Does Your Business Need an App?

These days, it seems like everyone owns a smartphone. In the business community, we are seeing the effects of e-commerce on the retail industry. Businesses who cannot adapt are failing, while those who are able to tap into online and mobile practices are better equipped to compete.

The stats are hard to ignore:

• 125 Million U.S. consumers own smartphones
• 50 million U.S. Consumers own tablets
• 62% of smartphone users have made a purchase online using their mobile device in the last 6 months
• 80% of shoppers used a mobile phone inside of a physical store to either look up product reviews, compare prices or find alternative store locations

Armed with this information, the need for a mobile presence for your business is pretty compelling. However, do you actually need an app – or do you just need a mobile-friendly website? Let’s take a look:

What’s the Difference Between an App and a Mobile Website?

In this case, “app” stands for application. This is designed to be downloaded and installed onto a mobile device – like a smartphone or tablet. A mobile website is not downloaded, but rather used within a browser on the device.

When Does a Mobile Website Make the Most Sense for My Business?

When you’re discussing a mobile-friendly website with your developer, the term you’re really looking for is “responsive.” A responsive website converts automatically to any browser and device (desktop or mobile) automatically without loss of information. Mobile-only sites tend to be slightly more limited when it comes to the information you can include due to layout constraints.

One benefit of a mobile or responsive site includes compatibility. A mobile-friendly website is immediately compatible with all devices, while a native app requires a separate version for each type of device – otherwise you risk alienating a segment of your business.

Another important benefit of a mobile-friendly website is instant updates. With an app, you must push the update to users, and they must download that update for it to take effect. This means that some users may be reviewing out of date information.

Mobile websites also have the potential for greater reach than a native app. With an effective SEO practice, your website has the capacity to rank on the top of search engines, and it can be shared among users.

Another important factor is the investment required for a mobile friendly website is far less in most cases than a native app. Between development, support, and maintenance, an app is far more involved and expensive than a website.

When Does a Mobile App Make the Most Sense for My Business?

If your audience is going to use your app on a regular basis with a need for a high level of personalization, then a native app begins to make more sense for your business. Also, if you need something that can collect data and manipulate that information into charts, reports, or similar items – an app may be a good option.

If you need to provide offline access to content, then a native app is a great option for your business. Many businesses maintain both a mobile website and an app for this reason specifically.

The key thing to remember when making the decision regarding whether to build an app or maintain is mobile website is that the right tool varies greatly from business to business – but you do need at least one of these options.