Mobile apps and mobile websites both benefit the modern marketer. In previous years, however, experts have debated the impact of selecting one over another. Marketing strategies take time to fully form, and not every business impacts customers through multiple channels.
Since 2014, mobile apps have dominated the industry. That said, they aren’t exactly superior to mobile websites. Whether you’re a sole proprietor, a small business owner, or a corporate leader, your strategy can benefit from the many technologies currently available to our market. Right now, 52 percent of smartphone users check their devices hourly.
Both websites and mobile apps will experience high visibility by your viewers. You should, however, be knowledgeable about the inherent differences between the mobile app and mobile website. Let’s take a closer look.
Mobile Apps
A mobile app, meanwhile, offers utility through the user’s smartphone or tablet. Mobile apps are quite different from mobile websites due to their installation needs. Often acquired through a device’s app marketplace, apps can be better controlled by marketers entering insular environments.
Mobile apps accommodate for 89 percent of every mobile user’s device time. Practically everyone is using mobile applications and they’re going to use them more after 2016. Mobile apps give businesses the opportunity to host a “private corner” of their branded experience. Because mobile users need to download a mobile app prior to use, businesses have incredible control over device presence.
Why Choose a Mobile App?
A mobile app offers incomparable brand immersion. Consumers are preferring mobile-centric solutions, and they’re not afraid to engage mobile apps, SMS, or mobile email to get them. In fact, solely mobile solutions are incredibly effective. 50 percent of United States consumers buy goods and services immediately after receiving a branded QR code, text, or discount. Buyers are sticking to their local devices for brand support.
A mobile app can power a business’s loyalty program. It can also engage users on deeper levels. A restaurant, for example, can increase consumer interaction by creating a food pairings app. Another company can create a mobile payment app to ensure total platform cohesion. Each year, smartphone security increases. Each year, consumers turn to their devices for browsing, purchasing, and payment. MMS, too, is changing the mobile app game — and companies are drawing users into their purchased apps via rich multimedia.
Advantages of building a mobile app:
- A mobile app gives your users more ways to interact with your product. Building a mobile application you may use such native features as camera, microphone, push-notifications, Touch ID or Face ID, and more to build a flawless interaction experience for your users.
- Another cool feature about the native mobile app is that most of the time you may run it offline, so it helps your users interact with your app even if they have a poor internet connection or don't have internet access at all.
- Unlike a website, you develop an app for a particular platform (like iOS or Android), whereby you may do design more intuitive and user friendly using native gestures and UI elements.
Mobile Websites
A mobile website is specifically tailored to touch-screen-enabled users. It takes advantage of tablet and smartphone technology to access web browsers, assist navigation, and introduce a company’s total offers. Android’s Chrome and iOS’s Safari are popular mobile website browsers, and users commonly conduct searches on these platforms to access mobile websites.
Why Choose a Mobile Website?
A mobile website is highly accessible to consumers. Really, every brand should have a mobile website. Because consumers are prioritizing mobile access over desktop access, mobile websites have become go-to portals for e-commerce and long-term consumer actions.
A mobile website makes regular websites accessible. They capture a brand’s look, feel, images, pages, and content in a handheld dimension. It additionally improves functionality and readability. Providers like Google have reworked the industry’s comprehension of SEO, too, formatting modern standards to mobile website browsing. If your brand is creating an e-commerce experience, or if it’s simply forming into a large-scale operation, it definitely needs a mobile website.
Advantages of making a website:
- The obvious benefit of making a mobile-friendly website or web app is the universality for every possible platform. One product may cover desktops, mobile devices, including tablets, and smart TV. However, it's important to remember that unlike most mobile apps websites constantly need access to the internet. Moreover, such a factor as internet speed may have a crucial influence on the impression of your website for users.
- Another advantage is saving on the development of only one product instead of building separate native mobile apps for two or more platforms.
- Both mobile apps and websites should stay up to date. But in the case of websites, it is much easier because you need to update only one product, and your users don't need to do anything at all.
Apps vs. Websites
Both the mobile app and mobile website are useful in a business setting. However, a website should always be prioritized by growing businesses and brands engaging in e-commerce. The mobile website, in many ways, is a central “hub” for consumer activity. The best part is that your users don’t have to download anything extra to access your mobile-optimized website. There is plenty of proven marketing strategies to drive raving fans directly to your website and convert them into paying customers.
If your budget allows for it, then an app can be a big add-on to your business presence. But keep in mind there are significantly different strategies to drive interest and downloads for your app. You can do in-app advertisements on similar apps targeting your preferred users. Deep linking is a popular app advertisement strategy that you can execute to boost conversions and ROI.
Related Posts
Over the past decade, we’ve witnessed a fascinating shift in the way in which we all communicate with each other, and the ways in which digital data is transmitted, shared and received. The rise of the smartphone app has completely shaken up so many aspects of so many people’s lives and livelihoods, and for many … Continue reading “Why Your Website Needs an App”
Mobile application industry is growing immensively fast. Did you know, that according to Statista, app revenue is planned to value up to 189 billion dollars in 2020? We at Messapps believe that every business must be ready for such an opportunity to raise extra profits – that is why we decided to share some of … Continue reading “Mobile App Development Trends For 2019”
In the following lines, we will talk about the significance of mobile applications for companies or businesses, mainly due to the boom of smart mobile devices and how users reach the network to execute purchases. Mobile applications are already an indispensable element for every effective online marketing strategy. Users have changed our consumption habits. The … Continue reading “Why an App Is Crucial for E-Commerce Business and How to Promote It in the Right Way”
Ever since smartphones and stable internet connection became the global norm, customers’ standards have evolved in terms of UX expectations. Whether you work as a SaaS developer or have your own business app available on smartphone stores for people to use, localization can help you attract an even bigger audience. According to Upwork, 72% of … Continue reading “The Ultimate Guide To Mobile App Localization”