There is no qualm over the fact that mobile phones are ruling the world today. Currently, there are more than 5 billion mobile users across the world which is nearly two-thirds of the population. And this vast audience expects the best quality mobile apps and fast mobile websites. Unfortunately, not every business can develop both at once, especially when they are just entering the online e-commerce industry. Thus, it becomes harder for them to choose between these two solutions i.e. whether they should develop a mobile app or a mobile website? Thus, in this article, we will be comparing mobile apps and mobile sites, consider all the major aspects so you can make a wise decision.
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What Is The Difference Between Mobile App & Mobile Website?
Let’s start with the basics first. A mobile website is like a website that you must have used on your desktops or laptops. It consists of web pages that are connected and are accessible through a web browser such as Google Chrome. Using specialized coding techniques, they are made to work seamlessly on mobile screens and can adapt to the design pattern of a device.
Generally, a mobile website is created to deliver content and is not highly interactive. If you will start comparing between a mobile app and a mobile site then the first thing you will notice is the Internet connection. Customers require an internet connection to use the website to the full extent. Regarding the cost, websites are mostly budget-friendly, unlike mobile apps.
Meanwhile, mobile apps are a type of software that is developed to work on a specified platform such as Android, iOS, or Windows. These apps are downloadable from the app stores of that platform. If you keep aside cost, then you will find that a mobile app surpasses many benefits from a mobile website.
However, it would be too early to come to a concrete decision. It’s worth noting that many companies have firstly opted to build a website and then developed an app tailored to their target audience and business needs.
What Are The Benefits Of Mobile Website
Before going deep into the battle of mobile apps & mobile websites, we will go into the past of just 5-6 years. At this time, we used to think that a website is the only way of extending the business. But the evolution of technology paved its way in our lives and mobile traffic has only increased in the last few years.
More and more people are commending the use of mobile for accessing websites instead of using laptops or computers. The percentage of global web traffic on mobile phones has surged over the past decade. In February 2023, 60.67% of all web traffic came through mobile phones, with the average for 2023 so far coming in at 60.06%. Due to this, businesses are now highly focused to developed highly mobile responsive websites which are a good and budget-friendly alternative to native mobile apps.
There are two major approaches for developing mobile-friendly websites:
- Responsive
The responsive sites can adapt to any screen size and will look good on any device. It becomes like a liquid that can squeeze or scale up as per the environment. It is highly cost-effective as you don’t have to pay any additional amount for making the site responsive. In fact, we don’t charge a single penny for making the site responsive.
- Adaptive
On the other side, in the adaptive approach, the design layouts are created for a particular screen resolution or device. In simple words, it defines from what device a user is currently surfing the web and displays the layout for that particular device. It is a more expensive approach, in which you create designs for every device on which you want to display the website.
You must have understood what does mobile-friendly means. Now, let’s have a deeper look at the benefits of mobile sites and then their disadvantages.
1. Compatibility
If you are given a choice between an app or a website, consider compatibility since compatibility is one of the main benefits of mobile websites. Your target audience can access your website regardless of the device they are using or operating systems. On the other side, a mobile app can run only within a single platform say Android. You have to develop a separate app for every platform because an android can’t run on iOS and vice versa. In short, a mobile website can be run by a very wide audience.
Another major reason why a mobile website is better than a mobile app is that users don’t need to download or install a website on their device. Everything is accessible through the browser. It is a great advantage especially when the users want to access your website infrequently. They don’t need to take the burden of installing it when the storage is already low.
2. Updates
Updates ostensibly seem not so important, but while comparing a mobile website & mobile app, they are a major concern. Users don’t need to update a website instead, they will receive an updated version to use when it is loaded to the server. On the contrary, users have to download the latest updates of a mobile app, and then those updates will be installed. For the app owners, it is hassling as they have to get it verified from the respective app stores before it will be available to the users.
3. SEO
In the digital marketing industry, you will more ways of making a website search engine optimized in comparison to a mobile app. With good SEO practices on your mobile website, you can generate more leads and convert them into customers. The users will enter certain keywords or queries into the search engine and see your website search results.
What concerns mobile apps, they are placed in the marketplace ecosystem. Their rankings depend on the user activity such as reviews & ratings, number of downloads, etc.
Budget-friendly
As we have already mentioned, websites are highly economical in comparison to mobile apps. You have to develop them only once, and they will run on all platforms. But the same is not true for mobile apps. You have to hire mobile app developers as per the platform of specialization. They have different architectures and principles of interaction with users. Respectively, the costs are noticeably higher if compared with the responsive website having a single codebase that works across all devices through a browser.
What Are The Disadvantages Of Mobile Websites
No comparison is complete without discussing the disadvantages as well. Thus, we have also considered the negative sides of mobile websites too.
1. Can’t access offline
If users are not having a good internet connection or no internet connection, then they can’t access the mobile website. They can only view previously cached pages but can’t access any element which will send requests to the server.
2. Limitations of Platform
While choosing a mobile website over an app, remember a mobile website can’t make use of the device capabilities like a mobile app. It means some hardware features can’t be accessed through a mobile website or may work unstably. Also, note that An-droid & iOS platforms have a different level of limitations to access the device hardware capabilities for a website
iOS Limitations
- Unable to access Push Notifications
- No integration with Siri
- ARKit, Touch ID, Face ID, Bluetooth, and battery information are unavailable for websites
Android Limitations
- Can’t access the calendar
- Telephony features like Calls and SMS are restricted
But things aren’t that much worse, a mobile website can still access GPS, Camera, and some other features using various APIs and libraries.
