We are living in the mobile era. Millions of people are active mobile phone users, and these numbers will only grow in the future. Desktops are becoming outdated, and people are shifting towards smartphones. This is the reality, accept it or deny it!
Businesses slowly understand that to attract a large customer base, they need to be utilizing mobile channels. However, that’s not it. They also need to optimize mobile applications and other media to better approach the right audience.
Mobile websites and apps may be used by some firms, but this isn’t the case for everyone. There are several factors to consider when deciding whether to use a mobile app or a website. However, research shows that users prefer mobile apps over mobile web pages. This is an excellent incentive to develop mobile apps to reach new and current clients.
In addition, mobile applications are superior to mobile websites for various other reasons. The following are the top ten:
Reason#1 Mobile Applications offers more personalization
A key goal of personalization is to provide consumers with communications specifically matched to their needs and interests. A tailored experience can be easily achieved with mobile apps. Using an A/B testing tool for mobile apps, you may experiment with alternative customer experiences.
Users of mobile apps may be able to establish their preferences upfront to be provided content that is more relevant to their interests. Customized recommendations and updates can also be sent to users by tracking client involvement. Furthermore, they may determine the user’s location in real-time to give material tailored to the user’s location.
However, personalization isn’t only about improving the user experience. It can also increase the number of people who download and use an app. Users are more likely to convert when they receive individualized information instead of generic content that appears robotic or automated.
Reason#2 Ease of Managing Notifications
An email has surpassed all other forms of corporate communication in the previous two decades. Companies have widely used email to communicate with their customers (and by some, it has been abused). As a result, email’s open and click rates have steadily decreased, making it less effective.
There’s no need to be alarmed.
It’s time to get notifications on your phone. Push and in-app notifications are the two forms of notifications. Both are intriguing options for getting in touch with app users in a less obtrusive way, and they’re worth exploring.
One of the primary reasons many businesses choose to create a mobile app is to provide fast, non-intrusive notifications to their customers.
Notifications can only be received when an open app is known as “in-app notifications”. As an alternative, consumers can receive push alerts regardless of what they’re doing on their smartphones.
Reason#3 Opportunity to work offline
Mobile applications and Mobile websites are fundamentally different in this regard. Apps, like websites, may necessitate internet access to carry out most functions, although an app can nevertheless provide essential features and information to users while the app is not connected to the internet.
Let’s take a look at a banking app for a second time.
For example, it can calculate taxes and determine how much money you can borrow. Even if you don’t have an online connection, these functionalities will work. Even though mobile websites can employ cache to load webpages without internet access, they can only perform a limited number of tasks.
Reason#4 Liberty in Designing
Although web design has advanced tremendously, mobile websites still rely on browsers to accomplish even the most basic activities. The ‘back button, “refresh button,’ and ‘address bar’ are all browser features mobile websites rely on.
These limitations do not apply to mobile apps, on the other hand.
Advanced gestures such as ‘touch, swipe, drag, pinch, and hold,’ among others, are used in the design of mobile apps.
These motions can be used by apps to provide new features that improve the efficiency with which a user completes a task. The swipe gesture, for example, can be used by an app to allow users to move to the forward or backward phase.
Reason#5 Unique Brand Experience
A mobile app can provide customers with a different brand experience because it is separate from its website. Because of this, the organization can experiment with new app branding styles that are distinct from the company’s standards. Mobile apps can also be used as a way for companies to shift into a new brand identity.
In addition, a mobile app’s look can be customized to suit the preferences of the app’s users. The app’s personalization can benefit from this.
Microsites, on the other hand, are based on the same principles. Compared to their parent sites, microsites provide a unique brand experience to their visitors. In many cases, they’re used to draw attention to a new service, a new sub-brand, or an upcoming event.
Also read this: 7 UX Mistakes to Avoid While Developing a Mobile App
Reason#6 The new stream of conversions
The use of mobile apps can help you improve the number of people who become customers. If you’re looking for both top and bottom of the funnel people, you can employ mobile apps.
Utility apps can pull in ToFu customers to be fostered into BoFu leads later on. Apps like e-commerce, on the other hand, already have BoFu users who are more likely to convert.
As a bonus, you can use mobile apps to target specific customers in the sales funnel because of their content and utility. On the other hand, mobile websites can connect with a broader range of people.
Reason#7 Apps are fast than websites
A well-put mobile app is more efficient than a mobile website at completing tasks. In contrast to web pages, mobile apps often save their data on mobile devices rather than online servers. Because of this, mobile app data retrieval is fast. By recording preferences and performing proactive steps on the user’s behalf, apps can save users’ time.
Because mobile apps run approximately 5x faster than JavaScript code, there is a technical explanation for why they are speedier than their desktop counterparts. In the background, mobile app users can accomplish actions more quickly, contributing to a positive user experience.
Wrap up – Mobile apps are better!
You may have to choose between a mobile website and a mobile app for your business. It depends on your budget and business goals. While both mediums have benefits and drawbacks, mobile apps can boost conversions and engagement. Mobile apps provide more personalization and operational efficiency, among other benefits.
To ensure your mobile app delivers on its promises and supports the planned growth for your business, rather than being just another channel to manage and maintain, here are some tips. You simply test it rigorously.
Mobile app A/B testing helps you continuously improve your in-app user experience by experimenting with features, app flows, and other UI-based changes. Having a mobile app is the first step towards engaging a new audience segment, but regularly refining it can help you enhance your important business KPIs.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it worth having a mobile app or a responsive mobile website?
A responsive mobile site can be more cost-effective than mobile app development, depending on the complexity. This holds true if you want your app to have a presence on more than one platform.
Can apps replace websites?
We’re seeing that web apps are beginning to replace standard websites: they’re easily updated and aren’t bound to a specific platform or device. … This is because mobile apps have unified interfaces, offline modes, faster reaction times, and push notifications, features that users and business owners want.