Mobile Site or Mobile App?

Articles

Almost half of UK internet users now go online via mobile phones, discovered by the Office for National Statistics in 2011. In 2010, only 31% used their phone, a significant rise.

For businesses who are not yet embracing the mobile market to engage their customers, a decision has to made as to whether a business develops a mobile website or a mobile app for their customers. Each individual business may make a different decision based on their customer profile and services. However, some factors are generic between the two solutions.

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Mobile Apps

Advantages

  • Good for linear processes and tools
  • Can use all the screen, without any browser chrome
  • With customer market research to establish your customer app use and platform, you can tailor an experience for them
  • Can use the phone's native interactions, taps, rotation, GPS, Camera
  • Can use the phone's native tools and toggles, all familiar to the customer

Disadvantages

  • Apps have short lifetimes, 20 days or less
  • Less than 20% of brand apps are downloaded more than 1000 times
  • Apps are limited to phone platforms
  • Requires long term investment, updates to an app every few months
  • If its heavily ad supported, users will not like it
  • Requires customers to download it before they can experience it
  • You have to get it right first time - app reviews stick.
  • App updates and revenue cut taken by the app store

Mobile App Stats

  • 73% of users expect a mobile app to be simpler than the website
  • 23% told others about a bad experience with an app
  • 13% have avoided subsequent app downloads with a brand due to a previous bad experience - even if the app is for a different purpose
  • 2/3rd of users Adobe surveyed preferred to download a game as an app than use it online

Mobile Optimised Websites

Advantages

  • Can be updated more easily than apps
  • Work well to extend or convert an existing site
  • Can be developed to be in sync with the main site
  • Often require less maintenance, updates annually or more often
  • Platformless (apart from support for javascript, flash and screen size)
  • Investment required is often less
  • Reach a wider market by not limiting to platform
  • No fees to update or revenue to share with an app store

Disadvantages

  • Relies on having an internet connection
  • Sits inside browser chrome
  • Less control on how the site renders on different handsets
  • Can't make use of native interactions

Mobile App Stats

  • In June 2010, 73 million mobile users use their phone to browse the web, whereas 69.6 million used apps.
  • 76% of customers think brands should have apps to make interacting and shopping with them easier. Why not apply that thinking to the whole business?

Considering a Mobile Solution?

We can provide mobile optimised websites, or designs for your in-house team, and with ReallyAppy, our joint venture, we can create great mobile apps too.

Talk to us today about your mobile app idea.

Develop my mobile app