3. User Experience
User experience is a USP of a mobile app that a mobile website may lack. The reason is that a mobile app is developed for a specific platform while considering its peculiarities and screen size. On the other side, websites are developed for global devices and work through a web browser.
What Are The Benefits Of Mobile Apps
In order to know the benefits of mobile apps, we should first know some stats of the mobile apps. Although we already know that we spend a lot of time on our smartphones and especially on mobile apps.
- An average American spent 3 hours a day on a smartphone in 2020.
- Americans now spend only 2 hours a day on laptops or desktops which has become consistent since 2008
- As per a prediction by eMarketer, in the upcoming years, users will spend 4 hours per day on smartphones, 88% of which will be on mobile apps.
These stats make it obvious for businesses to focus on mobile apps. Companies who have developed a mobile app for their business are already enjoying a higher portion of engaged customers who are more likely to get converted for sales. Now let’s know the benefits of mobile apps:
1. Extensive Capabilities
There is no qualm over the fact that mobile apps are more capable in comparison to mobile websites. Thus, if you want to include some next-level hardware capabilities, such as an accelerometer, then a mobile app is more suitable for you. Even though the IT industry is evolving a lot, traditional mobile apps are still dominating while delivering a better user experience.
2. User Experience
As we already mentioned, mobile apps are designed and developed for specified devices. They utilize hardware capabilities, screen size, and platform usage in a very proper way and deliver a better user experience. It can use GPS, a camera, gestures, voice recognition, etc.
3. Offline access
This is a major advantage of a mobile app over a mobile website. If you want your audience to access your content while offline, then there is no alternative to a mobile app. It can work without the internet, unlike traditional mobile websites.
4. Brand Promotion Opportunities
A mobile app gives your business multiple opportunities to promote the company. What’s more, notifications make it extremely easy to remind your customers of your company and ship important information (e.g. special offers and discounts).
What Are The Disadvantages Of Mobile Apps
Each approach has its pros and cons; we should not overlook its negative side.
1. Cost
One of the major reasons why many business owners prefer a mobile website over an app is its development cost. The mobile app has significant expenses. Also, a mobile app is built for a specified platform. For example, if you have developed an app for the iOS platform, then you wouldn’t be able to run it on Android smartphones, and vice versa. Thus, to reach the maximum audience, you have to develop two separate mobile applications, which is a significant investment.
But, now, with the evolution of technologies, some frameworks allow developing apps for both platforms using a single codebase, such as React or Flutter technology.
2. Maintenance & Upgrade
You have to support apps on a regular basis. It means that the apps should be regularly updated with new versions of better security, bug fixes, new features & functionalities, etc. On the other side, a mobile website will require less maintenance as it is on one platform and less intrusive for updates.
No matter how much time you have tested digital products, many bugs arise after a public release. Thus, we offer a 15-day free maintenance service to make sure the delivered product is bug-free. Even if you have no bugs, you have to constantly advance your app and make it better (e.g. add new features). Otherwise, users will find a better option.
3. Intrusive App Approvals
There is an approval process for every app marketplace. And approving an app on a platform is an arduous process. On the other side, you don’t require any such approval for your website.
iOS is quite notorious for its strict App store approval process. The app must pass strict moderation that relies on App Store Review Guidelines. It generally takes 4 days. After this period, the owner will get a result. If the app compiles all rules and is bug-free, then it will be released on the Apple App Store. Else it will get rejected.
Android Play Store also comes with its nuances. The verification can take even 7 days, and the requirements list is also huge. But you get an advantage on Android; in case of rejection, you will get the reasons for rejection and how you can fix them to pass the verification. Meanwhile, on iOS, you will be wandering on your own.
Mobile App Vs. Mobile Website
Now let’s summarize the comparison between a mobile website and a mobile app development. We’ve compiled the main criteria in our comparison to help you choose between a mobile website and an app.
[table “14” could not be loaded /]Cost To Develop Mobile App vs Mobile Website
The cost to develop a mobile app and a mobile website can vary based on several factors, including the complexity of the project, the features and functionality required, and the development platform used.
Generally speaking, developing a mobile app tends to be more expensive than developing a mobile website. This is because developing an app requires more specialized skills and resources, including knowledge of programming languages such as Swift or Java, as well as expertise in mobile app design and development.
In addition, mobile apps require more rigorous testing and development cycles, as they must be designed to work across multiple platforms and devices, each with its own unique hardware and software configurations. This can add to the overall development costs.
On the other hand, mobile websites tend to be less expensive to develop, as they are typically built using web development tools and languages such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. They can also be designed to work across multiple platforms and devices, including desktops, laptops, and smartphones.
Ultimately, the cost of developing a mobile app or mobile website will depend on the specific requirements of the project, as well as the experience and expertise of the development team. It’s important to research and compares multiple options to find a solution that meets your needs and fits within your budget.
Wrapping Up
In this article, we have gone through every aspect of the difference between a mobile app and a mobile website. It depends on your requirements while making a choice. Mobile apps are optimal if you have no budget constraints and are looking to capture the audience by providing the best user experience. But, if you have a limited budget and have a target audience of both Android & iOS platforms, then a mobile website would be an ideal choice. Whatever your choice is, we will help you. Contact us & share your requirements.
