What is White-label Apps? Advantages and Disadvantages

Every new technology is frequently a solution to a long-standing problem. 

When the world got digital, non-tech firms faced a dilemma: how could we give our clients an app for the least amount of money? White label apps quickly emerged as an appealing alternative. However, like every other technological advancement, this one has both advantages and disadvantages. 

So here's a full breakdown of the benefits and drawbacks of white-label app development:

What is a white-label mobile app?

A white label app is a generic app created by a firm to resell it to another company, which can then rebrand the app as their own. White label applications arose as a way to enable businesses to create their app with the least amount of expense. That is why white label apps are typically designed for the industry as a whole.

A white-label mobile app development company, let's call it Company A, may create a generic foundation for a food delivery service. When it comes to launching their delivery app, most food businesses demand a similar set of functionality. Instead of creating an app from scratch, they may purchase one from Company A, alter it somewhat, and rebrand it as their own.

As a result, Company A may offer its software foundation to various enterprises, increasing its income. On the other side, a company that purchases a white label app may have a fully working app under their own name without having to go through the difficult app creation process.

Many organisations also contemplate purchasing white label applications for the sole purpose of reselling them to other firms. These resellers often have a large network of software companies that create white label applications as well as organisations who wish to purchase such apps.

White-label mobile app types

There are two ways to sell white-label mobile apps to businesses. First, the white-label vendor offers you the app's back-end code and gives you the freedom to develop the front-end code.

The basic goal behind this white-labeling strategy is to provide you with greater control over the design and UI of your app as a client. However, this cannot be regarded as a white-labeled solution because you will have to invest time and money in constructing the app's front end.

A vendor can also provide you with a whole mobile app solution that includes both the back-end and the front-end. They do offer some room for you to alter the branding components on the front end with your own. This strategy, however, will provide you with very little customization and scalability.

What is the difference between white-label and bespoke mobile apps?

As previously said, a white label is a ready-made solution designed for enterprises in a certain sector. All you have to do is rename it and place it in the market as though you invented it. As a result, white-label applications may or may not cater to all of your company's specific demands.

A custom mobile app, on the other hand, is created exclusively for your company, taking into account all of your specific needs as well as your target demographic. You may either construct the app in-house or engage a reputable mobile app development company to accomplish it for you.

Purchasing a white label app and developing a bespoke app for your company are two very different methods of getting an app under your company's name. Both techniques have advantages and disadvantages, and they cater to various sorts of corporate demands.

The advantages of white-label applications vs. custom apps

Let's look at how white label applications have become so popular in such a short period. Consider the following top benefits of white label apps:

Cost-efficiency

The most significant advantage of white-label applications is their low cost. Purchasing a ready-made app solution is usually far less expensive than developing a unique app.

When creating a bespoke app, you must hire in-house designers, developers, project managers, and so on. Alternatively, you may outsource app development to a software organization that will create your app from the ground up.

In each of these circumstances, the app development process necessitates thorough research, one-of-a-kind design, efficient development, and comprehensive testing. When carried out only for one app, each step of development is quite expensive. White label app development companies, on the other hand, offer their programs to a variety of industries. So they don't charge you for the total cost of app creation, but only a portion of it.

No engagement in the project management process.

The ability to save money is a significant benefit of adopting white label software. But guess what's even better? Your company does not have to be concerned about the development process at all!

Assume you engage an app development firm to create your app. You will need to put in some effort to learn how they function and how they handle projects. Someone from your internal team will keep track of progress, raise concerns, engage with the project management team, and so on. However, if you purchase ready-made white label software from a reputable provider, you won't have to bother about project management at all. They may already have a tried-and-true solution for your company.

Solutions are readily available.

They say that chance happens when opportunity meets preparedness. The company environment is continually expanding, and you never know when other companies will take over yours with their cutting-edge solutions. The decision to design a bespoke app and the actual launch date might be months apart, or even a year. App development is a time-consuming process that includes several stages. While you are developing the app, your competitors may have already received their first thousand downloads. Businesses choose to purchase white-label apps rather than risk falling behind. The software is fully constructed; all you need to do is buy it and alter it slightly to put it under your company's name. This significantly lowers the time to market.

App development is a time-consuming process that includes several stages. While you are developing the app, your competitors may have already received their first thousand downloads.

