Mobile Website vs. Mobile App: Which is Best for Your ...

an app it's important to understand the key differences between the two. Both apps and mobile websites are accessed on a handheld devices such as smartphones ( ... Services WebDevelopment&Design ContentManagement SearchEngineOptimization MobileWebDevelopment MobileWebsiteAdvantages MobileWebsiteforRestaurants MobileLandingPageDesign MobileMicrositeDesign MobileWebsitevs.Apps QRCodeMarketing QRCodeTracking&Reporting QRCodeDesign ResponsiveWebsiteDesign EmailMarketing WebMaintenance,Hosting&Support Consulting WebApplicationDevelopment ConversionOptimization BrandIntegration WebsiteAudits WebsiteManagementWebmasterServices GoogleAdsManagement WhiteboardExplainerVideos GoogleGrantManagementServices FacebookCampaigns GoogleAdGrantforCommunityActionAgencies MobileWebsitevs.MobileApp:WhichisBestforYourOrganization? Inthissection WebDevelopment&Design ContentManagement SearchEngineOptimization MobileWebDevelopment MobileWebsiteAdvantages MobileWebsiteforRestaurants MobileLandingPageDesign MobileMicrositeDesign MobileWebsitevs.Apps QRCodeMarketing QRCodeTracking&Reporting QRCodeDesign ResponsiveWebsiteDesign EmailMarketing WebMaintenance,Hosting&Support Consulting WebApplicationDevelopment ConversionOptimization BrandIntegration WebsiteAudits WebsiteManagementWebmasterServices GoogleAdsManagement WhiteboardExplainerVideos GoogleGrantManagementServices FacebookCampaigns GoogleAdGrantforCommunityActionAgencies ForBroadMarketingOutreach,AMobileWebsiteisthePlacetoStart   byJasonSummerfield Ifyou'replanningtoestablishamobilepresenceforyourbusinessororganizationoneofthefirstconsiderationsthatwilllikelycometomindiswhetheryouwanttocreateamobileapplicationforuserstodownload(app)oramobilewebsite,orperhapsboth.Mobilewebsitesandappscanlookverysimilaratfirst-glance,anddeterminingwhichismostsuitedtoyourneedswilldependuponanumberoffactors,includingtargetaudiences,availablebudget,intendedpurposeandrequiredfeatures. What’stheDifferenceBetweenaMobileWebsiteandanApp(Application)? Beforeyoucanevaluatethebenefitsofamobilewebsitevs.anappit’simportanttounderstandthekeydifferencesbetweenthetwo.Bothappsandmobilewebsitesareaccessedonahandhelddevicessuchassmartphones(e.g.iPhone,AndroidandBlackberry)andtablets. Amobilewebsiteissimilartoanyotherwebsiteinthatitconsistsofbrowser-basedHTMLpagesthatarelinkedtogetherandaccessedovertheInternet(formobiletypicallyWiFior3Gor4Gnetworks).Theobviouscharacteristicthatdistinguishesamobilewebsitefromastandardwebsiteisthefactthatitisdesignedforthesmallerhandhelddisplayandtouch-screeninterface.Increasingly,responsivewebdesignisbecomingthenewstandardforwebsitesthatarenotonlymobile-friendly,butthatcanscaletoanysizeddevice-fromdesktopdowntotabletandhandheldsmartphones. Likeanywebsite,mobilewebsites/responsivesitescandisplaytextcontent,data,imagesandvideo.Theycanalsoaccessmobile-specificfeaturessuchasclick-to-call(todialaphonenumber)orlocation-basedmapping. Appsareactualapplicationsthataredownloadedandinstalledonyourmobiledevice,ratherthanbeingrenderedwithinabrowser.Usersvisitdevice-specificportalssuchas Apple’sAppStore,AndroidMarket,orBlackberryAppWorldinordertofindanddownloadappsforagivenoperatingsystem.TheappmaypullcontentanddatafromtheInternet,insimilarfashiontoawebsite,oritmaydownloadthecontentsothatitcanbeaccessedwithoutanInternetconnection. WhichisBetter–anApporaMobile(Responsive)Website? Whenitcomestodecidingwhethertobuildanativeapporamobilewebsite,themostappropriatechoicereallydependsonyourendgoals.Ifyouaredevelopinganinteractivegameanappisprobablygoingtobeyourbestoption.Butifyourgoalistooffermobile-friendlycontenttothewidestpossibleaudiencethenamobilewebsiteisprobablythewaytogo.Insomecasesyoumaydecideyouneedbothamobilewebsiteandamobileapp,butit’sprettysafetosaythatitrarelymakessensetobuildanappwithoutalreadyhavingamobilewebsiteinplace. Generallyspeaking,amobilewebsiteshouldbeconsideredyourfirststepindevelopingamobilewebpresence,whereasanappisusefulfordevelopinganapplicationforaveryspecificpurposethatcannotbeeffectivelyaccomplishedviaawebbrowser.  