Websites or apps? Apps or website?
While this debate has been around for decades now, we believe the real conversation should change from “Apps vs Websites” to “Apps + Websites”. The two serve each other beautifully, and in turn seamlessly serve your clients, fans and users in a way that has simply not been possible before.
But if you wonder what’s so special about apps, here’s our view on the matter…
Some of our clients have been in a limbo of how to provide exciting content, but at the same time to treat user’s with a more personalised experience. Mobile apps bridge that gap beautifully. By choosing such filters as location and categories, we can provide your audience with an experience they’ll engage with more leading to greater participation and conversion.
Email has reigned for the last couple of decades as the most widely used business communication tool. But it’s fair to say that for a long time now, email has been abused. As a result, they’re less engaged with, less effective and less wanted.
Enter the new dynasty of apps!
Ok – that’s a little dramatic, but at the end of the day, all you ever really want is someone to listen to you, and respond to your message.
Push notifications are an exciting and less intrusive alternative. They also have the upper-hand: since app users have already shown their interest in what a company or organisation does (by downloading their app), push notifications are more welcomed and therefore have a much higher “click through rate”!
With apps, you have instant ability to make use of mobile features like camera, contact list, GPS, phone calls, and more. In a world where mobile phones are the leading device for communication, use of these familiar features makes the user experience much more fun, smooth and engaging.
Like a website, apps too might require internet connectivity to perform most tasks, but an app can still offer basic content and functionality to users in offline mode. This is probably the most fundamental difference between a mobile websites and apps.
Apps have the advantage of being readily accessible, with icons visible on the device home screens for instant access. This level of convenience encourages frequent usage, as opposed to websites that require users to navigate through browsers.
Being the best is always at the forefront of any business or organisation’s strategy. Since a mobile app is distinct from a company’s website, it has the versatility of offering a new brand experience to users. This is a game-changer in a world where there is so much distraction, and you need to stand out from the crowd.
There is a lot of research about this and we’d encourage you to take a look into this. At the time of writing this article, around 12% of people engage (at a length of time) with websites they view, while 88% engage more with mobile apps. There are many reasons this will be, one of them is that users of mobile apps have already shown a level of commitment by downloading an app. Now it’s up to the business or organisation to publish content that serves the customer and their commitment on new level.
As mentioned above, users of mobile apps have shown a level of commitment to the company or organisation by downloading their app. Therefore the true gems, the true fans, the “tribe” has been gathered. As such, conversion potential is much greater and app features like push notifications, can be utilised to move users through the sales/conversion funnel. Whether it’s more sales, more student participation, more charitable donations… whatever the business or organisation is aiming to do.
Just going out in public, you’ll see how often people go on their phone. In recent studies, people look at their phone 58 times per day on average. Phew… That’s a lot of free face-time a business or organisation can get, if their app is on that person’s phone!
Even when users are not actively using the app, they still get reminded of that business or organisation, just by the brand associated with the app icon. The icon of the app acts like a mini-advertisement for the business or organisation! That’s certainly not something any website can do.
Last but by no means least, and one of the most significant and exciting differences between apps and websites, is that apps provide diverse monetisation opportunities beyond traditional advertising, including in-app purchases, subscriptions, premium content and affiliate marketing. With multiple revenue streams, businesses can maximise their earning potential and drive their business or organisation income in a unique way.
In conclusion…
Websites are for sure expected in regards to a business or organisation’s digital presence, and while we can’t claim to establish that apps are the better alternative to websites, we can certainly say that apps are easier to use, have a higher conversion rate, higher retentions rate and are more engaging. And so, we believe Apps + websites = success.
But what about the cost?
Developing both website and app has been thought of as a costly and complex affair. But this is where App Studios plays a pivotal role. We recognise and respect the constraints of budget, time and resources many businesses and organisations face, and as such, we’ve developed a solution that allows you the freedom to step into the mobile app world without breaking the bank, and without interjecting complex tasks in your day, thus soaking up valuable time.
We get particularly excited about helping you on this journey, so please feel free to book call or a demo with us, and we’ll help you step into the world of app.
Made with 💜 and appiness.
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