The difference between Project Online and Project for the Web

Demystifying Microsoft’s choice to make another online project management tool.

When Microsoft moved to cloud-based solutions, they made sure to make their full suite of project management tools available. Microsoft Project Online, and the desktop program Microsoft Project sync completely and have the full project management tool set. So, why have Microsoft decided to create another tool for project managers?

The answer is simple. Good user interface and experience design require a ground up approach. For large established software companies such as Microsoft, many of their tools are so comprehensive and have been around for so long that there are capabilities that have gone out of functional use by their end users. Project online has everything, but it also has unnecessary or older functionalities that modern, agile project managers no longer need or use.

This is where Project for the Web (PFTW) comes in. Microsoft is building functionality into the bare bones of PFTW as the end users request it. The resulting solution is likely the most relevant and intuitive project management tool available today. 

This is a user-centric approach that is being adopted by many companies. It showcases how the fast pace of cloud-based application use can benefit software development in revolutionising user experience.PFTW is available from the lowest licence for project managers Project Plan 1, along with Project Online Essentials. The full Project Online is only available from Project Plan 3 at three times the price per-user per-month. This makes PFTW the most accessible and up to date project management tool available to project managers with Microsoft.

Microsoft has chosen to put the user experience at the forefront of their project management tool development. They have done so by stepping back from their full tool, Project Online. They are not ignoring it; it will always be the fullest solution they have for project managers. Their most agile and user-centric tool will, however, be PFTW.

Why not have a look at what Microsoft says about their project management tools? At WiRD, we are excited about integrating and using PFTW in our projects, and why not get one of our experienced project managers to answer any questions you may have about project management and toolsets?