builder also offers the ability to create dashboards, but I personally feel ArcGIS Dashboards offers more capabilities. It really just depends on your own preference.

Hope this helps,