In the world of smartphones, no wonder the usage of mobile apps has skyrocketed in recent times. We have a mobile app for everything now. Be it fitness, banking, or clothing. We have exclusive apps to fulfill our needs.
Mobile apps come in handy, enabling us to order anything in a few swipes right from the comfort of being in our homes. Plus, we can access it anytime and pay for our purchase hassle-free.
Of course, your business may have a website, but if you want to give a more user-friendly and personalized shopping experience, you can opt for a mobile app. So, does that mean we recommend every business ditch its website and develop a mobile app?
No, not really. If your website is mobile-friendly and can attract potential traffic, you may go ahead with it. However, if your website is not so responsive on mobile phones and tablets, you should invest in an app to attract your audience. When half of the world’s population uses smartphones and relies on them for shopping, you will miss a potential market if you can’t attract mobile users.
So, how to convert your website into an app? Here is how!!
Importance of a Mobile App: Why should you have one?
A Mobile application bridges the gap between the brands and customers. Customers can connect with brands anytime through a mobile app. Hence, it’s a win-win situation for both brands and customers. Thus, more and more small businesses are already investing in mobile apps to reap the benefits.
Here are a few reasons why you need a mobile app:
1. Your Customers Prefer Smartphones over Desktops:
In 2022, almost everyone, from teenagers to the older generation own a smartphone. It comes in handy to manage their needs. Be it their daily needs like ordering groceries to shop for expensive gadgets; everyone relies on their smartphones today.
In fact, apart from shopping, many other mobile apps are popular among millennials. Yes, they use mobile apps to track fitness, monitor health, pay bills, schedule tasks, and whatnot? Whatever the industry your business belongs to, having an exclusive mobile for it will take your business a few steps closer to your audiences for sure.
2. Works well across Multiple Screens:
Adaptability to multiple screen sizes is another prominent reason to convert websites to mobile apps. Apps are optimized for various screen sizes, allowing users to access them from any device.
However, with websites, it is not straightforward to optimize them in various smartphones due to screen sizes. Plus, users can access apps and find the services readily over websites.
Nevertheless, it is more challenging to incorporate an entire website on a small screen. A mobile app will cut short the essential aspects of your business and present them to your audience precisely. Later, if you want to incorporate more of your website features into your app, you can do so with an updated version.
3. Push Notifications:
Hands down, push notifications are one of the significant benefits of mobile apps. Yes, they allow you to market your business with your target audiences. You can notify customers about the discounts, offers, new arrivals, and more even when they are not active on your app. It will flash on their screen, catching their attention and driving them to your app.
4. Seamless Integration:
Another significant advantage of converting your website into a mobile app is that mobile apps have more access to various phone features than a web browser. Yes, you can integrate your app with phone contacts, browser data, camera functions, GPS, and more to ensure an immersive and positive user experience.
5. Advanced Features:
Both iOS and Android apps have various multi-touch features. Users can connect with your apps instantly by swiping, pinching, and enjoying an interactive experience. Thus, mobile apps are a step ahead of desktop browsers in ensuring a more personalized, engaging user experience.
6. Offline Accessibility:
Sometimes, users may have poor or no internet connection. Though you can’t access a website without the internet, mobile apps are available even offline. Moreover, you can also integrate several offline features into your app.
All said and done about the benefits of the mobile app, now which app should you opt for? Android, iOS, or both?
Android, iOS, or both?
Ideally, attracting both Android and iOS users should be the top priority. But, since both Android and iOS apps use various code variations, you need to have enough bandwidth and resources to build two unique apps.
Since Android has a substantial user base than iOS, beginners can get started with an Android app. Android is more popular with the global population than iOS, whereas iOS is popular in the US and Japan.
However, if you still want to attract all users, both operating systems have the same functionality. You can host your app on both platforms if you want to. Since Android uses APK files and iOS uses .ipa files, you need to code two separate apps.
Moreover, another potential difference between Android and iOS is the approval guidelines. Apple has more strict guidelines as it publishes interactive and useful applications that are unique to iOS. So, your app should maintain its standards to surpass Apple’s approval and get featured in the App Store.
