Responsive Design Versus App’s
We all love Apps. It’s great that we can just search for a certain game or that little app that can help manage household budgets, click download and sync it with your device and job done. But have you ever sat down and thought why an app has been created?
Apple is no doubt the App Daddy and some are used on a daily basis. From the Appstore’s initial relaese to now there has been a vast change in the App market. It is now no longer acceptable to create ‘an app for everything’ anymore. So called dumb apps with a price tag of £3.99 can make a person think is this worth it or not or would i be better searching elsewhere. Users are now wise to the idea of mobile websites and responsive design and so searching for a solution to their mobile problem is now not only confined to App Stores anymore.
Apps should be used if there is a monetary value to be made from its purpose. There must be logic behind its existance. Does it interact with the mobile devices capabilities? Do you have a plan to make money out of its distribution? If not you should re-think your strategy as maybe a responsive website would be more suitable.
There are pros and cons for both. See below:
Pros of an app:
- Easily monetised
- Access to device sensors
- Once downloaded, the content is easily accessible
- Content available offline
Pros of a responsive site:
- Bypass the App Store approval process
- No user intervention needed to download an app
- Can be accessed on any device with mobile internet access.
- Content updates driven by a CMS
As you can see there are benefits of both but depending on the work that has to be created it may not warrant an app to be created. Apps are great for brands who want to offer an app product that they can benefit from. If a brand just wanted keep their audience informed of recent updates etc. then responsive design is the way forward.