To Mobile App or Mobile Web?

We’ve been getting this question a lot from our clients. We’ve just spent a lot of dough on a mobile-optimized website — what are the benefits of a mobile app? Do we even need one? Now we may be biased, given that we’re app developers in San Francisco, but the truth is, yes. Oh yes.

Let’s talk trends. We know people spend more time on their phones then ever before. They are their primary communication devices, overtaking desktop computers some time ago. So, everyone is on a phone. Duh. But we also know mobile users spend far more time in apps versus mobile browsers. Think of your web browsing — you probably only check a handful of your favorite sites everyday. In the mobile experience, that translates to apps. Finally, there are way more mobile only users than computer-plus-mobile users in every region. Why? A phone does everything a computer can do, and it fits in your pocket. Bonus duh.

What else? Let’s talk turkey. Money. Mobile purchases. You want to buy tickets to the movie or the big game, you don’t want to hit the website, enter all your info, and wait for the site to load — oh, don’t refresh that browser or you’ll be charged twice! In-app payments streamline this process for your favorite, most used in apps, from everything to pizza to burritos. The in-app purchase keeps users and also leads to higher conversion rates. In short, they enjoy buying, so they buy more.

Want more? Think location-based apps like Yelp or Foursquare. Apps that can work in the background and send you notifications for nearby friends/deals/pop-up sushi-burrito restaurants.  Native apps use the phone’s hardware, such as camera and accelerometer. Though web apps are improving in this regard (especially Mozilla and Firefox OS), right now, it’s advantage mobile apps, by a long shot. Certainly, mobile web has a great place in the mobile eco system, but it all comes down to speed and convenience. One day mobile web, but not today.

Still, this all comes with one, giant caveat. Users want great apps, period. Scroll through app reviews and you aren’t going to see scathing diatribes on the merits of HTML versus DOM/CSS. Users want great apps and great experiences, period.

Contact our San Francisco mobile app company Appstem if you still have any questions.