A Brief Analysis of Mobile Apps and Mobile Websites
Establishing a strong mobile presence for your business or organization is crucial. For which, the first considerations that you will probably come up with are whether you want to create a mobile app for users to download or a mobile website, or maybe both.
A mobile website v/s an application: Which works better?
Before you can assess the benefits of a mobile website versus an app, it is vital to analyze the key differences between the two. Both are accessed on portable devices such as smartphones and tablets.
We all must have used at least one application till now and therefore know a bit about them. However, many are not familiar with a mobile website. It is similar to any other site with browser-based HTML pages linked to each other and accessed via the Internet.
The obvious feature distinguishing a mobile website from a standard website is the fact that it is designed for the smallest handheld display and touchscreen interface. Responsive web design now considered as the new standard for websites that not only support mobile devices but can scale to any size device.
Which is better?
When it comes to choosing to create a native app or a mobile website for your business, the most appropriate decision depends on your ultimate goals and focus. For instance, those who desire to make an interactive game, an app is probably the best choice. But if your goal is to deliver mobile-friendly content to the people across the Internet, then a mobile website is probably the way you should go. In some cases, you might need both of them, but it's pretty safe to say that it rarely makes sense to create an app without having a mobile website.
Generally speaking, a mobile website should be the first step in developing a mobile web presence, while an application is useful when developing for very specific purpose that cannot be effectively achieved through a web browser.
In conclusion -
With the rapid growth of mobile device users, the question "application versus web" will stay to be a real consideration for businesses desiring to establish a mobile presence. If your mobile goals are primarily based on marketing, or if your goal is to deliver information across a broad audience base, then the mobile responsive website is the logical choice.
On the other hand, if your focus is on providing a user experience that is more like a game interface or computer program than a website, or if you need access to a user's phone storage and native features, then an application is likely to be required.
Remember that a native app and a mobile/responsive website are not necessarily mutually incompatible. There are many organizations that have a public mobile-friendly website for their general web presence, as well as a downloadable native app to meet more specific requirements.
In the end, it is your decision to choose the right tool that does your job in the best possible way.