Going mobile: mobile website or app?
webdragon.com.au
Going mobile: mobile website or app?
1–10 of 13 posts
Re: Going mobile: mobile website or app?
#2For most, starting with a mobile website is the best option as the cost is lowest to develop and you reach the widest audience.
If warranted, you can follow up with apps for specific platforms.
Re: Going mobile: mobile website or app?
#3For most, starting with a mobile website is the best option as the cost is lowest to develop and you reach the widest audience. If warranted, you can follow up with apps for specific platforms.
That's the best approach for most companies. User feedback and usage stats will then determine the next step.
Re: Going mobile: mobile website or app?
#4i'll make it easy for you.
mobile website = no money in this
Re: Going mobile: mobile website or app?
#5For most, starting with a mobile website is the best option as the cost is lowest to develop and you reach the widest audience. If warranted, you can follow up with apps for specific platforms.
I agree. Native apps are great if you have some features you want to implement that aren't practical in a web app, but I can't think of any case where a website with a native app for mobile devices has any good excuse not to also have a web app to fall back on.
Re: Going mobile: mobile website or app?
#6For most, starting with a mobile website is the best option as the cost is lowest to develop and you reach the widest audience. If warranted, you can follow up with apps for specific platforms.
I agree. Native apps are great if you have some features you want to implement that aren't practical in a web app, but I can't think of any case where a website with a native app for mobile devices has any good excuse not to also have a web app to fall back on.
With things like games, you can see that an app could be the only option. While HTML5 is almost there, it still doesn't offer the performance and capabilities of a native app, while Apple's stance on Flash means Flash-based games are a no-no.
Re: Going mobile: mobile website or app?
#7As a user I don't have any strong preference either way but the presence of a shiny icon on my home screen prompts me to visit a site more often than a bookmark that is several taps away. Adding bookmarks to the home screen on the iPhone is more realistic with folders to organize them in but it's still a multi-step process to put it there in the first place. It's unfortunate tapping a piece of glass more than once is a barrier but it just seems to work out that way these days for me.
Re: Going mobile: mobile website or app?
#8In my experience (as an iOS app developer) people overestimate the returns they'll get from being listed in the app store. It might make sense for big brands because people might search for them, but smaller brands will not be more visible than when having a mobile site. In fact, when it is necessary to search, getting an app from the store and then using it takes a lot more steps then searching in the browser and going to the website.
My standard response when people ask me about building an app is if they've considered creating a mobile site. Unless they have something platform/device specific in mind, like in app purchases, push notifications, using the camera or compass or if the UI is important, it often does not make sense to create an app.
Most important, however, is the user (surprise, surprise). What is the task the user will perform at your site/with your app? If it's something they'll only do a couple of times (or even once) it's not worth an app (unless, maybe, you want them to pay for it). Installing an app is a much bigger upfront commitment (even if it's free) than visiting a website.
Re: Going mobile: mobile website or app?
#9For most, starting with a mobile website is the best option as the cost is lowest to develop and you reach the widest audience. If warranted, you can follow up with apps for specific platforms.
I fully agree with you, mobile apps are the way to go, and you can still build native apps for advance feature or mnetisation as well as part of a strategy to reach a broader audience, I use http://www.gmbhnews.com as a base for mobile apps to help bloggers achieve this.
Re: Going mobile: mobile website or app?
#10I very much like the idea of producing webapps rather than iPhone apps in my business, and I think they could probably provide all the functionality I require.
For me the catch is monetisation. With the App Store, this is clear: I release paid apps. With webapps... Advertising seems viable, except that my apps need to work offline (and may solely be used in that way), which as far as I know scuppers the advertising approach. So what's the alternative? Set up a paywall and require users to login to get the webapp in the first place? That seems to defeat the point somewhat.
Anyone have bright ideas or links to clever thinking on the subject?