Few years back business owners and / or entrepreneurs were losing sleep to decide between a website designed for mobile or a Native mobile app. Now the question has moved to Responsive or optimized website (a site which can work seamlessly on mobile / tablet / desktop or on any other type of screen) vs the Native mobile app, be it iOS, Android or Windows.
Mobile Optimised Website vs App, what is best for my business, this is one question we hear quite often nowadays. It is really a difficult choice, since there are pros and cons to each, and business owners and / or entrepreneurs need to choose the correct strategy to succeed. A mobile app would increase the TCO (total cost of ownership) for online presence, if your business is local and have limited reach having a mobile app, would not make sense; you can instead opt for “Optimised website” or website with responsive design.
If your business / service has a wider reach / presence, a mobile app with “Optimised website” would work wonders as this would give new users coming on to your site, a feel of what you have to offer and also an option to further explore your business / service with the native app considering the current trend, from some online retailers of shutting down their websites and be “mobile only” shopping destination speaks the importance of mobile apps
Mobile Apps can be made for, any of the following purpose, and that defines or categorizes the apps
1. Apps which sell or generate income
2. Made for customer service
3. Made for updating users or to let them consume your services (like news, weather)
By creating a mobile app, customers would easily be able to use the information you are providing, as it would be available to them whenever they want in few swipes.
You can use push notifications on your mobile app to update the users about promotions, sale, this would also remind the users about your services / offering and products thereby increasing the chances of success for your business.
The Mobiles application stores, be it iOS, Android, Windows now have hundreds of apps and it is getting increasingly difficult for users to find the right app / service they want. When users / consumer wants a particular service, users tend to install couple of competing mobiles apps, use them a bit and would keep the one which is pleasing to eyes and easy to use, so it is paramount to create a mobile app, which adhere to all the above and must offer the services at reasonable cost(if paid).
