Mobile applications are becoming an essential part of our everyday life. My day starts off by hearing the alarm that I've set on my 'Alarm Clock'. I just love choosing different music and tunes for waking me up. It even comes with a health & fitness alarm that reminds me when to drink water, exercise, and take my medicine.
I have multiple gaming apps installed in my mobile to help me pass time when I'm waiting for the subway. The point is that, thanks to mobile app development companies there is an app for everything. Social media management, video apps, photo editing apps, and so much more. A report by Statista reveals that in 2018 there were around 205.4 billion app downloads, and this number seems to be growing day by day.
However, the main question asked by majority of the business professionals is 'Which approach should they take? mobile apps or mobile websites?' In this article my primary focus is on answering this question. This is because business professionals want to be where their customers are, whether they are on Facebook, YouTube, on the desktop, or on mobile apps. Below I have mentioned 10 reasons that make mobile apps better than websites.
- Mobile Apps Offer More Personalization
Everyone loves getting the VIP treatment, if I where to go window shopping but the shop keeper started offering me exclusive services, I'd probably end up purchasing a pair or two. 'Personalization is the key to your customer's heart'.
If you want to close more sales, personalization will help you get that done a lot faster. And if you compare mobile web and mobile apps, it turns out that mobile apps offer a lot more personalization as compared to the mobile web.
Websites are built for everyone, but in mobile apps the interaction between your customers and business is strongly influenced by the customer preferences. Mobile apps can track and detect where users go on an app and the features that they interact with the most. With the help of this information, the app offers filtered recommendations to products and services the user might be drawn to.
Furthermore, apps can also detect the location of the customer and provide up-to-date and geographically relevant content. So as compared to mobile web, mobile apps can generate a better user experience and more conversions. - Mobile Apps are Faster Than Websites
Everyone desires more speed, especially a customer in a hurry to make a purchase. A well-designed mobile app performs much more efficiently as compared to a mobile website. This is because websites use JavaScript code in their framework, whereas the framework used by mobile application development companies is five times faster than mobile websites. Apps usually store their data on mobile devices as opposed to website servers. This allows faster data retrieval by mobile apps. Furthermore, apps save a customer's preferences and use that stored information to generate faster results and take proactive actions. - Mobile Apps Can Work Offline
One of the main features that differentiate mobile websites and mobile apps is the 'ability to work offline'. Mobile apps have the ability to work offline, whereas websites require an internet connection otherwise you'd probably be spending most of your time playing the dinosaur game.
In mobile apps most of the products require the internet connection, but, the basic content and app features can still load and function without the internet. Take the example of 'the Candy Crush gaming app', you can always play the game without an internet connection, but you will require the internet connection to perform activity such as make a purchase or login with Facebook.
This means that brands can deliver value to customers anytime and anywhere even if they are offline.
- Sending Notifications is Much More Easy
You might have noticed that once a customer loses interest in your website it's nearly impossible to re-engage them, especially if those customers interacted with your business through a website.
For quite a long time emails were used for business communication, they were used extensively by all types of businesses to reach their users. Because email was used so extensively and even abusively. They have lost their original effectiveness, and then enter 'Mobile app notifications.
Thankfully, mobile apps have resolved this issue for you. Mobile apps make sure that your customers stay engaged and committed to your brand. This is done by sending push notifications about certain discounts, deals, and updates about certain products and features that a customer might be interested in. With the right mobile app design services, the push notification feature can prove to be very immersive. Your mobile apps are capable of scheduling and sending out instant updates to certain segment of your customers. - Users Tend to Spend More Time on Mobile Apps
A survey reveals that in 2018 users spent 90% of their mobile time using mobile apps. With an advancement in technology, mobile apps are also advancing, this is why people are starting to spend more time on mobile apps. For example, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram etc. A point to remember here is that, users tend to spend majority of their time on gaming apps and social media apps. Therefore, these platforms can definitely be used to build your brand’s reputation and generate more conversions. Asides this, as you just read above, users spend more time on mobile apps, this means that businesses should make sure to develop a mobile for their brands.
They will help them reach a greater audience, retain their previous customers, and boost their conversions. - Effective Monetization and Cost Reduction
As compared to websites, you can save more time and money while building a mobile app. A mobile app provides a platform for 'customers to place their orders', for 'employees to give replies and provide good customer support', and for 'vendors to educate users about their products'. So it's a package deal of functionalities and features that you won't find on websites. With the help of a mobile app, you can improve your productivity by 20-40%. Furthermore, mobile apps also provide real-time charts and reports and give you an analysis of your progress (For websites, you would have to use a different tool to find this information). This just comes to show that mobile apps offer more features and can be developed in less time.
Now let's talk about 'Monetization'. There are very limited means for monetization in websites, on the contrary, there are many ways to make some extra money in mobile apps. For instance, these days, there is a lot of talk going on about free apps and how you can make money with free apps. They don't cost anything to download, and that's why people tend to download them more as compared to paid apps. But because of their high quality users automatically start making in-app purchases to get a kick out of its premium features. There are a number of other monetization tactics, and there is no shortage of ways to re-engage users. - Making Use of Mobile Device Features
As opposed to websites, mobile apps are able to utilize the features of a mobile device, such as its contact list, cameras, GPS, accelerometer, compass, and phone calls. These device features when used with an app can improve the user experience and make it more interactive and fun. For example, if users are filling a form on the banking app and they need to submit a photograph or a fingerprint; then the app will allow the users to take a shot of themselves and submit the required essentials. This functionality can really shorten the time users take to complete a task. With these type of features, users are more inclined towards using mobile apps as compared to the mobile web. - App Store Presence
One of the reasons that business owners are starting to create mobile apps alongside their websites is because this is an opportunity for them to build their brand’s presence. Whether they develop an Android or an iOS mobile app. Ranking on the app stores will increase the chance of the mobiles apps being discovered by users. Having an app will mean that you will gain access to millions of users that browse through iTunes and the Google play store. This will give businesses an opportunity for multiple downloads and exceeding brand awareness. - Freedom of Design
Even though there are so many technological advancements in website designing, yet they rely on browsers to perform even the most basic of tasks. For example, mobile websites rely on the browser features such as the ‘back button’, ‘refresh button’, and the ‘address bar’. On the contrary, mobile apps don’t face any such restrictions. A mobile app can be designed with multiple features and functions, and advanced gestures such as ‘swipe’, ‘tap’, ‘pinch’, and other such swipe functions. - Branding Benefits
As compared to websites, the time that users spend on mobile apps is continuously rising. Every encounter that a user makes with a mobile app is a chance for businesses to build customer loyalty. Over time, these interactions help shape a brand’s identity and perception. Furthermore, companies can also test a different branding style using a mobile app and offer a different branding experience.
Summing it Up
Some businesses, especially startups, may find it very costly to develop a mobile friendly website as well as a mobile app. In this situation, they might have to choose any one of the two platforms. Both of the channels have their own ups and downs. However, mobile apps have a number of features and functionalities that make them a better choice for companies. Mobile apps can aid businesses in getting higher conversions, a greater audience, and exceeding brand awareness.
