Mobile App vs. Responsive Web: Business Decision Guide

Mobile App vs Responsive Web – What is right for your business?

We live in an era where smart mobile devices have become a basic necessity. These devices which are just a handful, impact our lives so much that even watches have become accessories and all of us are extremely attached to it, that life will just not be the same without them. A well-known fact is that the easiest and convenient way to browse the Internet is via mobile devices. This might keep you wondering if your business needs a mobile app or a responsive website or probably both. As we all know, mobile experience plays a vital role in digital marketing. “ Mobile app vs Responsive web ” is one such debate that is going on and on. This blog is an attempt to walk you through the arena of Mobile app vs Responsive web.

Responsive web design – Flashing Flexibility!

Mobile-friendly websites have become the need of the hour. The increasing use of smartphones and tablets make responsive web designs all the more vital. These obedient responsive webs are favorites to the smartphone and tablet users. These web designs can scale to any size. Interactions with websites on mobile devices are different from doing the same on desktops or laptops. Resolution, touch vs click, size of the screen etc. are a few factors which require attention while creating a responsive web design.

Why should you opt for a responsive web design?

The responsive web design fits for all sizes, that’s why! Your website can be accessed on desktop and on mobile devices without compromising on the convenience. The experience remains just the same. The pain of resizing, navigation troubles, and scrolling problems can be eliminated. Here are a few benefits of responsive web for business:

• Rich user experience – The ultimate goal! - The ultimate goal of any business decision is user satisfaction. Such optimum user experience is possible if your web design is responsive. You give a chance to your users to access your web page from their convenient device and you are rewarded with the achievement of your ultimate goal that is rich user experience. From the business point of view, managing one responsive web is much easier and it can also be done effectively.

• Low Development costs – One costs less than two - How about having one single responsive site rather than two separate ones? The cost of creating a responsive web design will be much lesser. Not only that, your SEO efforts will be rewarded as all the users will be visiting a single site irrespective of the device they are using.

• Google’s recommendations – Commandment for Search marketers! - Google recommends responsive web design. What more do search marketers need? Sharing, interacting and linking to contents on responsive design sites is much easier than when it has to be done on separate mobile sites. User experience is a major ranking factor as far as Google is concerned. Be prepared to handle increasing traffic as a result of your responsive web design!

Mobile apps for business –For customer retention

Applications that can be downloaded and installed on mobile devices are known as mobile apps. There are specific portals based on your device’s operating system. Apple’s App store and Android’s Play Store are places where these apps can be downloaded from. Here are a few points that highlight the benefits of mobile apps for business.

• Presence and performance – A way to showcase your brand! - Apps take less loading time as they are lighter and are developed by having mobile experience as the primary criteria. No one likes to wait. Mobile apps can be of a great advantage because of this point. Yet another thing to consider here is that once a user installs your mobile app, the presence of the app in his screen is a huge advantage because when he looks at his screen, your app smiles at him! One challenge here is marketing your app. With the growing demand for mobile apps, you might want to market your mobile apps. By doing so, you can get the desired results.

• An increase in sales – A businessman’s paradise - One of the Advantages of mobile apps for business is that you are more likely to witness an increase in sales. The best example to quote here is Amazon’s mobile app. Apps are a very convenient medium to shop. By getting a mobile app developed for your business, you reward your customers the comfort of shopping at ease with a few other add-ons like alerts on discounts, sale, and offers.

• User interaction – A direct approach - The importance of mobile app for business growth is evident in the fact that you get a chance to directly approach your customers in a sophisticated manner, that too in a direct way! You can provide your customers with an unmatchable user experience.

Customer retention is easier in the case of mobile apps. You get a chance to keep on reminding them that you are always there for them by way of alerts and notifications.

Mobile App vs Responsive web ? Which should you choose?

The real question now is if your organization needs a responsive website or a mobile app.

Choosing the right thing for your business depends upon your requirements. Logically speaking, if your requirements are such that you want to create either one of these for marketing purposes and if your main goal is to establish a wider mobile presence, responsive websites can be opted because they are easily manageable and cost effective. However, if your goal is to provide a customer experience that has got the feel of a gaming interface or in another perspective, if you feel that apps can be a platform for alerting your customers about sales and offers and you require access to their phone’s storage, mobile apps have an edge over responsive websites.

It is not mandatory that you should have only one of the above. Many organizations have both mobile apps and responsive websites. So,  are you any close to the the result of the debate on “ Mobile app vs Responsive web ”? The above are a few general pointers. The ball however, is in your court!