It’s a common question in mobile marketing- do we optimise our website for smartphones and tablets, or do we build an app? David Adams, developer at e-commerce design agency, Session Digital looks at the options…
The internet continues to be a global phenomenon, continuing to expand and develop to enhance the user’s experience. A topic which has received a lot of attention recently is how companies can better adapt their websites for the ever increasing number of mobile users. What exactly are your options, and what is most effective?
That the internet is increasingly being driven by mobile devices is no longer a matter for debate. Globally, web traffic originating from mobile devices has seen an increase of 162.73% from 2010 to 2012. In the UK 39% of adults go online via their phones and a Morgan Stanley survey predicts that more people will be accessing the internet from mobiles than from desktops by 2014. If a sizeable percentage of your online traffic originates from mobile platforms you need to deliver a superior user experience on these platforms. You now have two choices – create a native app that runs on specific operating systems or go with a design that looks the same across different screen sizes.
Given that both options demand a significant investment in resources, you need to take several factors into consideration.
The case for a mobile optimised website
Here are a few reasons that might make you consider investing in mobile friendly websites:
1. Cost effectiveness
A uniform codebase means that you don’t have to spend valuable time and money adapting your site for various operating systems. If you follow the responsive design philosophy, the look and feel of your site will be the same, whether it’s viewed on a smartphone, tablet or smart TV.
2. Very low barrier to usage
Downloading apps can be challenging when dealing with slow mobile networks. With a mobile site, users just type the URL in the browser and access the content.
3. Ease of upgrade
Developers can make changes and updates to a mobile site quickly and painlessly. Upgrades for apps requite action from the user – a slower process that costs the developer more time and money. But with a mobile optimised website, changes are made automatically.
4. SEO advantages
If the mobile site has been designed in accordance with SEO best practices then it has a much higher chance of getting to the top of search engine results than an app will ever have.
5. No App store approval
Apps have to go through a long manual review process before they can be listed on the store, and the store operators – Apple, Google, Microsoft etc – can pull any app for violating rules.
With a mobile site, you have full control over the design and are free to change things as and when you like.
Who are mobile websites best for?
If you are running any kind of website that depends upon web searches (ecommerce store, travel portals etc) you should probably focus on making your website responsive and optimised for mobiles instead of wasting money on apps.
User studies have also shown that organisations, such as banks which deal with sensitive user information would be better served by the website route. People are wary about storing financial data on an app installed in a phone that might get lost, and feel that websites seem more secure.
Who are native mobile apps best for?
Native apps shine in terms of overall user experience. Studies have shown that users are more engaged on mobile apps than on websites. During the London 2012 Olympics, an incredible 96% of time was spent on mobile apps, whilst only 4% was spent on mobile sites.
A few advantages of native apps over websites are: –
1. Tight integration with hardware
Apps can be tightly integrated with the hardware and can take advantage of proximity and light sensors, accelerometers, cameras, GPS and gyroscopes. This means that the user experience on most apps is qualitatively better than on mobile websites.
2. No dependence on Internet connection
Mobile websites don’t work in blind spots or in areas with temperamental coverage. Apps, on the other hand, can store data locally on the phone and the user can continue interacting with them even when no web connection is available.
3. Suitable for repetitive and regular usage
Apps are great for repetitive and regular tasks like reading the news, listening to music or posting a tweet. However, there are no guarantees that users will favour mobile apps over websites. A case in point is Facebook – despite having a mobile app for the major operating systems, most users access the site using m.facebook.com.
4. They can be deployed easily because of the tools available
All major operating systems offer developers free frameworks and development tools to get started with app development. Because of this, it may actually take less time to design an app than code a mobile site from ground up. There are also free open source frameworks, for example Phonegap, which let developers deploy applications across all operating systems.
Conclusion
Whether you go with a mobile site or a native app, the important thing to remember is that you need to have a mobile strategy regardless of the niche in which you are operating.
By David Adams
Developer
Session Digital
http://www.sessiondigital.com/