How to Convert a Website into a Mobile App?
Here are a few handy tips for converting your website into a mobile app:
1. Determine the Purpose of Mobile App for your Business:
Of course, mobile apps have many benefits over websites. But, it depends on individual businesses as well. We can’t emphasize that every business owner opts for a mobile app. In case, if your website is already mobile-friendly, you will not need an app to improve your customer experience.
Here are a few questions to ask yourself whether you need a mobile app for your business.
- Is your website mobile responsive?
- Is it easy to make your website mobile-friendly?
- Is your website good enough as an app?
- Is your website rank well on search engines?
- Do your competitors have a mobile app?
If your answer is no to most of the questions, probably your business will benefit from a mobile app.
2. Brainstorm Ideas and Finalize the Features and Functionalities for your app:
Once you understand that your business will benefit from a mobile app, discuss with your colleagues or partners to finalize your app idea. Make a list of features and functionalities you want to have in your app. That way, you will have a clear roadmap to work on rather than beating around the bush. Moreover, it will help you calculate your costs as well and help you stay within your budget.
Often entrepreneurs get carried away by adding all advanced features and functionalities in their apps. But, don’t get into that trap and always understand the needs of your target audience. Creating an app that is beneficial for your audience is more crucial than adding all advanced features to your app.
3. Partner with the right Development Team:
App development is not a one-day process, and you need to partner with the right and efficient development team to render a high-quality app. If you have an experienced in-house development team, you can consider them, but it is always viable to partner with a reputed mobile app development company.
Your in-house team may often work on a set of projects already, and derailing them from that track will often lead to confusion and less productivity. If you hire dedicated developers for your in-house team, you will end up paying for infrastructure, taxes, vacations, and more. Nevertheless, you will have more control over your app development and develop a tailored mobile app depending on your requirements.
Outsourcing will be a much affordable option as you can hire talented and experienced developers from a reputed agency. However, you cannot work closely with the offshore team as they will work remotely. That is why it is advisable to opt for an experienced and reliable offshore team for your app development.
But, with today’s technology, you can always overcome such gaps. With so many tools available online, you can assign, schedule, monitor, and track your app development progress effectively. Also, you can arrange meetings online and make sure you both stay on the same page.
4. Calculate App Development Costs:
Now, as you have your app ideas, features, functionalities, and development team in hand, it’s time to calculate your development costs. Though development cost varies as per your app, the general rule is the more advanced features you want, the more expensive your app development gets.
For instance, an app development may cost anywhere from $ 40,000 to $90,000. However, many factors contribute to the app development cost like:
- Features and functionalities you want to have in your app.
- Development Time
- Location of the Development Team
- Technical Stack, you prefer for your app
For instance, many organizations in western countries prefer to outsource their app development to Asian countries as it will almost cost half of what it could be developing in the home country.
5. Make your App User-friendly:
Even if your app has the best features and functionalities, if it has a complex UX design, no one will prefer your app. Thus, make sure your app has an initiative and user-friendly UX design that users can get started with instantly. After all, you preferred having a mobile app over the website for your users. Thus, your app should be mobile-friendly and offer all the services precisely.
6. Test Your Mobile App:
Testing your app is as crucial as development. You can make sure that your app functions as it should only by testing your app. Further, it will allow you to fix any issues or enhance the features before presenting them to your target audience.
7. Submit Your App to the Play Store/App Store:
So, at last, you are in the final step of your app development. You are all set to submit your app to Google’s Play Store or Apple’s App Store. Both of these platforms take approximately three days to approve your app. Once your app is approved, it will be available for download in the App Store/Play Store.
Final Thoughts:
Mobile app development is often a long-term commitment. It involves various steps and teamwork to create a high-quality mobile app. So, you have to partner with an experienced mobile app development company for your app development project. Thus, you can own a superior mobile app gaining a competitive edge over others.
If you are looking for a reputed and reliable mobile app development company to partner with for your app development, you are already at the right place. Cypherox Technologies is a leading mobile app development company that has rendered various Android and iOS apps for businesses serving multiple sectors. Reach us, and our development team will be happy to assist with your queries.
