Mobile Website vs. Mobile App
When you begin planning a new website for your business, one of the first considerations that will come to mind is whether you want to build a mobile application for users to download in addition to your mobile website. At first glance, Mobile websites and apps can look very similar, though determining which is best suited will depend upon a number of factors, including your target audience, budget, purpose and features.
Which is Better – an App or a Mobile Website?
When it comes to deciding whether to build an app in addition to your mobile website, the decision will generally depend on your end goal. If your goal is to offer mobile-friendly content to the widest possible audience then there is no reason a well-designed mobile website cannot provide everything your user might expect to find, while remaining closely aligned with your desktop site. In some cases you may decide you need an app in addition to your mobile site, however it’s safe to say that it rarely makes sense to build an app without already having a mobile website.
A mobile website should be considered your first step in developing a mobile web presence, whereas an app is useful for developing an application for a very specific purpose that cannot be effectively accomplished via a web browser, though we are finding less and less examples of this being an issue with mobile sites becoming a direct reflection of the desktop counterpart.
Advantages of a Mobile Website vs. Native Apps
If the goals you have set out are predominantly related to marketing or public communications, a mobile website is almost always going to make sense as a practical first step. This is because a mobile website has a number of clear advantages over mobile applications including broader accessibility, compatibility and overall cost-effectiveness.
- Immediacy – Mobile websites are instantly available without downloading
- Compatibility – Mobile websites are compatible across all devices
- Upgradability – Mobile websites can be updated instantly without downloading
- Reach – Mobile websites have a broader reach across users
- Lifecycle – Mobile websites can’t be deleted from your device
Much like a desktop site, mobile can be developed as database-driven web application that can act like a native application. As such, a mobile website can be a realistic alternative to native app development. In addition to this, you must consider the time and costs involved. Mobile website development is considerably more time and cost-effective than development of a native app. This is particularly true when you need to have a presence on different platforms. In most cases this will require the development of multiple apps to work across iOS and Android for example.
And perhaps the most important aspect from my perspective is the support and sustainability considerations. The investment of app vs website don’t end when you first go live; properly supporting and developing an app (upgrades, testing, compatibility and ongoing development) is a more much more expensive and involved process on an application than supporting a website over time.
There are of course times when an application makes the most sense. The mobile web presents some obvious benefits, however apps are still very popular. There will likely always be a number of specific situations where an app will be your best choice. You want to ensure that you are getting the best possible return on your investment and what should steer clear of is the expensive exercise of building an app to achieve something which a mobile website can achieve quite easily and cost-effectively.
