WebGIS
A GIS that runs in the browser, so spatial data can be analysed, mapped and shared without installing desktop software.
A WebGIS is a geographic information system that runs in a web browser. Data, analysis and maps all sit on a server, and the browser is the interface, so there is nothing to install and nothing to keep updated on each machine.
The change is less about convenience than about who gets to use spatial analysis. Desktop GIS asks each user to install software, hold the data locally and learn an interface built for specialists. A WebGIS puts the same analysis behind a URL, which means a colleague without GIS training can open a map, a whole team can work on the same project, and a result can be shared with a municipality by sending a link rather than a file.
The trade off is real: heavy processing on very large datasets is still often faster on a local machine with a local database. What a WebGIS wins is collaboration, distribution and the shared, current version of the truth.