A Website vs An App. Which Is The Better Option For Your Business?
Website vs. Application
Before evaluating all the benefits of these two approaches, it is important to learn how are they different. Apps are software programs that you can download/install on your smartphone or tablet through specific portals such as Google Play/App Store, rather than render them within your browser. In their turn, responsive websites can do everything casual websites can do. However, unlike a standard version, mobile version is created for the mobile interface and smartphones. It scales to small-sized screens which makes it mobile-friendly.
Read also: App as a brand: why should brands go mobile
Benefits of Responsive Websites
- A website is less costly to update, maintain, and support. Especially, if you use several platforms
- A mobile version acts like native applications
- Typically, a mobile version has a broader reach
- A website can be found easily online
Benefits of Apps
- Brand presence. Your company gets real estate on smartphones of your client
- Customers become more engaged in the mob experience
- Many applications work without web connection
- Apps can offer features that are impossible elsewhere, leveraging device capabilities
- Apps provide a personalized experience, offering new opportunities (for e.g., geography-specific content)
- Last but not least, applications are created with the mobile experience in mind, rather than being rebuild from a site
Read also: How to Build Your Mobile Application in 5 steps
Which to Choose?
This depends on your end goals. A mobile site is a less costly option, at the same time, it relies heavily on the internet connection. Furthermore, it is harder to navigate and its functionality is rather limited. Also, mobile version simply cannot be closely integrated with the smartphone or tablet. At the same time, responsive websites have a number of other inherent benefits over applications.
Key Takeaways
If you want to create a web presence that can be easily found/shared/maintained, then a mobile website is the optimal solution. However, if you need to use the native functionality and storage, if you need to build something that looks and feels more like a software or game, then an app is probably the best way to go. Think of a mobile version as the first step in establishing a web presence, while an app is crucial if you need to achieve very specific goals that cannot be effectively achieved via a standard browser interface. At V-jet group, we have experience in building IT solutions of any complexity. Contact us right now to get a free quote or consultation so we can answer all your questions!
