You Don't Need an App

Submitted by Matt on Tuesday, November 23, 2010

There, I said it. You don't need an app. Everyone is jumping on the app bandwagon because it's hot. But recent studies show that the consumers don't always prefer apps. Not to mention, an app will exclude some of your mobile users. Did I mention how costly it is? The barriers? Now, I will educate you on why you don't need an app for your business.

Here's the research. A recent study by Adobe Scene7 on mobile said that people prefer mobile websites over apps except when it comes to games, social media, maps, and music. eMarketer also conducted research that concluded people prefer using a browser except for games, social media, and music. At a recent CTIA panel, it was said that the browser was the most used app. Even Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google, recommends mobile websites over mobile apps.

Convinced? Let's discuss some pros and cons of apps.

Pros

  • Utilize device capabilities (GPS, camera, voice, address book, calendar, etc)
  • Take full control of user interface
  • Achieve high performance (eg. for games)
  • Support offline browsing
  • Charge per download and/or use in-app advertising

Cons

  • Must be developed for each platform to reach largest audiences
  • At the mercy of App Store policy when it comes to app availability and getting approved
  • Requires users to download (large barrier, apps require loyal audiences)
  • Difficult to maintain (new releases must go through approval process, about a week with Apple)
  • Updates require user to upgrade app on their device
  • App store charges to publish/certify app
  • App store makers take share of profits

 

I hope this puts things into perspective. Did I mention that the mobile space is very fragmented? Those that invest time and money building an iPhone app are excluding those on the Android platform (which has explosive growth and will one day exceed iPhones)

If an app isn't what you're after, you should look into a mobile website.

Mobile websites are...

  • less cluttered than normal websites.
  • accessible through several platforms.
  • support functionality like touch to call, SMS, and Google Maps integration.
  • can be monetized with mobile ads.
  • cost less than an app.

If you have Google Analytics, you can see how much traffic is coming from mobile devices.

What do you think? Agree? Disagree? Tweet us @notixtech.