The more popular smartphones are, the more valuable they are as the instrument of leisure and business. Thus, it is crucial for a business to be accessible through mobile devices.
Having made a website, some businessmen, especially small business owners, think that’s enough. Unfortunately, it is not. Most of the websites are initially designed to run on desktop and hard to use through mobile devices.
There are two main ways to get the business closer to the mobile audience. You can invest in the development of a responsive website or a mobile app.
We cannot state that one option works better than the other since both of them do their best in different cases. Let’s consider their pros and cons before we make a choice.
If You Already Have a Website.
So it is sensible to make it responsive. At first glance, a responsive website is the same as any other and created with the use of the same technologies. Nevertheless, websites are usually designed to be accessed through desktop, whereas responsive websites use CSS media queries and specially designed to be easily displayed on different screens – laptops, tablets, phones.
You shouldn’t confuse responsive and adaptive websites. They are similar, but there is a difference in technology – the thing is, responsive website responses to given screen sizes at any point, so in it can be perfectly displayed on a screen of any size just by changing its format, while adaptive website adapts to specific screen parameters – technically, we create new version of website for every screen size. It takes much more time and resources, so we concentrate on responsive design.
Which Is the Benefit of a Mobile Site over a Native App for Business?
Let’s talk about them in more details.
A responsive website is a good option in case you strive to make your business easily findable and recognizable. When a person hears about the company for the first time, they tend to surf the internet in search of it, not go to the app store.
Moreover, the website is still the same for any type of device and must be coded once, which saves your money. Website development is believed to be much more cost and time-effective than app development.
In terms of maintenance, it also has some benefits. It is easily upgradable – you just have to implement changes and publish them, while app updates require more effort from both sides – developers and users. It is necessary to download the update to get it.
When it comes to website user just enjoy the result at once. As for after release maintenance, website support is much more affordable than maintaining an app (including upgrades, testing, compatibility issues, and ongoing development). If the reach issue and cost-effectiveness are the most important for you than a responsive website is the best possible choice.
When a Native App Has a Priority over the Website?
Still, there are cases when an app has a priority over the website. The app provides much higher personalization. If you want users to use the product in a personalized way on a regular basis – app provides more opportunities for it and covers more scenarios. App serves better for projects that involve serious calculations and charts, they are quicker and more efficient.
Also, the app provides better access to smartphone functions, so if your product has to use a smartphone camera or GPS – the app is the choice. Moreover, the app can be useful in case you want to keep the user constantly updated about the service work – push notifications sent to the smartphone by the app are perfect for it. Most browsers don’t have such a feature. Users can access the app without an Internet connection, which is impossible for websites.
We should admit that both options have their own advantages and disadvantages.
To Clarify Them Let’s Make a Brief Summary:
Deciding on a product that will represent your business, you eventually pick an option that makes you and the customer feel as much comfort as possible.
