Website or Mobile App: Which Does Your Business Need First?

Almost every business should build a website before a mobile app. A website is cheaper, faster to build, works on every device, and can be found on Google. An app can do none of those things until someone has already chosen to install it.

That said, apps are the right answer in specific situations. Here is how to tell them apart.

Build a website first if

• People need to find you. Apps do not appear in Google results; websites do.
• Most customers interact with you once or occasionally.
• You mainly need to explain what you do and collect enquiries.
• Your budget is limited and you want the widest reach for it.

An app may be worth it if

• Customers come back repeatedly, daily or weekly, not once a year.
• You need something a browser cannot do well: push notifications, offline access, continuous location, or hardware features.
• Repeat purchasing needs to be much faster than a website allows.
• You already have demand and are trying to serve it better, not create it.

The question that settles it

Ask yourself honestly: would your customer install this and open it again next week? People are protective of their home screen. An app that gets installed once and never opened has cost you money and gained you nothing.

If the honest answer is no, that is not a failure. It means a good website will serve you better, and you have just saved a substantial amount of money.

The middle option people forget

A well-built website can be installed to a phone home screen and works offline for basic use. For many businesses that covers what they wanted an app for, at a fraction of the cost. It is worth asking about before committing to a full app build.