Website or mobile app - which to develop first
So you’ve got this great idea for your new tech startup but you’re unsure whether to launch this as a mobile app or as a website/web app. You’ve heard your friends speak about mobile apps and how everyone needs a mobile app for their start-up, in fact, you’ve also got an array of mobile apps installed on your own smartphone, so should this be the obvious route to go?
On the other hand, you also know of many tech and start-up-based websites that you’ve used time and time again that work really well. This poses a conundrum and makes the decision to go with a mobile app or a website challenging.
It’s a tricky decision right?
You don’t have to worry; you aren’t alone. That’s why we’re here to guide you through the selection process. There is no definite right or wrong answer so we’ll cover what will be most beneficial to you and ultimately the success of your startup.
We know that startup projects can be quite complex, even though they are a new concept (even in the MVP phase). This also means that they can be time-consuming to design, develop and launch, as well as costly. So making the right or wrong decision up front can have serious consequences.
So the answer on whether to go for the mobile application or the web-based app, isn’t straightforward at all and there are many factors to consider before making this crucial decision.
The decision shouldn’t be based on which option is better as they are all different and have their own advantages and disadvantages and these need to be examined and then you can decide which one is the right choice for your specific digital product’s requirements.
We will examine each option in detail and then we can conclude which would be the most appropriate and best for your startup’s digital product.
WEBSITE / WEB APPLICATION
First, we’ll look at the website / web application option. It is fair to say that all devices whether they be mobile smartphones, tablets, or desktops all have a web browser.
Going the web-based route doesn’t require users to install any additional software or apps on their device, as they simply use the web browser that’s installed by default. Generally, with any digital product you want to get users to interact with the product as quickly and easily as possible, so not having to install anything else but simply going to a web browser and interacting is a bonus for the web route.
DEVELOPMENT AND GO-TO-MARKET SPEED
If we look at the development of web apps, generally these tend to be quicker than the development of mobile apps (more on this further down). This means that the development cost will most likely be cheaper (due to less development and testing time needed to complete the project) and that you are able to go to market quicker. These are two more substantial advantages of the web-based approach.
Costs are always a factor for any startup and the quicker you can go to market the sooner you can start generating traction and revenue. Not to mention testing how the market reacts to the product and possibly obtaining the first-mover advantage if it’s a highly unique solution that is yet to exist.
WHY WEB APPS ARE QUICKER TO DEVELOP
As previously mentioned, it is generally quicker to develop web apps as opposed to mobile apps. This is due to the following factors:
The frameworks, coding languages and technology to develop mobile apps are more complex in comparison to those of web apps. Due to this complexity, it means we require more time to develop the interface, the features of the app and integrations with third-party APIs and platforms.
When a chunk of work has been developed and completed, in the mobile app scenario this needs to be compiled and tested, this takes time compared to web, where in contrast any development changes can be run in a web browser pretty much instantly and tested straight away, making it quicker.
In terms of developers themselves, there are generally more web developers available compared to mobile app developers. Therefore this scarcity can be a risk to your product, from a continuation and long-term development and support viewpoint.
So far this makes web apps more compelling due to the ability to develop the product quicker and for cheaper compared to mobile apps.
NATIVE PHONE SPECIFIC FEATURES
Web apps and in particular web browsers themselves, have evolved in leaps and bounds and have become more powerful with more and more features being added.
However there are limitations and they only have access to a certain point, whereas mobile apps (in particular native mobile apps) have access to additional native features, such as the camera, GPS functionality, accelerometer, voice and contact list are a few that can be accessed and incorporated into mobile apps but aren’t available for web apps.
If the requirements for your digital product need certain native features in order to work and provide users with what they need, then you have no choice but to go with a mobile app.
A major benefit of mobile apps are push notifications. Think about it. You’re used to getting push notifications on your smartphone. Every time you get a breaking news update, a Takealot delivery, or a special offer from a business — that’s a push notification sent directly to you, personalized to your specifications.
MAKING THE WRONG DECISION CAN BE COSTLY
We’ve already mentioned that the decision to go web app or mobile app for your new startup is a tricky decision to make. To further compound the pressure on this decision, we need to consider the consequences of making the wrong decision.
