I’ve had a few conversations with people who hear that Windows 8 Metro style apps can be built with HTML/JavaScript/CSS and then make a quantum leap towards something along the lines of;

“Ah, so I can just package up the website and use the same thing in both places!”

There’s an element of truth in there. It’s absolutely possible to get re-use of some;

• Skills
• Techniques
• Libraries
• Assets like imagery

across a Windows 8 Metro style app and a website but, like all software development, it’d need a bunch of skill and care to make sure that those things were re-usable and then there’s the aspects that are particular to what a user expects when browsing a website versus what they expect when interacting with a native application that makes best use of the platform.

As a backgrounder, there’s a new design case study up on the Windows 8 developer centre that takes a website and looks at a possible route to migrating the functionality into a new Windows 8 Metro style app – it’s well worth a 15 minute read.

Design Case Study: Website to Windows 8 Metro style app.