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Start with a Website, Not a Mobile App

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Re: Start with a Website, Not a Mobile App

#551

Post by zoom6628 »

pvelagal wrote: post #398
casper345 wrote: post #111

80% of apps are uninstalled in the first 10min (especially if they ask for information or creating an account). Once uninstalled very unlikely they will ever install again. In my dev shop, I always advise clients to look into website MVP over apps unless IT IS CRITICAL to the functionality. Websites can always bring back ppl who were initially uninterested. Faster development/instant updates. Better tracking and UX a…

Many folks that i know of don't keep browsing App stores for apps (some may look for new games now and then) and i wonder it may apply to substantial number of users out there. The app has to be some how popular (either by word of mouth or ) before it gets installed, where as browsing web sites is just a matter of clicking some link.

Just my observation but i rarely see or know of mobile users who browse app stores without first being taken then by a wish/link to download an app. Users who independently dive into app stores are mostly developer-oriented people looking to solve a problem with an app.

Apps go viral via memes or social channels and most of that is thus other apps.

Web, other than being much simpler, and easier to find, has the important benefit of not requiring a user to change context - they can switch tab but they are still in a browser - so their personal 'flow' is far less interrupted than when they change to another app. That interruption has flow on effect to retention, productivity, integration.

Bottom line is for a startup, esp a bootstrapping one, start with web MVP, get it out there fast even cobbled from existing apps and services. Prove your hypothesis as quickly as possible - and when data proves otherwise go pivot. Rinse-repeat.

Re: Start with a Website, Not a Mobile App

#552

Post by zoom6628 »

therealx wrote: post #472
vertexFarm wrote: post #242

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thank you! I personally think that mobile web and app design has been one of the greatest atrocities in tech. Not only is it trash on mobile, it's spread and made lots of sites trash on desktop as well because people seek a one-size-fits-none solution. I personally go by the rule that if your service can work as a website, it should be a website. Not ever a standalone app unless there are important requirements which…

You might really like this device, it runs a real desktop Linux and has a really nice keyboard. Its still ARM but meets everything else: https://store.planetcom.co.uk/products/gemini-pda-1

That looks a really nice and very usable modern incarnation of the amazing Psion.

Re: Start with a Website, Not a Mobile App

#553

Post by ayoisaiah »

rorykoehler wrote: post #515
Al-Khwarizmi wrote: post #511

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not everyone buys a new phone frequently, and not everyone can or will spend $200 on a smartphone without a second thought, especially at the global scale. Smartphones are getting better and hopefully this problem will be irrelevant in a few years, but I still know plenty of people for whom it's still very real at the moment.

Sure, I was part of a startup designing apps for emerging markets and I understand the restrictions but I think these restrictions changed somewhat for phones bought from 2018 on. I just returned from 2 weeks in India and it was common to see people in the streets with ~$200 phones

Sub $100 phones rule the streets here in Nigeria. In those cases storage is very precious and limited.

Re: Start with a Website, Not a Mobile App

#554

Post by navs »

manigandham wrote: post #547
rixrax wrote: post #216

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What is especially frustrating that many sites don’t allow Mailinator and other similar ‘one-time’ email systems to be used for registering an account. No way I am going to give you my email address up front before seeing the product. Now the solution is of course to have a separate gmail account to register. Most sites still allow user+site@gmail.com address syntax so that I can sometimes see who are leaking where.…

Your email is public, there's no gain in keeping it secret. For further reading: https://www.troyhunt.com/im-sorry-but-your-email-address-is-...

Yes but that doesn't mean I want my inbox receiving emails a year later from a service I used for 10 minutes. I generally trial services (that don't contain any personal information) with a separate mailinator email. If I feel like this is something I'm going to be using more of, I'll do a proper registration with my actual name and email.

