As the information technology industry evolves, more and more consumers choose a fast and convenient way to communicate with companies via smartphones. So if you're going the app route with confidence, you must ensure it is worth your time and money.
What does it mean to be mobile-friendly? It is a primarily high-performance, high-speed Internet, and convenient push notifications in today's world. But does your company need it?
Let's say you've made a fast mobile app with an excellent interface and adaptive design. However, it never replaces a site because of an incredible effort to manage, duplicate and integrate multiple codebases, which seems insane. A mobile/adaptive website will make sense as the beginning of mobile outreach strategy implementation. Therefore, any company must build interaction with consumers on three basic principles:
- Respect for customer choice.
- Introducing a canceling culture of aggressive stimulation.
- Applying modern technology to improve the user’s experience.
Entrepreneurs should think long and hard about whether a native app is the right way to go. The MPS editorial board created this guide for its readers to see all the pitfalls and advantages.
Table of Contents
Compare website and mobile app functions
Will the app give you a win over the competition?
Consider PWA instead
Customers communication point
Will the app bring more sales potentially?
Conclusion
Compare website and mobile app functions
Before we start a fair comparison of desktop vs. mobile capabilities, it is worth briefly assessing their differences. The mobile website differs from the one on the PC by the interface adaptability on screens of different sizes. Also, additional smartphone functionality may include click-to-call or location maps. What about apps? Users download them from concrete platforms and can retrieve content similar to the website. However, an app creation must have a particular business purpose and rarely can be successful without an adaptive website. So, why do you need a mobile app? Let's get this straight!
- The speed – mobile websites are instantly available
Mobile and PC sites are more user-friendly than apps because you only have to go into the browser and search for the necessary info. Before visitors see anything, an application must be found, downloaded, and installed. The list of these actions is an obstacle between conversions and the initial interaction.
- Compatibility – an ability to use sites in different operating systems
While building mobile apps, you have to note various versions for each system (whether iOS or Android). But the same website can cover visitors from any corner of the globe and integrate with other technologies (e.g., QR codes, NFC.)
- Frequency of updates – new versions of sites are more dynamic in terms of changing content
If you want to upgrade your web pages, all you need is a couple of clicks. The new app release goes through the approval of changes, backlog sprints, and testing. Only then it is presented to the people.
- Easy crawling – information on the site is more available to crawlers
A well-optimized site will rank at the top of the SERP, significantly increasing the company's visibility within a particular industry. The app is primarily restricted to App Stores manufacturers.
- Product lifecycle – a site is more durable
According to studies, the apps’ life is about 30 days, or even less, if they are not presented with something original and valuable. Well, web pages are always available if their content is up-to-date and useful.
- Resources and maintenance of the site development will cost much less than apps
An app often needs a considerable investment of resources. Its support is also more expensive than a website’s.
Despite the many apparent advantages of web pages, apps remain a popular strategic decision that may sometimes kill biz or grow its capabilities with renewed vigor.
Benefits of Using Mobile Apps in the Education Sector
Will the app give you a win over the competition?
If you are confident in return on investment and earnings, you should create an app. So let’s find out if you need a mobile app.
Interactive activities
Games have 43% of all mobile users, indicating the expansion of such devices and ease of access. So this may be the best solution because it will cover the lion's share of your earnings.
Personalized services
If you offer a unique experience (like sharing information on Facebook), you should probably create an app. Think through all possible scenarios to meet all the basic and additional needs.
Additional features
When you launch an application, you are probably overwhelmed with expectations of something incredible. And to get it, you have to open access to the camera or processing power. Your app will become even more effective, won't it?
Push notifications
If the visitor has allowed push technology, this indicates more communication with the companies. Such an aspect is also inherent in websites.
Standalone access
Perhaps this is a potent argument for why you should create an application. Viewing content without access to the Internet and local storage solves numerous problems.
Consider PWA instead
There’s been a strong demand for progressive web apps (PWAs) in the past few years. A hybrid of an app and a web page is already predetermining the future of technology. Let's compare them from the programmer's perspective to understand what’s better: PWA vs. native mobile app.
Languages
PWAs apply HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Native applications utilize Objective-C and Swift for iOS; Java for Android.
Cost
Are you still claiming that your small business needs a mobile app? Be practical: assess whether your budget can cover the cost of developing, testing, launching, and maintaining the product. PWA has a lower price than the native app.
Updates
The relevance of apps depends on the speed they are updated: PWA is quicker to make and upgrade.
Ease of use
While building a web app, you must provide versions for concrete OS, pay a fee for registering a programmer profile, submit it to various App Stores, and meet several requirements to be published. PWA lets you not think about all that and only use the search field. Nevertheless, we should not rule out the obvious perspective of a rapid increase in conversions and branding.
Here are a few more advantages of PWAs:
- SEO is more effective than App Store Optimization (ASO): a crawler will index the site, making visitors more likely to open it.
- PWAs are reliable and safe because they have to run under HTTPS.
- The visitor does not need to perform a series of actions to access information.
- In comparison with an adaptive site, the PWA loading speed is much faster. But the native app is more potent than progressive web ones, if only because the code runs faster and does not need a large consumption of the device resources.
- PWAs' functionality is inferior to native apps. For instance, push technology and NFC vary across platforms, but geofencing or smart locks are not accessible.
PWA is an excellent choice to build simple communication with your clients while having a limited budget and little time. To enhance your reputation, you should look at a full-featured application.
