When more and more people rely on their smartphones for shopping, businesses started focusing on the mobile strategy. Yes. When most of your customers are smartphone users, and if your business is not available on mobile phones, you miss a large customer base.
In 2021, everyone knows the importance of mobile presence, and thus all businesses are marching towards mobile application development. Researches also conclude that more than 50% of mobile searches lead to buying the product/service.
People find it comfortable to shop from their mobile phones rather than from their desktops. It is more like shopping on the go. Also, a study reveals that customers switch to competitors if a business fails to give a pleasant mobile shopping experience.
Hands down, mobile presence is crucial for businesses (especially for eCommerce businesses). By now, we all know that fact and agree with that. But companies are not sure about whether to go for a mobile app or a mobile website to establish their mobile presence. Some say apps do better, while others argue a website that looks good on mobile will work wonders.
So, it might be difficult for you to choose the right mobile platforms for your business. You would need to consider many factors before finalizing mobile mediums. Hence, we are here to ease your job by comparing mobile websites and mobile apps in detail. Thus, you can choose the right mobile strategy that suits your business goals and customer needs.
Mobile Website vs Mobile App: What is the Difference?
Before moving on to comparison, you need to understand the basics first. One can access both apps and mobile websites through handheld devices like smartphones and tablets.
★ Mobile Website
A mobile website is like any other website that has browser-based HTML pages that are linked together. We can access those websites on our mobile phones via the internet. So, how exactly do they differ from a standard website?
The prime difference between the two is that a mobile website is designed specifically for mobile display and touch screen interface. Moreover, responsive web design or responsive websites are becoming popular and setting new standards for websites that are not only mobile-friendly but other devices like desktop, tablet, and smartphones.
In short, mobile websites are responsive websites that work on different platforms and adjust to different screen sizes and layouts. Like any other traditional website, mobile websites/responsive websites display text content, images, data, and video. They can also access mobile-specific features like click-to-call or location-based mapping.
★ Mobile App
Mobile apps are actual applications that users can download and install on their mobile devices. Users can use apps independently, unlike accessing mobile websites within a browser.
However, when it comes to functions, apps work similarly to the website. Yes, apps also fetch content and other data from the internet, like a website. Else, they may download the content, so users access the content even without an internet connection.
With the basic idea about mobile websites and mobile applications, let us go ahead and understand them in detail. Thus, you can make better decisions and opt for the right mobile strategy for your businesses.
Pros of Mobile Websites over Mobile Apps
If your business objective is to maintain public communications or marketing, a mobile/responsive website can work wonders for your business. First, let us try to understand the advantages of mobile websites over apps. Thus, you can understand how mobile websites can enhance your business and marketing strategies.
★ Immediate Accessibility
Users can access mobile websites through browsers across various mobile devices like iPhone and android immediately. On the other hand for apps users must have to download and install that on their devices.
Yes, users first need to find and download the application from the App Store or Play Store. Only then users can view the content or know about the detailed services of your business. Thus, users are less likely to download the app initially when they rarely know about it. So, with mobile apps, there is a significant barrier in the initial engagement that we can’t deny.
★ High Compatibility
Mobile websites are highly compatible across several devices. Hence, users can access a mobile website across various mobile devices. However, a mobile app demands a distinct version that has to be developed for every type of device. Moreover, we can integrate mobile website URLs within other mobile technologies like SMS, QR codes, and other near-field communication (NFC).
★ Flexibility to Adopt and Upgrade to Changes
A mobile website is highly flexible and dynamic than a mobile app. Yes, we can change or update the design or content of the mobile website easily. After editing, you can immediately publish it. The updated content is visible on the website right away. However, updating an app consumes time and money. The updates need to be pushed to the users then they have to download the app to get the updated version of it on their device.
★ Easy to Find
Mobile websites are easy to find. Yes, potential customers can find your mobile websites easily by searching the web. Product or industry-related keywords will draw your website on search results. Thus, they will automatically visit your mobile-friendly website on their handheld devices. However, apps are not that visible or reachable to users until they become established.
★ Easy to Share
Users can easily share mobile websites with other users. They can share the mobile website URLs through a link. For instance, they can share the website link via email, text messages, social media posts, and blog posts. Hence, you can direct users to your mobile website by sharing the website URL from your blog or social media. However, we cannot share apps as simple as mobile websites.