Re: Start with a Website, Not a Mobile App

#555

Post by skilled »

ravenstine wrote: post #540
casper345 wrote: post #111

80% of apps are uninstalled in the first 10min (especially if they ask for information or creating an account). Once uninstalled very unlikely they will ever install again. In my dev shop, I always advise clients to look into website MVP over apps unless IT IS CRITICAL to the functionality. Websites can always bring back ppl who were initially uninterested. Faster development/instant updates. Better tracking and UX a…

I want to agree with you, but how many people are regularly surfing the web? I actually think most people still are, but I keep getting this impression from HN and others in the tech industry that "everyone is on their phone and using apps", and I've yet to see any convincing research into the use of web browsers over the years. I don't know what I'm really supposed to think, but it seems that a lot of us in the indu…

For the life of me I cannot imagine how painful it must be to spend your time only in apps like Reddit and Instagram. That sounds painfully boring and isolating.

I am the exact opposite as I spend all of my mobile time in the browser.

It's a complex study to perform it with any kind of accuracy. And if there's any concrete studies done this already then I would love to see citations.

Re: Start with a Website, Not a Mobile App

#556

Post by graphenus »

osrec wrote: post #453
t0astbread wrote: post #434

I'm gonna play devils advocate here and say web apps aren't as pleasant to use on mobile phones as mobile apps and that's why mobile apps are still a thing. I'm especially looking at things like touch gestures and native integrations (launcher icons, notifications, "share with" providers, maybe even a home screen widget). I know PWAs are a thing but afaik they don't solve all of the above problems or don't solve them…

Try https://usebx.com/app - we built it 2 years ago. It's a PWA, and our users find it better than many native alternatives. I think it's all in the execution really.

This is so responsive! What stack do you use?

Re: Start with a Website, Not a Mobile App

#557

Post by thelittleone »

casper345 wrote: post #111

80% of apps are uninstalled in the first 10min (especially if they ask for information or creating an account). Once uninstalled very unlikely they will ever install again. In my dev shop, I always advise clients to look into website MVP over apps unless IT IS CRITICAL to the functionality. Websites can always bring back ppl who were initially uninterested. Faster development/instant updates. Better tracking and UX a…

I've got many clients who aren't tech savvy but come to me talking about "mobile first". But after a brief discussion they've all agreed to go website first and it has saved them a lot of money.

Regarding uninstalled apps, during a productivity self-study last year I deleted probably 75% of the apps off my phone, and cleaned the home screen to only include 7 apps I use daily. Highly recommend it if you want to reduce distractions.

Re: Start with a Website, Not a Mobile App

#558

Post by galaxyLogic »

ravenstine wrote: post #540
casper345 wrote: post #111

80% of apps are uninstalled in the first 10min (especially if they ask for information or creating an account). Once uninstalled very unlikely they will ever install again. In my dev shop, I always advise clients to look into website MVP over apps unless IT IS CRITICAL to the functionality. Websites can always bring back ppl who were initially uninterested. Faster development/instant updates. Better tracking and UX a…

I want to agree with you, but how many people are regularly surfing the web? I actually think most people still are, but I keep getting this impression from HN and others in the tech industry that "everyone is on their phone and using apps", and I've yet to see any convincing research into the use of web browsers over the years. I don't know what I'm really supposed to think, but it seems that a lot of us in the indu…

I you read Reddit most articles contain a link to some website. That is what Reddit (and HN) discussions are about. So you still need to browse the web even if you start in an app.

Re: Start with a Website, Not a Mobile App

#559

Post by osrec »

graphenus wrote: post #556
osrec wrote: post #453

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Try https://usebx.com/app - we built it 2 years ago. It's a PWA, and our users find it better than many native alternatives. I think it's all in the execution really.

This is so responsive! What stack do you use?

On the backend it's an async version of PHP (much like nodejs), and on the front end, vanilla js. We didn't use react or Vue as they can be rather restrictive (especially if you want animations), so we wrote our own little framework. Same with our CSS framework - rolled our own, because we wanted it to be really flexible across all devices.

Re: Start with a Website, Not a Mobile App

#560

Post by graphenus »

osrec wrote: post #559
graphenus wrote: post #556

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is so responsive! What stack do you use?

On the backend it's an async version of PHP (much like nodejs), and on the front end, vanilla js. We didn't use react or Vue as they can be rather restrictive (especially if you want animations), so we wrote our own little framework. Same with our CSS framework - rolled our own, because we wanted it to be really flexible across all devices.

Impressive, great work!
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