A Web Clipping Application allows users to extract static information from a Web server and load the data onto a Web-enabled PDA, such as a Palm. Palm created WCA for its Palm VII. WCA reduces the amount of content a PDA extracts from the web, optimizing page layout, graphics and content for the smaller screens and slower transmit times of PDA.

The WCA extracts static information from a Web server and stores that data on the PDA for easier accessibility. Links within the WCA refer to other pages that are stored within the application or to dynamic scripts (such as stock quotes or weather reports) that reside on a Web server. If the link exists outside of the WCA, then a wireless HTTP request is necessary to retrieve the data.

WCAs are also called query applications.