AdvantagesofaMobileWebsitevs.NativeApps Ifyourgoalsareprimarilyrelatedtomarketingorpubliccommunications,amobile/responsivewebsiteisalmostalwaysgoingtomakesenseasapracticalfirststepinyourmobileoutreachstrategy.Thisisbecauseamobilewebsitehasanumberofinherentadvantagesoverapps,includingbroaderaccessibility,compatibilityandcost-effectiveness. Immediacy–MobileWebsitesAreInstantlyAvailable Amobilewebsiteisinstantlyaccessibletousersviaabrowseracrossarangeofdevices(iPhone,Android,BlackBerry,etc). Appsontheotherhandrequiretheusertofirstdownloadandinstalltheappfromanappmarketplacebeforethecontentorapplicationcanbeviewed-asignificantbarrierbetweeninitialengagementandaction/conversion.  Compatibility–MobileWebsitesareCompatibleAcrossDevices Asinglemobilewebsitecanreachusersacrossmanydifferenttypesofmobiledevices,whereasnativeappsrequireaseparateversiontobedevelopedforeachtypeofdevice.Furthermore,mobilewebsiteURLsareeasilyintegratedwithinothermobiletechnologiessuchasSMS,QRCodesandnearfieldcommunication(NFC). Upgradability–MobileWebsitesCanBeUpdatedInstantly Amobilewebsiteismuchmoredynamicthananappintermsofpureflexibilitytoupdatecontent.Ifyouwanttochangethedesignorcontentofamobilewebsiteyousimplypublishtheeditonceandthechangesareimmediatelyvisible;updatinganappontheotherhandrequirestheupdatestobepushedtousers,whichthenmustbedownloadedinordertoupdatetheapponeachtypeofdevice.  Findability–MobileWebsitesCanbeFoundEasily Mobilewebsitesaremucheasierforuserstofindbecausetheirpagescanbedisplayedinsearchresultsandlistedinindustry-specificdirectories,makingiteasyforqualifiedvisitorstofindyou.Mostimportantly,visitorstoyourregularwebsitecanbeautomaticallysenttoyourmobilesitewhentheyareonahandheld(usingdevice-detection). Incontrast,thevisibilityofappsarelargelyrestrictedtomanufacturerappstores. Shareability–MobileWebsitesCanbeSharedEasilybyPublishers,andBetweenUsers MobilewebsiteURLsareeasilysharedbetweenusersviaasimplelink(e.g.withinanemailortextmessage,FacebookorTwitterpost).Publisherscaneasilydirectuserstoamobilewebsitefromablogorwebsite,oreveninprint.Anappsimplycannotbesharedinthisfashion. Reach–MobileWebsitesHaveBroaderReach Becauseamobilewebsiteisaccessibleacrossplatformsandcanbeeasilysharedamongusers,aswellassearchengines,ithasfargreaterreachcapabilitythananativeapp.  LifeCycle–MobileWebsitesCan’tbeDeleted Theaverageshelf-lifeofanappisprettyshort,lessthan30daysaccordingtosomeresearch,sounlessyourappissomethingtrulyuniqueand/oruseful(ideally,both),it’squestionablehowlongitwilllastonauser’sdevice.Mobilewebsitesontheotherhandarealwaysavailableforuserstoreturntothem.  AMobileWebsiteCanbeanApp! Justlikeastandardwebsite,mobilewebsitescanbedevelopedasdatabase-drivenwebapplicationsthatactverymuchlikenativeapps.Amobilewebapplicationcanbeapracticalalternativetonativeappdevelopment. TimeandCost-MobileWebsitesareEasierandLessExpensive Lastbutcertainlynotleast,mobilewebsitedevelopmentisconsiderablymoretimeandcost-effectivethandevelopmentofanativeapp,especiallyifyouneedtohaveapresenceondifferentplatforms(requiringdevelopmentofmultipleapps). SupportandMaintenance