We are living in the digital age, where almost everyone owns a smartphone. The number of mobile users is increasing day-by-day and mobile apps/websites have also exceeded the usage of desktop use.
Due to this shift, most of the businesses are changing their strategies and focusing more on increasing their mobile presence.
There are two ways a business or company can make their presence on portable phones. Either through a versatile app or a portable site.
A versatile site is a site planned and optimized for portable gadgets. Compared to desktop forms, mobile websites have distinctive structures such as fewer page components, fewer textual styles, and less white space.
Whereas a portable app may be a program recovered through the web and installed on a mobile phone or tablet.
Mobile applications can utilize the device’s innate features that permit designers to make distant features such as better user experience, easy navigation, and fast loading.
When we look at the face esteem, mobile apps and websites can be mixed up as same but in reality, they are two exceptionally diverse portable mediums. It is very important to know which medium can serve your business the most.
The choice of choosing a medium depends on various components. To make your choice simpler, we have pointed out some features that will give you a brief of the qualities and shortcomings of both platforms.
Difference Between Mobile App and Website:
User Experience:
A mobile application provides a new channel for engagement with the users. An app can integrate functions that will allow businesses to have easy interaction with customers. Mobile apps provide better user experience and better features as compared to a mobile website.
Whereas, mobile websites can be accessed from any mobile device irrespective of the operating system, as long as there is an internet connection. There is no need to download or install, a website can be accessed easily through any device.
Customization:
Mobile applications permit customers to set their inclinations and customize the app according to their needs. The versatile apps moreover track the engagement of customers and offer custom upgrades and suggestions.
Businesses through a versatile app get an opportunity to customize and tailor their communication with the customers based on their insights.
Unlike mobile apps, websites don’t require any newer versions or updates from a user’s point of view. It provides average opportunities to personalize settings. But the users don’t have to spend time installing apps or updating versions to experience improvements.
On websites, the updates are made effortlessly and users most probably won’t even notice the update process. The users will automatically get an enhanced and improved experience.
Reach and Life-cycle:
As compared to mobile apps, websites have greater reach capability. A mobile app is accessible for smartphone and tablet users only. Whereas a website reaches a wider audience and covers all devices including mobile and desktop.
When we talk about life cycles, an average shelf-life of a mobile app is very short. Unless a mobile app is very useful or unique, it won’t stay longer on a user’s device.
Users tend to delete an app after its use or when they are bored with it. On the other hand, mobile websites cannot be deleted. Users can get back to a website whenever they want without worrying about downloading or reinstalling it.
Functionality:
A mobile app gives wider functionality to users compared to a website. A mobile application provides offline access to users. It can run without a web connection.
Some apps require a web connection to access some features, but they can provide content and access to customers even in the offline mode. Through an app, customers can get information anytime, anywhere without an internet connection.
A website has limited capability. It doesn’t provide offline access to customers. Even if your website is designed in the lightest and informative manner, it nonetheless needs an internet connection to function fully. It cannot function without a web connection.
Convenience:
A website presents restricted convenience due to the display length and incapability of showing all needed information on one page.
Mobile websites can become tough for customers to navigate as they’re on a smaller display than a desktop. So, if a mobile website isn’t simplified, the user journey can become irritating and difficult.
A mobile application, on the other hand, provides a better user experience and loads faster. It also has the advantage of push notification. A push notification is a feature of an app that offers publishers an opportunity to send direct messages to users.
The sharing feature of the website is far easier than a mobile app. The website can be shared through a link and companies can direct customers to their websites by simply displaying the link in a blog or website.
A mobile app cannot be shared easily. One can only share an app download link. The user needs to download an app in order to get access to the information.
Which is the better option?
As the usage of smartphones keeps growing globally, the query of app vs website will remain very debatable. The proper preference depends on your enterprise goals.
If your objective is to deliver content, establish wider reach throughout platforms, and preserve brand visibility then a mobile-friendly website is the most preferred choice.
On the other side, if your purpose is to provide better engagement, easy interaction, and better user experience then an app is a better choice. An app can also provide access to a user’s phone and native functions.
In many cases, you may need a mobile website and app both. If used wisely, both can be a precious and strategic choice.
So, in relation to your enterprise mobile presence, the decision relies upon your commercial enterprise objectives and desires in preference to the debate approximately the app or internet site.
The preference isn’t approximately selecting one but as an alternative is approximately finding the proper solution that could serve your enterprise reason and deliver pleasant results.
Author:
Harikrishna Kundariya, a marketer, developer, IoT, ChatBot & Blockchain savvy, designer, co-founder, Director of eSparkBiz Technologies, A Mobile App Development Company. His 8+ experience enables him to provide digital solutions to new start-ups based on IoT and ChatBot.
