5 Reasons to Vouch for Mobile Apps Against Mobile Websites

“Which one is better? Mobile application or Mobile website” This is one of the most debatable topic in technology era and answer may be vary depending upon requirement. Mobile website is a website which specially optimized for mobile device browsers which is responsive and load faster on smart phones. Mobile website also accesses some mobile specific features like GPS, click to call etc. In other hand mobile application requires to install on mobile devices from relevant app store. Both the platform offers various benefits to users and here we will discuss which one performs better.

Smartphone owners are spending about 86% of their mobile-time on apps. Mobile applications have not just become the source of daily updates/information but are also driving engagement through shopping, gaming and other utilities. Brands have consequently been migrating to applications to ensure that their products and services are offered in a platform that the end user seeks for.

For businesses and organization, it is high time to cater services and business processes via mobile apps. Apps have been the way of several top companies engaging with their customers and employees. As opposed to mobile websites, apps bring in a lot many advantages that will help your brand operate more efficiently. Obviously each has its own benefits and drawback and few features works best for some business where as few will not work the best. Here all scenarios are discussed by considering the majority of the businesses and its operations.

#1 Driving engagement

The smart phone generation is all about convenience. Now, each one of us knows the difference in convenience when it is about accessing a mobile application and accessing a mobile website. With the later, you will have to manually enter the URL (or search it up in Google), before you expect the products to be loaded. Apps on the other hand are highly purpose focused and the home screen isn’t necessarily about the brand’s history and its values.  Another disadvantage with mobile websites is their dependence on browsers – its speed and other functionalities.

ComScore released one report in 2015 which describes better stats of mobile app and mobile browser usage. According to ComScore 87% of all time which is spend on mobile in the USA was spent on mobile apps. People are almost spending 9 out of 10 minutes on various mobile apps and this number increased to 90% since 2013 compares to 54% in mobile browser.

#2 Better security

Mobile applications provide a higher amount of security as compared to websites. Applications can further integrate device management software that doesn’t just help in locking down apps but also retract them, allowing enterprises, a greater degree of control on devices and their functionalities. Apps are continually audited to review the security standards but websites always depend upon the browsers readiness to such events. While mobile websites too are secure, the advantage with apps is related more to the control part of it.

#3 Improved productivity and cost cutting

Mobile apps, especially for enterprises, can help employees communicate, train and access information and resources faster and easier. Apps have been reported to increase employee productivity by more than 40%. In some cases like OLA or UBER, apps have been the only way the company manages its employees and caters to its customers. Mobile websites on the other hand are slow to load, hard to optimize and complicated to access, thereby inhibiting productivity and costing more.

Some ecommerce businesses also shows “Install App” banners on their mobile site while any visitors opens their app. We are experts in paid marketing field and lot of ecommerce business runs Google & Facebook mobile app ads campaigns too to drive traffic and boost sales via their mobile apps.

#4 Accessing offline information

In most cases, mobile apps update themselves whenever there is an internet connection available. Taking the case of maps, apps allow navigation to be saved offline. On the other hand, if you would have sought mobile websites for the same, it would have required contact internet availability. Offline availability and saving of information also ensures that quality time isn’t lost and users get things done. Sometimes your internet connect might be low then Google chrome will load your page accordingly in browser and it won’t give better user interface for sure.

Also Read – Key Advantages of Running Shopping Ads [Google and Bing]

#5 Other important features

Mobile apps come with several extra features that aren’t possible with a website interface. Applications use the devices hardware features including address books, push notifications, camera, gallery, recording, vibration, cloud and cache to enable several useful features that make the apps more interesting and useful. Mobile websites on the other hand are just plain and simple pages that just allows you to interact in the traditional manner. It’s just like accessing information on your laptop, but on a smaller screen.

If user regularly deletes browser history then he/she might need to login to your mobile site every time they open it. If your business has an app then user don’t need to worry about it. They can view/track/book order anywhere and anytime without worrying about log into it every time.

More than 102,062 million mobile apps have been downloaded on Android and iOS phones and this number is projected to rise to 286,692 million by 2017. Today, mobile apps account for as much as half the time spend by users on digital platforms.

Stacey Rudolph describes beautifully about mobile app usage stats in an infographic where she describes that 42% of all mobile sales came through mobile apps for the top 500 merchants across the globe.

Understandably enough, mobile apps have been overshadowing mobile websites in all areas. Though mobile websites aren’t yet useless, apps have become the common means to information, for both the consumer and the employee. If you have been running an organization, regardless of the industry, you should be thinking in the lines of investing in a mobile app. It will definitely make it easier for your consumers to stay updated and there is a higher chance of increase in traffic and revenues. Specially tailored and customized apps offer benefits that are beyond competition. IF you haven’t already, now will be the time to begin.