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MOBILE APP VS MOBILE WEBSITE

Mobile App Vs. Mobile Website – it is a never-ending debate topic like what came first? Chicken or Egg? We don’t need to know surveys or facts to know that most people breathing oxygen use mobile phones; in fact, most of them are using smartphones. The biggest reason for it is that it serves as a one–stop solution for cameras, alarms, calculators, TV, video games, messenger, and of course, phones.

So what is wiser – to develop a mobile app or a mobile website? Because creating both is costly and has its advantages and limitations. Plus, it is necessary to have a clear marketing strategy for the business; otherwise, it will all be ruined. Hence to decide that, let’s ponder over a few points that work in favor and against mobile apps as well as mobile websites.

Mobile App

Mobile App Development has become a need of an hour. Most businesses in 2023 have a mobile app. Even local businesses have apps because it is easier to reach people via apps as compared to the lack thereof. Tons of mobile apps get launched daily, and very few get a permanent place in people’s phones as they take up too much storage.

Thus, mentioned below are the advantages and limitations of mobile apps:

Advantages

●       Content is easy to access

With mobile apps, content is easy to access because it is literally in the palm of your hand. Just a few clicks, slides, pinches, and you get what you want. It is easy, convenient, and quick. It gives brands a chance to keep in touch with their users via the app by uploading new content every now and then and receiving feedback.

●       Push notification

Brands can send push notifications with their apps which might or might not be possible on websites. However, the only condition for that is people should be interested in the app enough to keep the notifications on. Nonetheless, the default feature is not present in mobile websites all the time, although the experts are trying to incorporate it now. 

●       Updates

Mobile app updating is easier and more comfortable. It doesn’t affect SEO like website updating. Also, updating apps doesn’t need any remembering because the timer is set by default. Plus, it only uses the internet and nothing else, which is pretty convenient, whereas website updating requires money.

●       Enables social sharing

These days mobile apps are easily integrated with social media platforms, which makes it easier to share content. Apps designed by modern app developers carefully plan social media access because brands are thriving there, and that has become a must feature in any app.

Limitations

●       Costly to create

Mobile apps are not easy to create. Making a fully functional app with smooth features and navigation requires hard coding and testing. A good amount of time, energy, and money are spent after that, which might not be feasible for small businesses.

And there is no point in building an app if it is not made with precision, such that the user will uninstall it a few moments after they install it.

●       Not everyone uses it

Not everyone uses mobile apps, some even open websites on their phones because that is faster, and the need to download the app is nullified by it. Plus, it doesn’t annoy them with push notifications, and they don’t need to update it every now and then.

●       Eats up storage space in phone

A heavy-on-feature mobile app takes up lots of storage space on the phone, which is why people install it when they need and uninstall it when they don’t. And people are precarious about buying extra storage space or going for more significant devices time and again. 

●       SEO is harder

Optimizing an app is more complex than it seems. It is not easy to optimize the image or reduce the loading speed with high – res images and rich content. And once the codes are written, changing them again and again, is costlier and time–consuming.

Thus, making changes in the features after the app launch is harder; this makes the SEO of the apps harder.

Mobile Website

People often think that creating a mobile app is the endgame and that the brand has achieved it all if it has created one for the business. Such is not true because many people will not be willing to download the app yet will open your website on their phones. In this case, creating a mobile website comes in handy, and you won’t lose a potential customer.

Thus, mentioned below are the advantages and limitations of mobile websites:

Advantages   

●       Easy to build

Website is easier to build provided you make it responsive. A Responsive website adapts itself to the screen it is viewed on. It doesn’t require any special coding, and there are platforms that provide options to create a website without needing to code and be responsive to 3 devices. Thus, it is easy to build and requires no extra money.

●       Can be monetized

Websites are easy to monetize as compared to a mobile apps because there are numerous ways for websites to monetize. Be it paid subscription, email marketing, sending newsletters, blogging, etc. Mobile apps do not have many options, which makes them harder to optimize. 

●       SEO is easier

A mobile website is easier to optimize with the help of keywords and content. One doesn’t need to wreck brains as to how they will optimize a website. Titles, along with Meta descriptions, adding alt tags, using long tail and short tail keywords, and writing crispy content are the ingredients to cooking a perfectly cooked, delicious, and optimized website.

●       Structuring and designing are simple

Structuring and designing a mobile website is simple as compared to an app. All one needs to take care of is that design is not cut or the critical update is not missed out by the user. At the same time, the complex structure of an app due to buttons and keys, and options can be confusing and hard to pull through.

Limitations

●       Useless without internet

Mobile Apps often work offline, but such is not valid for a mobile website. One cannot open it without the internet. Thus, the compulsion of the internet is a considerable hindrance in creating a mobile website, and companies are against it. They do not want any constrain which will hamper their growth and stop users from connecting to them.

●       It cannot be updated often

The best part about mobile apps is that they can be updated repeatedly, and it just requires the internet for the user to update it. Whereas updating a website could be costlier, especially the mobile website because it takes extra effort to revise the responsive website.

Thus, companies with only mobile websites cannot incorporate new features and have to do with outdated ones, which might lose them potential customers.

●       Less Credible

Mobile Websites have the tendency to bring less credibility to the brand as compared to mobile apps. Even though people might not prefer to download the app, they will trust the brand if it has a mobile app. The same might not be the case for the mobile website.

●       Security Issues

Websites are prone to hacking as compared to mobile apps. Thus, security issues occurring with the websites could be an aggravating factor for the users prompting them to leave and never come back again.

So, which is better – Mobile App or Mobile Website?

Mobile App has their limitations, and so does Mobile Website. But then again, both have advantages as well. So, which is better? Well, it varies from business to business. For an ecommerce store, an app is better, but for bloggers, a website is better. Similarly, for the food business, apps are better, while for review portals, websites are better.

Conclusion

Choosing to make a mobile app or choosing to make a mobile website depends entirely on the kind of business you own. However, if you are choosing to create a mobile website, you must hire an expert who has mastered mobile website development. Otherwise, the experience will turn Sour for the users, and they will never trust your brand again. And we don’t want that now, do we?