Mobile
App or Mobile Website?
As the use of
Mobiles is rapidly increasing every year, the use of mobile apps and webs also
becomes more advantageous to marketers. A mobile App is defined as a software
application that runs on a smart phone like the Android and Apple apps; while
Mobile web is basically а slimmed down version of a normal website that is
enhanced for smaller display areas such as on mobile phones; to enter a website
on your mobile you will have to open a browser application such as safari and
Google chrome
Which
one should І choose for my Business?
A
business should first understand that the best decision to choose between
mobile app and mobile web can only depend on the nature of its business, its
audience/ target group and its marketing budget.
Business
nature:
Mobile
apps can be personalized to the needs of your business and your customers. Example,
for a takeaway restaurant in Hamilton, A consumer would find it much easier and
quicker to pick an order from a push button ordering menu, than accessing the
website from the browser and having to look for the order button.
Audience/Target group:
A
business should think about how frequent its target group uses or engages with
its brand or business, because an app requires someone to discover it in order
to download it. And people are likely to download apps only for things that
relate to their everyday lifestyle, an example would be Facebook app, where by
people download it just instead of logging through the mobile website, because
most of the people check it regularly and often on a daily basis.
Budget:
In terms of costs, creating
and maintaining a website is said to be more cost effective over a mobile app,
this is because mobile sites are built using HTML which was discussed earlier
by Waheed on this blog, whereas apps must be written specifically for one or
more of the leading mobile platforms such as Apple iOS, Window mobile, etc.; in
which the cost is therefore tripled and the process therefore takes a great
deal of time.
To view the images larger, just click on them!
ReplyDelete:) Good Job Fatme.... i think mobile apps and websites are both kinda on the same level. Apps can be easier because you can walk aorund with it and its more accessible but for a website it may carry more content than a actual app can. :)
ReplyDeleteYes, This is true Xavier.
ReplyDeleteFor a customer it will mainly depend on the product or service that he will be seeking to get information on, but for a marketer as i mentioned it depends on the budget, Target audience and the business nature.
Great post! I have a similar viewpoint as Xavier, however I don't feel that they are on the same level entirely. I also find that apps aren't necessarily as content driven as mobile websites. I used news apps (the Toronto Star, Globe and Mail) I found myself getting frustrated at the lack of content provided and went back to using a website or the actual newspaper. But like you said Fatme, it goes back to the target audience and the business nature.
ReplyDeleteGreat job Fatme! I think business need to keep in mind not only their budget.. but their target market's budget. Many smart phone owners do not want to pay for apps even though they may only be $0.99. If a potential consumer found the app, loved it, but did not want to pay for it, they would simply move on to the next best app. Just something to think about when thinking about our consumers.
ReplyDeletegreat post Fatme! I will agree with Xavier on his point. Apps are easier to use and more accessible, however if a consumer is looking for more information on something they may be driven towards a mobile site. Your post is very informative and could be used in the future if any of us need to make this decision.
ReplyDeleteI personally believe all websites should have a mobile page over an app. Who really wants to go to an app to access information, when in reality you wont be visiting a site more than a few times ever, let alone multiple times a week. An app should be saved for something that serves a purpose, rather than for quick information that comes from your webpage.
ReplyDeleteNice post though, Fatme.
I agree with Alex, I believe people are more likely too 'Google' something on a web browser than they are to download an app in order to retrieve that information. For example, scores in a football game.. Some people that are serious sports fans and care about drafts and such download the app, but for a girl like me, i would just google the game i was curious about in order to find the score..
ReplyDeletemuch quicker, and for the amount of times i do it - not worth downloading an app that takes up much more space on my phone, and is often slower at functioning than the browser.
Good thoughts Fatme :)
Great blog Fatme! I recently just purchased an Iphone 5 and the with the application features on the mobile device really is amazing. I agree entirely with your blog referring to apps being more personable with the consumer.
