Mobile App Vs Mobile Website

As the matter of fact that companies are getting aware of fact that they actually need to redesign their mobile strategy due to overwhelming increase in the user of mobile which have even crossed the desktop only user approach . As the outcome of this companies are redesigning their mobile strategy . And the most common question while planning their mobile strategy is whether a mobile website or a mobile app ? Which really is the right way to go .


Well this is a tricky question . Many argues that they need a mobile website only and not the app and many argues vice a versa . When comparing mobile app with mobile website , it all depends on individual person factors that can help them decide which one can be proven better one for them . Lets quickly look at Pros and Cons of each of them which can help you in deciding your mobile strategy .

Mobile App Vs Mobile Web : The Difference Grounded

Mobile Website - They are all the same . They can be easily accessed from a phone browser which may contain text , videos or may be some mobile specific features like location filtering , click to call and more . Whereas on the other hand mobile apps are the one which need to be downloaded from the stores and installed on user specific device . It can run with or without internet also depending on the app features .

Mobile Apps Pros 

Branding Opportunity

Mobile app is a separate identity other than a mobile website . Company can offer unique design , features in the app which can be proven a brand opportunity for the company . Mobile app owners can also offer completely different experience for the user that is next to impossible in case of mobile responsive websites , which act as a important channel for brand engagement. 

Personalisation

A mobile app can be tailored according to the personal needs of the user . It can help communication to user on the basis of location , interest , past behaviour and more . Apps also helps track user engagement and performance together with the location tracking feature which allows customisation and tailored recommendation which allows them to grab custom discounts and promotion .

Mapping Device Capabilities 

A mobile app is the one which has capabilities to interact with device features and hardware , say GPS , camera and so on .

User experience is all that matter which dealing with the ecommerce store . Measuring the customer experience gets easier with personalised mobile application offered to user . Mobile app is always proven the best way to enhance customer experience by offering user with :

• Push notification 
• Tap to call / Email 
• Camera
• Automatic updates 
• Alerts
• Discounts on the basis of location 

Whereas on the other hand mobile website does not have the capabilities of accessing all the device features which mobile app can easily do .

Offline Access

Mobile app can be even accessed offline if it has been features with offline download . This is most common case in case of content and video app that offers user to view even in offline mode , which for sure a mobile website will never able to do .

Customer Engagement 

Mobile apps offers more convenience experience as they are specifically built for the purpose they are going to offer . For instance mobile apps built for banking will have all the features as present in mobile app .  App also offers different content and components which is often not offered by a mobile website , as it usually remains the same for all the users . As mobile apps are offering so many customised features , customer will obviously love to use and makes a part of their daily habit .

Mobile Website Pros 

Broader Audience Reach

As mobile website is easily accessible across all the platform from a mobile browser , it offers a wider audience reach . Secondly in terms of search engines optimisation , they crawl the mobile website and can bring the result accordingly , whereas in case of mobile app they need to necessarily downloaded from respective play stores . 

User have limited space in their phone , and they usually want to know the feature of what you are offering in mobile app even before they think of downloading the app , and hence mobile website are the best way to describe the same .

Cost Effective

Yes it is true. Usually a app will cost you 20 times more than the website . A mobile website is always  cost effective while comparing with mobile app development , specifically when you want to launch the app across different platforms .

SEO & Brand Visibility

Mobile optimised sites are going to rank higher in the search engines in comparison with other pages that are not optimised for mobile .

Mobile website is less expensive option , but is restricted to the features they can offer  while comparing with mobile app .

Mobile website on the other hand are bit difficult for user to navigate due to screen size , they make also address speed issue if it is not optimised properly . If it is not well optimised for user , they will simply get frustrated and increases bounce rate of the website , which in short can also effect your brand image .

Which Is Better Option ? 

Well when it comes to deciding which option is best - I would like to say right choice which depends completely  on your business objectives . If your target is wider reach in limited budget then mobile website will be preferred , otherwise mobile app is better option for enhancing customer experience and customer loyalty .

According to me , both mobile app and website should be taken down to the ground as they both are valuable choice and have there own pros and cons .