If you opt to go the web-based route only to find out that your digital product requires native phone features, you’re going to be in for a nasty surprise as it will be most likely that these features will not be possible to be shipped with your web-based version. This could be a deal-breaker if your web-based app is highly dependent on a native feature.
Likewise, if you go the mobile app route instead of the web-based route, you risk that the project will take longer to develop (due to the complexity of the development frameworks, etc.) thus delaying your product’s launch, which could have dire consequences if you’re looking for that first-mover advantage.
The mobile app development will cost more and should there be additional requirements and unforeseen development requirements, this could push the cost over the project’s budget.
Other factors that could have negative consequences are potentially going the mobile app route but finding a lack of development resources.
A NATURAL EVOLUTION
Going the web app route doesn’t mean you can’t go the mobile app route down the line. In fact, going with the web option first sets a strong foundation to evolve and launch the mobile app version afterward.
This is quite a natural progression (starting with web first then going mobile app) and allows product owners to test their concept and once the MVP gains traction and the concept is proven to work in the web app format, they then build the mobile app.
We’ve seen many clients opt for this approach and it has worked well. It’s very rare for us to see clients developing the mobile app version out of the box.
NOT EVERYONE WANTS TO DOWNLOAD AN APP
Consideration needs to be given to the concept that many people are quite happy to engage with a website or web application through their browser rather than having to download and install an app.
This is particularly significant in a transactional or once off engagement with the digital product. There is strong resistance from users to download, install and set up a mobile app for once-off use.
Web browsers are powerful and this allows web apps to be feature-rich and do the same job as a mobile app, without the hassle of downloading and installing the app.
There is also a concept of mobile app culling, which involves users deleting apps that they don’t use, meaning if your mobile app is one of those selected for the digital guillotine, it's bye-bye.
Mobile app culling also occurs when users migrate to a new mobile phone and they want to clean up their device from unwanted apps.
WHAT ARE YOUR COMPETITORS DOING?
When deciding on whether to go the web or mobile app route, another factor to research and consider is what are your competitors doing? Which option did they chose first?
If they’ve gone the mobile app route, you should be able to get some information from the App Stores (Google Play and the iOS App Store) regarding their app. You should be able to see the number of reviews and the rating of the app, as well as how often updates are done and where the app ranks in the store.
This information is key to determining whether the mobile app is frequently used and engagement is high or not.
REGULAR UPDATES - SUPPORT AND MAINTENANCE
Do you foresee there being loads of new features and updates to the digital product once it has been launched? Will there be a need for lots of support and maintenance?
As with the development of the mobile app in comparison to the web app version, the development time required to do regular updates and provide support and maintenance is higher with mobile. This also means that it will be costlier and slower to release updates.
Bear in mind that updates to the app stores for mobile apps, need to provisionally go through an approval process, whereas for websites and web apps, updates can be done immediately as there is no third party that needs to verify these updates.
EVADE CERTAIN USERS WITH MOBILE ONLY
If you decide to go the mobile app route only, you need to be aware that you will have no web presence and therefore you're missing the opportunity to engage with a large portion of your target market.
Users with older handsets also need to be considered as they may have difficulty installing the latest version of the mobile app. This is another potential risk that could cost you the ability to gain users and traction if you decide to go the mobile app route first.
SO WHICH OPTION WILL WORK FOR YOU?
The question of whether to go with a mobile app or a web-based app version for your new startup is one that we get confronted with quite often by prospective clients.
This is a crucial decision that will shape the future of your digital product and will have a massive impact on the success and traction of your new venture.
We’ve onboarded clients that unfortunately used the wrong approach in the past and unfortunately had to restart the development from scratch.
In principle, we recommend going with the web-based version first due to the many factors documented in this article. The two major ones are, that it will be cheaper to develop and quicker to take the product to market. However, if your digital product’s requirements need native features then you only really have one choice and that is to go with the mobile app from the get-go.
Still not sure which option is best for your startup? Why not get in contact with us as we’d love to hear about your requirements and what you’re trying to achieve, then we can determine the best way forward.