ReplyDeleteIn relation too with Darcy's post, I just recently bought an Samsung Galaxy S3, and I can say that I also agree that mobile devices are more personable, It is incredibly easy to use, and I can obviously use it anywhere.
ReplyDeleteGreat post!
Great Post Fatme , as you have stated in the post mobile websites is more cost efficient while designing as compared to mobile app and i agree to the point because building website compatible for mobile is easy and cheap , the designer just needs some scripting to be done for it but when it comes for app it require a lot of money investment as well as efforts by the designer to design the app, it is very time consuming too...
ReplyDeleteMany people use a smart phone. Therefore, more and more companies are using mobile apps. They are very convenient and can be used for many different reasons.
ReplyDeleteExcellent post. The use of mobile marketing is becoming more popular by the day. With applications and mobile optimization on mobile devices today, you have to consider what is more personal and what connects the consumer to the brand. I agree with your point about apps being more personal with the consumer, they allow much more customization.
ReplyDeletegood post Fatme.. as you mentioned the use of smartphone is rapidly increasing and marketers took advantage of that. Mobile App or Mobile Website both are good for market your business but marketers should think for many aspect that relate to their business to best reach their goals and their target audience.
ReplyDeleteExcellent Post!
ReplyDeleteMore and more people use smart phone apps! Nintendo's CEO actually stated that one of the reasons they have had lost profit over the last couple of years was do to the growth of Smart Phone games. It's a huge market, and its going to keep growing larger.
Well done Fatme, A mobile app is quicker, more entertaining and can include with all types of other mobile functions. But the app must be set up to be of any use at all, while a good mobile website can basically be sailed to on a person's desire. It’s also generally less expensive to develop a mobile website, and you do not have to cope with any annoying acceptance complications.
ReplyDeleteMoreover; The next thing to consider when choosing between an app and a Mobile website is your preferred end-user experience. Cell phone programs can provide more feature-rich functionality at least for now because programs can work easily with a lamps local programs in more complicated ways, and programs don't actually require a internet relationship to function
ReplyDeleteMobile and Business
ReplyDeleteThe shift to Mobile devices has important significances for how organizations should be giving their marketing resources. Most organizations sites are not easy to use on Mobile devices, importance they are gradually irrelevant to the regular client. If you want to attract new customers, develop connection with present customers or provide new services or other value online, then Mobile is on the must-do record.
i think that the best way to go is with the use of both a website and app. different users like different thing so having both will help with pleasing more consumers. however, it also depends on what the company is trying to achieve with their mobile platform.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, currently it seems that we need much more customized Mobile apps to adapt to various needs from various channels of smart phone. After all, convenience and speed are the biggest advantages in identical competition of Mobile Apps makreting.
ReplyDeleteIn addition, i think these days more businesses are using mobile apps because it gives them many different ways to market their business. In general, the use of mobile marketing is becoming more popular and convenient.
ReplyDeleteI believe Mobile apps have a much shorter life spand in terms of use by businesses. You are right when you say it all depends on the target audience you are looking to attract when deciding upon which one to choose for development. From my own personal use and experience I find mobile apps to be very trend and "fads" at times. They may be fun and exciting at first, but for the most part those factors of purchase decision making wear out fast. On the other hand mobile websites are much more useful and I personally use many of the same mobile website i have used since i have purchased my first smart phone to this very day. Great article, very interesting, and it will always be a hot topic of debate. cheers
ReplyDeleteThe difference between would never have been known if it wasn't for this post. I agree with Brad that Apps are very much like a flash in the pan, in terms of sustainability unlike Mobile Web, but there are some Apps that have far more life than the Web. The WeatherNetwork App for example. I often find the Mobile Web to be a nuisance especially if I want the full experience. But maybe that is just a testament to having a Blackberry. Go figure.
ReplyDeleteGood job. I think customer would like to use the apps because it is much easier to use. However, both Mobile apps and Mobile website are still good for customer and marketers.
ReplyDeleteNice information.
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