If you’re considering setting up a mobile presence for your business or organization, chances are you are in between creating a mobile app for users to install or a mobile website – or even both. Both options might appear similar at first glance, but a close look at the choice that best suits your needs depends on a number of factors, including intended purpose, available budget, and required features.
That said, we’ve compiled the qualities that make building a mobile app the better choice in this guide. If any of these features seem like a non-negotiable for your team, then a mobile app might better suit your team.
When Building an App Makes Sense (Over Setting Up a Website)
- Better Personalization
If personalization and functionality are prized features for your project, the mobile app wins the day. A mobile app lets users seamlessly customize their interface based on preferences, strengths, and location. Also, apps can deliver more intuitive and personally relevant experiences compared to websites.
On their part, mobile websites are essentially scaled-down versions of a desktop page. With limited abilities to provide personalized experiences, they would rather provide a more generalized, one-size-fits-all approach to functionality and content.
- Streamlined User Experience
While mobile websites offer a convenient way to access data and services on the go, they still fail to deliver the optimum user experience that smartphone users crave. Here’s what we mean.
To use a mobile website, an individual has to:
- Open their website
- Find and load the site
- Complete the checkout
- Begin exploring the pages or contents
On the flip side, once a mobile app is installed on a user’s device, it becomes instantly visible on the home screen while its contents are readily accessible with a couple of taps.
Using a mobile app is also easier when there’s an exchange of goods and services since all payment and account information is already saved. With only a few taps, users can spot the desired product and complete their purchase.
- Security Considerations
The growing need for data privacy also supports a preference for mobile apps over websites. That’s because mobile apps often hold a unique security advantage over websites.
Thanks to their unique design and deployment structure, apps can leverage device-specific security features in a way mobile sites can’t. Mobile apps can also facilitate stronger authentication and encryption mechanisms.
Unlike websites, apps can save sensitive information locally, reducing the risk of attacks on central servers. Websites are also more vulnerable to phishing scams and impersonations. But with secure connections like HTTPS and SSL/TLS, mobile apps can shield users against middleman attacks – better than mobile websites do.
- Ease of Sending Notifications
Emails have been the most popular business communication tool over the last couple of decades. Today, many businesses communicate extensively with users using email messaging – almost to a fault. Consequently, emails have largely lost the effectiveness they once had – as drops in click rates and open rates show.
Thankfully, mobile app notifications have come to the rescue. With both push and in-app notifications, businesses have better ways to reach users in a far less intrusive manner. Since such an ability to send non-intrusive and instant notifications is unavailable via mobile websites, building an app makes much more sense to many businesses.
- Ability to Work Offline
Here’s possibly one of the most basic benefits of mobile apps over websites. Both apps and websites typically require some internet connectivity to perform most tasks. However, many apps can still provide basic content and functionality in offline mode.
For instance, many money apps can provide qualities like loan limits, a tax calculator, installment calculation, and more without an internet connection. While some websites can use caching to load web pages without an internet connection, they can at best provide limited functions.
Conclusion
Your final choice between building a native app and a mobile website depends on your end goals. A mobile app makes sense if you prioritize security, functionality, customization, and user-friendliness. However, if these features are slightly negotiable and you’d better reach the largest possible audience, consider building a website.