We all know that the future is mobile and this is proved by the escalation in the sales of the smart phones and the boom in the mobile apps. Market. At the same time the internet connectivity, wi-fi accessability and the internet speeds are also improving on an increasing scale so the mobile web is also showing a trend of easy access and usability.
With this scenario the question arises - Should one go for a mobile website or a mobile app.?
There are some critical differences between the two which need to be considered before taking a final decision:
Mobile Apps:
- They are like the software packages designed with a specific purpose and which need to be downloaded and installed for a particular brand smartphone.
- They need to be made portable for the requisite platform like – Blackberry, iPhone, Android, etc.
- The apps. In order to be successful and have increased usability it needs to be developed very well keeping the user and the small screen of the handset in mind.
- You need to come up with improved versions of apps. Regularly keeping in mind the advancements of the handsets being regularly launched in the market.
- As the browsing technologies improve it is imperative to improve upon the apps. too.
Mobile Website:
- A website especially designed for mobile devices.
- This mainly has links to other pages which provide text information about your products and services and the contact details.
- Unlike the Apps. It does not need any installation and it can be accessed by anyone having an internet connection but the only difference is that it is designed to suit the browsers and screen sizes of mobile devices.
- Your mobile website can be found on search engines by users once you optimize it.
But, with the mobile web getting better and better it makes sense to have an optimized website which can have a larger access easily but again there are situations when apps. may be more viable like for example where downloads and easy payments are the main feature for the users for example like if you have an iTunes like product which you want users to buy and download on mobile devices.
Identify your need weigh the pros and cons and then decide. But, again to sum it up all sooner or later with the advancements and improvements in technology on both the hardware and software side there will be an integration resuting to websites suiting all devices desktops, laptops, tablets and smartphones .