Theinvestmentconsiderationsofappvswebsitedon’tendwiththeinitiallaunch;properlysupportingandmaintaininganapp(upgrades,testing,compatibilityissuesandongoingdevelopment)ismoremuchmoreexpensiveandinvolvedthansupportingawebsiteovertime. WhenDoesanAppMakeSense? Despitethemanyinherentbenefitsofthemobileweb,appsarestillverypopular,andthereareanumberofspecificusescenarioswhereanappwillbeyourbestchoice. Generallyspeaking,ifyouneedoneofthefollowing,anappmakessense: Interactivity/Gaming–forhighlyinteractivegames(thinkAngryBirds)anappislikely goingtobeyourbestchoice,atleastfortheforeseeablefuture.Forsimplergames(e.g.puzzlesandsuch)theremaybelessofadifferenceintermsofuserexperiencewitha browser-based versionvs.anativeapp.  RegularUsage/Personalization–Ifyourtargetusersaregoingtobeusingyourappinapersonalizedfashiononaregularbasis(thinkEverNote,Facebook,onlineBanking)thenanative appprovidesagreatwaytodothatthatiseasilyaccessibleinalmostallscenarios.  ComplexCalculationsorReportingwithVisualization –Ifyouneedsomethingthatwilltakedataandallowyoutomanipulateitwithcomplexcalculations,chartsorreports(thinkfinancialorscientific tools)anappwillhelpyoudothatveryeffectively. NativeFunctionalityorProcessingRequired-Mobilewebbrowsersaregettingincreasinglygoodataccessingcertainmobile-specificfunctionssuchasclick-to-call,SMS,devicelibrariesandGPSfunctions.However,ifyouneedtoaccessauser'scameraorprocessingpoweranappwillstilldothatmuchmoreeffectively. PushNotifications-Aninherent capability ofappsistheabilitytosendpushnotificationstouserswhohavetheappinstalledontheirdevice,givingapppublisherstheabilitytosendmessagingtousersdirectly.Theofcourse assumestheuserhasallowedtheapptosendpushnotificationsintheirsettings(noteveryonedoes).Alsointerestingtonoteisthatmanybrowsersnowallowweb-basedpushnotifications,allowingwebsiteownerstosimilarlysendnotificationstovisitorswhoopt-inonboth desktopandcompatiblemobiledevices. NoConnectionRequired–Ifyouneedtoprovideofflineaccesstocontentorperformfunctionswithoutanetwork/wirelessconnectionthenanappmakessense,asyoucanstorethedatalocallyandthenhaveituploadonceaconnectionisestablished.  Aswithanyproject,whendevelopinganappyouwanttoensurethatyouraregettinganoptimalreturnonyourinvestment.Whatyouwanttoavoidatallcostsistheneedlessandexpensiveexerciseofbuildinganapptodosomethingbasicthatcanbeachievedwithamobilewebsite. InConclusion Asmobileusecontinuestogrowworldwide,the“appvsweb”questionwillremainaveryrealconsiderationfororganizationsseekingtoestablishamobilepresence.Ifyourmobilegoalsareprimarilymarketing-driven,orifyouraimistodelivercontentandestablishabroadmobilepresencethatcanbeeasilymaintained,sharedbetweenusers,andfoundonsearchengines,thentheamobile-friendlyresponsivewebsiteisthelogicalchoice. Ontheotherhand,ifyourgoalistoprovideauserexperiencethatfeelsmorelikeagaminginterfaceoracomputerprogramthanawebsite,orifyouneedaccesstoauser'sphonestorageandnativefunctions,thenanappisprobablygoingtoberequired. It'salsoimportanttorememberthatamobile/responsivewebsiteandanativeapparenotnecessarilymutuallyexclusive.Plentyoforganizationshavebothamobile-friendlypublicwebsitefortheirgeneralwebpresence,aswellasadownloadablenativeapptoaccommodatemorespecificrequirements.Intheend,it'sallaboutchoosingtherighttoolforthejob. MakingtheRightChoice Ifyouare planning amobilestrategyforyourorganization,we canhelpyoumake informeddecisionswith therightprojectplantomatchyourgoals.Please contactusforadditionalinformation,orusetheformbelowtosendaninquiry.  Tolearnmore,simplycompletetheformbelowandwe’llbehappytofollow-upwithadditionalinformation,including: NeedsAssessment CostEstimates Questions&Answers Leavethisfieldblank Leavethisfieldempty,please