Most of your customers may visit you on their phones — but that doesn't automatically mean you need a mobile app. An app downloaded from the stores is a significant investment and requires ongoing maintenance. The right decision depends on how often your users interact with you, and why.
When is a mobile-friendly website enough?
- Users visit you a few times a month or less
- The main purpose is to inform and to collect quote or appointment requests
- New customers mainly arrive through search engines and ads
- Your budget and team can't sustain two separate products
In most of these scenarios, a well-designed, fast, mobile-first website reaches more people than an app. Users don't need to download anything, your content is visible in search engines and you only have one product to keep up to date.
When does a mobile app add value?
- Users interact with you frequently, even daily (ordering, bookings, account tracking, loyalty schemes)
- Push notifications are an important part of your business model
- You need deep access to device features such as the camera, location, Bluetooth or health data
- Field teams need a tool that works offline
- Being visible in the app stores matters for your brand
A third option: the PWA (progressive web app)
A PWA is a web application built with web technologies that can be added to a phone's home screen, work offline to a degree and send notifications. With a single codebase, it delivers both a website and an app-like experience.
- It doesn't depend on store approval processes; updates go live instantly.
- It stays visible in search engines.
- Development and maintenance costs are usually lower than for two separate store apps.
- On the other hand, access to some device features is limited, and features such as notifications are less flexible on iOS than on Android.
Native or cross-platform?
Once you've decided on a store app, the next question is technology. Native development with Swift (iOS) and Kotlin (Android) delivers the best performance and the fastest access to platform features, but means two separate codebases. Cross-platform technologies such as React Native and Flutter let you build for both platforms from a single codebase.
- For most business, e-commerce, booking and loyalty apps, cross-platform is sufficient and cost-effective.
- Native development comes into its own for products that need intensive graphics, advanced camera processing or deep platform-specific integrations.
The hidden costs of an app
The work doesn't end when the app is published. Apple and Google release operating system updates every year, and store rules change. Keeping the app compatible with these changes, tracking crashes, managing releases and maintaining the server-side API all require a regular budget. You'll also need a separate marketing effort to persuade users to download the app.
Conclusion
Start by defining your user's need: how often do they interact with you, where and for what purpose? The answer usually points to the right technology on its own. In the discovery call we assess your scenario together and give you a reasoned recommendation between a website, a PWA and a store app.
