Mobile Websites vs. Mobile Apps
One of the most common questions I get asked from small business owners who are looking to build a mobile presence is whether they should create a mobile application for users to download (an app) or a mobile website, or perhaps both. Mobile websites and apps can look very similar at first, and determining which is best suited to your business’s needs depends on a number of factors, including your target audience, how much you are willing to spend, your intended purpose, and what features you want implemented.
How are Mobile Apps and Mobile Websites different?
Before you decide on which one to pursue it is important to understand the key differences between the two. Both mobile websites and mobile apps are accessed on handheld devices such as smartphones (ex. Android, iPhone, Blackberry) and tablets (iPad, Galaxy Tab).
A mobile website is like any other website in that it consists of browser-based HTML pages that are linked together and accessed over the internet, usually over WiFi, 3G or 4G networks. The most distinctive feature that differentiates a mobile website from a standard website is the fact that the mobile website is specifically designed for smaller handheld displays and touch-screen interfaces.
Like any website, a mobile website can display text content, data, images and even video. They can also access mobile-specific features such as click-to-call (click a link and the number is automatically dialed) or location-based mapping (access a user’s GPS coordinates to give them driving directions for example).
Mobile apps are compiled applications that are downloaded and installed on a mobile device, rather than being rendered within a browser. Users generally have to visit a device-specific app portal such as the Google Play Store, Apple’s App Store, or Blackberry App World in order to find and download apps for a given operating system. The app may pull content and data from the Internet, almost like a website, or it may download the content to the phone so that it can be accessed without an active internet connection.
Which one is better -- the app or the website?
When I get asked this question the answer I usually give is that it really depends on what you’re trying to achieve. If you are developing an interactive game an app is probably your best bet. But if what you are looking to achieve is the ability to offer mobile friendly content to the widest possible audience then a mobile website is definitely the best way to go. In some cases you may decide that you need both a mobile website and a mobile app, but it’s relatively safe to say that it seldom makes sense to build an app without already having a mobile website in place.
In my opinion a mobile website should be considered your first step in developing a mobile web presence. Building an app should be resorted to when you are trying to accomplish something very specific that cannot be done using a web browser.
So why is a mobile website better than an app?
If your intended purpose is primarily focused on marketing or public communications, a mobile website is almost always going to make sense as a practical first step in your mobile outreach strategy. This is because a mobile website has a number of inherent advantages over apps, including broader accessibility, compatibility and cost-effectiveness.
- Immediacy – Mobile Websites Are Instantly Available
A mobile website is instantly accessible to users via a browser across a range of devices (iPhone, Android, BlackBerry, etc). Apps on the other hand require the user to first download and install the app from an app marketplace before the content or application can be viewed - a significant barrier between initial engagement and action/conversion. - Compatibility – Mobile Websites are Compatible Across Devices
A single mobile website can reach users across many different types of mobile devices, whereas native apps require a separate version to be developed for each type of device. Furthermore, mobile website URLs are easily integrated within other mobile technologies such as SMS, QR Codes and near field communication (NFC). - Upgradability – Mobile Websites Can Be Updated Instantly
A mobile website is much more dynamic than an app in terms of pure flexibility to update content. If you want to change the design or content of a mobile website you simply publish the edit once and the changes are immediately visible; updating an app on the other hand requires the updates to be pushed to users, which then must be downloaded in order to update the app on each type of device. - Findability – Mobile Websites Can be Found Easily
Mobile websites are much easier for users to find because their pages can be displayed in search results and listed in industry-specific directories, making it easy for qualified visitors to find you. Most importantly, visitors to your regular website can be automatically sent to your mobile site when they are on a handheld (using device-detection). In contrast, the visibility of apps are largely restricted to manufacturer app stores. - Shareability – Mobile Websites Can be Shared Easily by Publishers, and Between Users
Mobile website URLs are easily shared between users via a simple link (e.g. within an email or text message, Facebook or Twitter post). Publishers can easily direct users to a mobile website from a blog or website, or even in print. An app simply cannot be shared in this fashion. - Reach – Mobile Websites Have Broader Reach
Because a mobile website is accessible across platforms and can be easily shared among users, as well as search engines, it has far greater reach capability than a native app. - LifeCycle – Mobile Websites Can’t be Deleted
The average shelf-life of an app is pretty short, less than 30 days according to some research, so unless your app is something truly unique and/or useful (ideally, both), it’s questionable how long it will last on a user’s device. Mobile websites on the other hand are always available for users to return to them. - A Mobile Website Can be an App!
Just like a standard website, mobile websites can be developed as database-driven web applications that act very much like native apps. A mobile web application can be a practical alternative to native app development. - Time and Cost - Mobile Websites are Easier and Less Expensive
Last but certainly not least, mobile website development is considerably more time and cost-effective than development of a native app, especially if you need to have a presence on different platforms (requiring development of multiple apps). - Support and Sustainability
The investment considerations of app vs website don’t end with the initial launch; properly supporting and developing an app (upgrades, testing, compatibility issues and ongoing development) is more much more expensive and involved than supporting a website over time.
When Does an App Make Sense?
Despite the many inherent benefits of the mobile web, apps are still very popular, and there are a number of specific use scenarios where an app will be your best choice. Generally speaking, if you need one of the following, an app makes sense:
- Interactivity/Gaming – for interactive games (think Angry Birds) an app is almost always going to be your best choice, at least for the foreseeable future.
- Regular Usage/Personalization – If your target users are going to be using your app in a personalized fashion on a regular basis (think EverNote) then an app provides a great way to do that.
- Complex Calculations or Reporting – If you need something that will take data and allow you to manipulate it with complex calculations, charts or reports (think banking or investment) an app will help you do that very effectively.
- Native Functionality or Processing Required - mobile web browsers are getting increasingly good at accessing certain mobile-specific functions such as click-to-call, SMS and GPS. However, if you need to access a user's camera or processing power an app will still do that much more effectively.
- No connection Required – If you need to provide offline access to content or perform functions without a network/wireless connection then an app makes sense..
As with any project, when developing an app you want to ensure that your are getting an optimal return on your investment. What you want to avoid at all costs is the needless and expensive exercise of building an app to do something basic that can be achieved with a mobile website
In Conclusion
As long as mobile remains a relatively new frontier, the “app vs web” question will remain a very real consideration for organizations seeking to establish a mobile presence. If your mobile goals are primarily marketing-driven, or if your aim is to deliver content and establish a broad mobile presence that can be easily shared between users and found on search engines, then the a mobile website is the logical choice. With the onemobi mobile website builder you can deliver this to your customers within ten minutes of signing up.On the other hand, if your goal is interactive engagement with users, or to provide an application that needs to work more like a computer program than a website, then an app is probably going to be required.