It’s difficult to keep count of the number of times people say ‘let’s make an App’ without really understanding the benefits of Apps compared to good mobile website design.
We’ve compiled our ten-point list of benefits of mobile website design compared to apps:
- Users don’t need to download anything. It’s especially annoying to have to download something if you want to see it once.
- Exactly the same User experience can be created using a mobile website as an App.
- Users can bookmark a mobile website to their home screen in just the same way as an app
- The experience can be so similar to using an app, that your users will probably think it is an app
- Mobile web works on all smart phones – so you don’t need to develop and maintain different apps for Iphone, Android, Blackberry, and Microsoft.
- Indeed using responsive web design, your same mobile website can be optimised for tablet devices
- A mobile website can use the same Content Management System and content as your main website, so you only have to update content once
- Mobile websites can be updated instantly, so you don’t need to wait until you’ve developed a new version of the app
- Mobile websites are independent of App markets – so you can commercialise your own site without paying a share to the market
- Mobile websites are cheaper – did you need another reason?!
There are plenty of reasons to develop Apps but in the vast majority of cases, it makes sense to use mobile web.