Microsoft Project for the Web vs Project Online

Features

Comparing MS Project Online vs Project for the Web, MS Project for the Web is built for lightweight projects and comes with several features:

• Project Home: This gives you a birds-eye view of recent and critical projects.
• Project Views: Project for the Web comes with three project views – Board, Grid, and Timeline, which let you efficiently manage and track tasks, dates, dependencies, etc., for better monitoring.
• Milestones: It lets you establish and track essential tasks and project milestones.
• Task Scheduling: Offers an accurate schedule of project dates using task start and end dates, work, dependencies, etc.
• Dependencies and Summary Tasks: It lets you set and track dependencies between tasks. You can also plan and manage deliverables and phases with the Summary Tasks feature.

Besides the existing features, Microsoft Project for the Web welcomed some new features with the latest update, including:

• New Project Home Page Actions: Many project-related actions have been combined on the Project Home page for ease of use. The copy, rename, and export options are currently available without opening the project first.
• Creating a Custom Field: You can now build custom fields besides the eleven primary fields. The feature also lets you create a custom field from a list of permitted values.
• Filtering Changes: The new Filters button is available for all three project views.
• Importing a Microsoft Project Desktop Schedule: This new feature is helpful if you’re transitioning to Project for the Web from the Microsoft Project desktop application.
• Creating a Custom Rollup Number Field: You can now designate custom Number fields as Rollup Fields so that values entered in the field will roll up to their respective summary tasks.

 

Pros and Cons

Pros	Cons
Comes with a wide range of extensions – MS Teams, Power BI, SharePoint, and more Perfect for beginners and informal project managers Mapped with tasks, Kanban board, timeline, etc.	Advanced features like resource planning, time tracking, etc., are only available with expensive pay plans. Requires some waiting time when switching between program parts Limitations in terms of maximum hierarchy levels, resources assigned to a task, complete tasks for the project, etc.

 

 

Microsoft Project Online 

Comparing Microsoft Project Online vs Project for the Web, the first one comes with more sophisticated workflows, granular levels of control, and complex project management functions (such as portfolio analysis and resource management), making it the perfect tool for extensive project and portfolio management.

Impeccably integrated with Power BI for analytics, Project Online facilitates efficient portfolio management, resource utilization, forecasting, and timely delivery of tasks.

 

Features

Jam-packed with complex systems, analysis, and collaboration tools, the noteworthy features of Microsoft Project Online include:

• Baselines and Critical Path: You can set project baselines to monitor and compare current vs. past performance. With Critical Paths, you can visually track tasks representing the longest path through the project.
• Board, Grid & Gantt View: Besides a hierarchical view of tasks in Grid View, the Ganеt view lets you track assignments, dependencies, dates, etc., on a Gantt chart. The Board View makes it easy to track projects and improve workflow visually.
• Deliverable, Issue, and Risk Management: Lets you track and manage deliverables using automated scheduling. Issue and Risk management features allow you to identify issues and risks at project and task levels.
• Project Versioning: This feature allows you to compare different versions of a project.
• Task Scheduling and Updates: This feature enables you to capture the status and time for comments.
• Timelines and Timesheets: This feature lets you visually track project dates, dependencies, etc., on the same timeline. With timesheets, team members can enter time and status for tasks, non-project work, or non-working time and submit them for supervisor approval.
• Non-working Time Setup: Only available with Project Online Premium, this feature enables you to add holidays, medical leave, and other non-working times into the project schedule.

 

Pros and Cons

Pros	Cons
Excellent for organizations that already use Microsoft products. Access to summary board tables, detailed reports, and schedules for data analysis Fluid communication and collaboration Extensive governance and control, effective management of resources, etc. Quick start, smooth access, effortless control, and flexible deals based on specific business needs.	Takes more time to load multiple projects and calculate different calendars Variety of add-on and license purchases required to access all features Limitations in terms of changing domains, principal user names, and master page customizations Only supported in SharePoint classic mode and has a quota of 25 GB per site.

 

Microsoft Project for the Web vs Project Online Comparison

While MS Project Online is the more heavyweight tool, it can be too complex for some organizations and team members. Microsoft Project for the Web is easier to manage but still includes a wide range of features.

So, which of these should you select for your project management needs? Here’s a short comparison summary revealing difference between Project Online and Project for the Web.

 

Feature	Project For the Web	Project Online
Project Type	Small, lightweight projects	Multiple projects and resources
Permissions	Share projects through Office 365 groups	Higher level of control through SharePoint security groups or Project permissions
View	Grid, Timeline, and Cards on a Board	Grid and Timeline
Platforms	Integration with Power BI, Power Automate, etc.	Easily integrate projects with SharePoint.
Integration	Power apps integration allows custom solutions to work problems	Advanced project management- portfolio analysis, program management, etc.
Advantages	Easy usage, Groups Integration, New features	More complex systems, robust project management capabilities

 

Find out how to achieve broader Project for the Web adoption when using it among with Project Online