Mobile optimized website or mobile app?
Especially in the eCommerce industry, a mobile app can effortlessly rekindle the user experience. Whether to choose a mobile website or the mobile app, the decision can be equally nerve wrecking and confusing for you. Being one of the most debated battles that have prolonged for quite some time, the results are still to be figured out. From which one of the two is better to which one suits your needs, you should be aware of what you choose for your online store. If you go by the people’s views, you’d find half of them favoring the website because you can just log in anytime and pick what you want whereas; the other half is all gaga about the apps and their handy features. With so much of progress in the eCommerce industry, you have all the options in front of you. All you got to do is see which option fits your online store best and pick the one that you find fruitful. So, which one would you go for? If you are confused and looking for a better insight, let’s look at whether a mobile app is better for your website or the mobile website.
Mobile sites
The mobile-responsive website is not something that is separately made for the hand-held devices, but is a responsive design that is tailored to fit all the screen sizes. With just the design made compact in order to fit the smallest of the screen to the widest, the idea is to provide the same content to the visitor coming on the mobile that they get on the desktop. With a wider reach of the audience, having a website isn’t a bad decision at all. So, following are the benefits and the drawbacks of having a mobile website.
Benefits: Economically priced: The only price that a website makes you spend is the designing of the same. Accessibility: No matter where you are, what device you are using or what time is it - websites are accessible in every possible way. To go a little deeper, you don’t have to think about the device you’re working on. Whether it is a site for iOs or Android, they’re absolutely accessible. Seamless to setup: Talking about websites, you don’t have to submit to the app stores. All you need is a domain and hosting.
Drawbacks: No offline access: Without a stable internet connection, no customer would be able to get access to the website.
No visibility in the app store: The design of the mobile website is not meant to be visible in the app store. In case of poor design, there are a number of problems that you and your customers would face once the site is live. The first being the performance issue that makes it difficult for the user to surf the store, there are other problems also that serve as a drawback.
Mobile App Don’t you download all kinds of apps from the apps store and install them on your phones or even laptops? The difference between the mobile website and mobile apps is that you don’t have to render with a browser. All the brands, online stores, and products you need are accessible to you with the tap of a finger. What else would you need? With all the drawbacks of the mobile website turned benefits of this one, mobile app builder has a shining future. Well, there’s nothing that comes without flaws. This too has some. Take a look at the benefits and the drawbacks of mobile apps below.
Benefits: Push
notifications:
These
are
notifications
sent
to
the
visitors/customers once they subscribe the latest news. The ease of marketing can surely help boost the online businesses.
Accessibility: Talking about the accessibility with respect to the availability, the users can use the services when not having a stable internet connection as well. For example, reading e-books, listening to music and other functions are available. Properly designed for all screens: A mobile app is tailor-made to fit all the screen sizes without looking abruptly clustered.
Available in the app stores: No matter when you need it, the availability of the app stores lets you access it anytime and anywhere.
Drawbacks: Is expensive: There’s a lot of money involved in buying an app (not all apps are expensive) from the store and after the set up is done, you have to submit the same to the app store. Moreover, unlike mobile sites, the mobile apps take up the storage of the mobile phones. This is one of the reasons that might compel the customers to uninstall it. The mobile app builder available in the industry is getting down to making customized apps that work on-demand for the users. As a result, a larger audience is being benefited with the mobile apps. Here are some of the reasons that provide an edge to the applications: Mobile apps offer better personalization Apps offer an easier interface when it comes to sending promotional triggers. Mobile users spend 86% of their time on mobile apps and just 14% of the time on mobile website; and Apps can work faster than websites.
Conclusion: Who wins? Depending on the business type, a winner must be chosen. If your budget is nominal and your reach is wide, the website would be your ideal way but when you have a business like Instagram or Snapchat, mobile apps work for you.