With the first quarter of 2020 coming to an end, the choice for companies to opt for a website or a mobile app remains a favorite question. There are many companies who have their web presence through specialized website creation which helps them stay under their customers’ radar. Similarly, the growing popularity of mobile apps has created a strong case for many businesses to opt for a customized app that helps them keep their potential audience within their jurisdiction. Website vs mobile app comparison remains a top question for companies that want to take their business to the next level in the decade of 2020.
The importance of both website and mobile apps is undeniable which makes this topic an ever interesting one. Now let’s have website vs mobile app showdown and talk about which aspect is better for your business.
Why should you make a Website?
A website is typically a program that can be accessed through a browser over a corporate intranet or the Internet. Some uses of websites include: a company’s website, thematic portals, platforms for e-commerce etc.
Getting Started on a Website
Websites are a great way to explore your dimensions in the most cost-effective way. After-all, websites can be created in simple WordPress programs through free templates that even allow normal users to explore certain options and “tweak” them as per your requirements.
What you need beforehand is a domain name and web hosting (a server for hosting your website on the world wide web). Usually, these are one-time fee for a whole year after which you can start off on creating your website.
The next question at hand is whether you should explore developing a website on your own, as mentioned previously, or get professional expertise in this regard. If you choose the latter option then you can hire the following resources.
- Specialized Web Designer (for creating website theme, layout, aesthetics, flows etc.)
- Front-end Developer
- Back-end Developer
- Or a Full-stack Developer (who can suffice the need for two developers in one go)
The concept behind hiring specialized team of people to design and develop the website is to let the creative juices rolling. A website designer is your art craftsman who decides on the look and feel of the website. These are the creative people who have pulse on the latest website trends and they can better guide you on how your website should appeal to its target audience based on your business.
You can also decide on whether you want one-man army for developing the front-end and back-end or you can hire two separate resources to manage the same aspects. You can hire a Quality Assurance (QA) resource to ensure that your website’s user experience is flawless.
Bringing a Content Writer can help you pen down great SEO friendly material to make sure you put your best foot forward in the game. All these things require money and time; therefore, your budget is a crucial factor in making all the necessary decisions about the direction you want to take up during the web development endeavor.
At times, most companies just want to outsource their website project to a third-party IT firm. It places them in a better position to be a primary stakeholder and watch the outsourced company put in all their resources in creating the best website together.
Nowadays, responsive websites have become need of the day as they can be browsed through any screen resolution/dimension without any issue in the overall look and feel of the website. This is an altogether appealing factor for websites which makes them a popular choice for companies to opt for.
Why should you develop a Mobile App?
A mobile app is a software that is run on your mobile phone, or tablet or watch which allows you performing a certain function or a set of functions. We are all silently ticking away on our mobile phones, whether we are watching a video, reading news, or playing the next addictive game – mobile apps are an indelible source of infotainment that we all are hooked on.
With over 2 billion choices in Google Play Store, customers have a wide range of choices for mobile apps including games, social media platforms, dating apps, religious app, business apps etc. You name, it’s there. Mobile apps have higher conversion rate than websites, to be precise 1.5 times. This makes mobile application development a force to reckon with.
Mobile apps can present you with many additional features that make them a favorite choice for businesses such as the following.
- Push notifications
- Saving consumer data for providing customized user experience
- Always being a click away by just tapping on the icon on your mobile desktop
These are some of the features that enable mobile apps as the brand ambassadors for many companies. Let’s face it, any user who has a mobile app installed on their phone doesn’t mind even integrating an existing social media account with the app as to enable Single-Sign-On (SSO) Authentication as they use the app many times and want to be remembered.
This way, they want to interact with the app and even get notifications of similar products or services to display from the catalog. It’s all about customer-centricity which makes mobile application making a worthwhile choice for companies who want to boost their sales.
However, the cost of mobile app development is more than that of a website because you have to target the user base either from Android or iOS platform. If you choose both segments, then React development costs more because its workable on both platforms and is a specialized mobile app development service with resources that can be hired at a higher rate.
Just like website development, you also would want expertise of a designer to create your wire-frames/mock screens that enable you to see the end-to-end business flows. The visual representation of the screens is a beneficial aspect in creating seamless user experience which is the crux of your entire mobile app.
Website vs Mobile App – Who’s the Winner?
Both website and mobile app have their pros, we dare not say cons because having a website can provide you with various features as elaborated in the post while a mobile app can also help further expand your business horizons. Majority of companies are opting for both because it allows maximum leverage for the business by directly engaging users through both platforms.
So, imagine this scenario, a first-time user who has just heard of you would probably not want to go and install your app on their phone. But they seem interested and want to see what you are all about. The best bet to unveil yourself, your products, services and introduce your business is through a website which if done correctly should be your ideal representation to the consumer.
If possible, you can also allow purchasing through your website so that the consumer can see that you mean business and you mean it well. This is your first interaction with the customer and you have made sure that convert them into a buyer through a proper functional website with all the right features.
If all things go well, the consumer has had a very positive experience doing business with you. Then the automatic progression is towards a mobile app that they will be willing to install on their phone. Because now you have developed a repo with them and they are comfortable to have you a click away from them. So, the next time they want to check your catalog out – all they need to do is just tap on your icon in their mobile and you are summoned like a genie in the bottle.
Ready to start? Get in touch with Techliance today to talk about your website and mobile app development possibilities.