Businesses choose to purchase white-label apps rather than risk falling behind. The software is fully constructed; all you need to do is buy it and alter it slightly to put it under your company's name. This significantly lowers the time to market.

No need for costly maintenance.

In the case of white-labeling, the apps are often hosted on the vendors' servers. The customer receives a working app but does not have complete access to the back-end source code.

While this technique has its drawbacks, one obvious advantage is that the pain of app maintenance is not yours to bear.

These white-label app distributors typically have a specialized staff of developers and quality assurance professionals that monitor the app's performance. If there are any technical issues, simply notify the seller, and their staff will take care of the rest.

A bespoke app, on the other hand, is yours and yours alone to manage. After spending so much time and money developing the software, you must now spend even more time and money maintaining it.

Disadvantages of white label apps

Despite the benefits listed above, many organizations continue to invest in bespoke app development. Why is this the case? Since the following severe drawbacks of white label apps:

• Customization options are limited.

The main downside of white-label applications is that there is very limited room for personalization. As previously said, white labelling firms create these applications as general solutions for enterprises throughout the sector. As a result, they solely provide industry-relevant standard functionality in the app.

A bespoke app, on the other hand, is, well, a custom app. You develop it or have it built with your specific company needs in mind. You can incorporate any features that address your target audience's pain concerns. Even minor details are important in this case. A personalized app is more likely to meet your customers' demands, giving your app a high retention rate.

• Crossover in brand identity

True, white-label software allows you to incorporate your brand identification features into the user experience. However, all businesses that purchase this software have identical placements of their brand components. Finally, the app design and user experience fail to separate your business from the competition.

In the case of bespoke app creation, on the other hand, you may design the entire app interface to fit your existing brand tone. If your company has a unique brand image, you may include it in your bespoke app. Similarly, if your business has established itself as a high-tech brand, you may reflect that in the UX and UI of your app.

• Risks associated with source code ownership and data exploitation

Most white-label app providers will not provide you access to the app's source code or the server. As a result, you can't tell how safe the source code is or how long your users' data will be stored on the server.

If there is a data breach, it will irreparably harm your company's brand. Furthermore, you have no way of knowing whether your app data is being transferred or sold to third parties. When you create your app, however, there are no such hazards because you control the unique rights to your app data. Even if you hire an app development business, they will provide you the IP rights so you can verify the server's security. When you create your custom app, you have complete control over the source code.

• App Store denial is inevitable

Remember when Apple prohibited the sale of white branded applications on the App Store? Fortunately, given how many small companies would lose their applications, the decision was quickly reversed.

However, if you look at the new App Store criteria, you'll notice that a "clone" app will very certainly be deleted. So, if you utilize a template app with a highly common look, you risk having your app removed from the App Store. Even the Play Store is wary of enterprises who appear to have cloned the look of previous apps and then launched the new apps as their own. The only way to prevent such hazards is to create a specialized mobile app for your company.

• Scaling and upgrading are difficult.

If the terrifying COVID-19 epidemic has taught us anything, it's to always be prepared for far more than you could ever imagine. Trends in your sector or how your firm operates might alter at any time. As a result, your company app should be designed in such a way that modifications may be readily implemented.

Adding or deleting capabilities in white label apps is a time-consuming process. First, you must notify the source code owner of your new needs. They will next determine whether or not to make the adjustments because they may be hosting many apps that utilize the same source code. To be honest, the procedure may be a tremendous pain.

Scaling an app, on the other hand, is significantly easier when it is custom-built specifically for your company. Even if you outsource the development process, you can still make changes rapidly since you have access to the source code.

Eventually, should you buy white label software or develop a custom app for your business?

That depends on your company's requirements, how important your brand image is to you, and how limited your development budget is.

There is no denying that white-label applications have substantially cheaper development costs than bespoke apps. However, I feel that a comparison based on Return on Investment will be more appropriate (ROI).

You can acquire white label software for less money, but how much will it help you establish a better brand or produce more revenue? Not a lot. Because at least a few companies in your industry are employing white-label applications with a comparable design. However, when you create a bespoke app and put more money into it, your brand gets stronger and your firm gains customer trust.

Conclusion

As a result, the decision to use white label software is entirely up to you. A while-label mobile application has various advantages over bespoke and customized apps. We hope that this post has helped you understand the white label app and how to quickly build your white label app.