★ Longer Lifespan
If people find the apps not so beneficial, they often tend to delete them from their smartphones. Unless your apps are unique and provide solutions to people, they will remove them from their devices. But that is not the case with mobile websites. They are available anytime for users to return to them.
★ Minimal Time and Cost
Mobile websites are easy, inexpensive, and take less time to develop. However, creating a native mobile app involves more time and money, especially if you need a presence on various platforms. Thus, mobile website development is comparatively cost-effective.
★ Support and Maintenance
Other than minimal development cost, mobile websites need only minimal support and maintenance, whereas mobile apps need constant upgrades, testing, compatibility issues, and ongoing development. Thus, apps are more expensive to support and maintain.
Pros of Mobile Apps Over Mobile Websites
Apps have immense benefits over mobile websites, especially if your business involves the following functionalities. Yes, there are specific scenarios that call for a mobile app. The following are such cases where a mobile app makes more sense than a mobile website.
★ Interactive Games
If your business is in the gaming industry and demands highly interactive games like Angry Birds or Call of Duty mobile websites won't work in such cases. A mobile app will most likely be your apt choice when it comes to interactive games. Yes, mobile applications can give the best user experience in gaming rather than a browser-based mobile website.
★ Financial Calculations
If you are in the fintech industry or your business demands complex calculations, then apps are your best bet. Businesses that require data collection, charts, reports, and evaluations will need appropriate visualization. Thus the users can understand the functions and get better solutions. The mobile app works precisely for businesses that demand financial or scientific tools.
★ Tailored Services/ Personalization
If your customers are going to use your app regularly, then mobile apps are your perfect choice. For instance, online banking service, a social media app like Facebook, Linked In Twitter, and Instagram. In such cases, go ahead and invest in apps. So, you can render personalized services to your potential audience and grow your business.
★ Mobile-Specific Functions
Of course. Mobile web browsers are becoming good at accessing mobile-specific functions like click-to-call, SMS, device libraries, and GPS functions. But, if you want to access the user’s camera or processing power, you can rely on apps over a mobile website. Yes, apps are excellent in rendering such mobile-specific functions effectively.
★ Push Notifications
Push notifications are exclusive features of mobile apps. Once the user installs the app on his/her device, you can send messages to them directly. This specific feature allows businesses to send notifications even when the user is not using the app. Thus, these push notifications can act as a quick reminder about your new products/services to your target audience.
★ Offline Services
If your business needs to provide offline access to your content or allow users to perform specific functions without an internet connection, then apps are your best choice. You can store data locally with apps. Thus, users can access your app or reach your business even offline.
Which one is Better? Mobile Website or Mobile App
There is no one correct answer to this question. It depends on your business goals and your customer needs. For instance, if your business objective is to deliver mobile-friendly content to your target audience, then a mobile website is the best possible option. It is cost-effective and is ideal for your end goals.
If you are into gaming, banking, eCommerce, or any entertainment industry that demands user interaction and experience, apps can do more justice. However, sometimes you may need both a mobile website and a mobile app. In that case, it makes all sense to own a mobile website in the first place before developing a mobile app.
In other words, owning a mobile website must be the first step in establishing your mobile web presence. However, an app helps develop an application for a specific purpose that you cannot probably achieve through a web browser.
Practically speaking, before investing in mobile app development for your business, ensure you will get an optimal return on your investment. Else, you may end up spending excess on building an app to do something basic that a mobile website can offer.
Wrapping Up
With skyrocketing smartphone usages, businesses do not have a choice other than to establish their mobile presence. You can achieve mobile presence through both responsive mobile websites and mobile apps. Thus, there is no one correct answer for an app or mobile website question.
As we discussed in this blog, going for a mobile website or app highly depends on your business goals. If you want to deliver content to your target audience consistently, you can do so with a mobile website. In that case, a mobile website is more than enough to establish your mobile presence. However, if you require to offer an interactive user experience, apps are your best bet.
Often organizations need both mobile-friendly websites and mobile apps for their business. They use mobile websites for their general web presence and a mobile app for offering more specific functions. So, it is not about the app or mobile websites. It is all about using the right tool at the right time.
Do you want to build a mobile website or mobile app or both for your business? Are you looking for some suggestions regarding what will suit your business requirements? Our technocrats at Cypherox Technologies can help you precisely with that. They are way too experienced in building exclusive mobile apps and responsive mobile websites for various business niches. Get in touch with us for further queries and assistance.
