iPhone App or mobile web site?

iPhone App or mobile web site?

Hamish Stead | 15/03/2010

It’s a good question and what spurred me to write about it was an iPhone App inquiry I received recently.

Instead of using that exact example, I’ll make up an equivalent to illustrate the pros and cons of both:

Let’s say you own a book store, you’re aware of the potential of mobile online access (you browse when you’re on the train yourself) and the benefits of giving something useful to your potential customers.

The benefits of accessing the massive marketplace that is the App Store speak for themselves, but what’s the goal here?

You want to build your brand and get actual foot traffic into your store – and you aren’t set up to be a distributor; it’s real books you have to shift.

So iPhone app or mobile web site?

In this instance I would say – mobile web site. Why?

Are users going to search for Jane Blog’s North Sydney Bookstore – no.

Out of the people searching the App Store for the term ‘Book’; how many would be you target market (North Sydney locals after an intriguing selection of books handily close by) – a tiny amount, if any.

The solution here is to build a site that will reformat itself for each major brand of web phone. Spend the time on SEO to grab your specific customers, deliver them a site which is easy to use and engages them while they are browsing. Online coupons for discounts, latest staff picks, news about a sale. All these things are well within the traditional field of search – the goal for your customers is to find you, not your app. Plus, with apple cracking down on apps that don’t offer a unique functionality to the iPhone – you would be spending money on a project that doesn’t support your business.

tags: Mobile Technology