Archive for August, 2011

“Ok so my website is done, marketing, SEO and Social strategies in place, traffic and conversion is increasing… Now we want to go mobile, but how should we do it? Via a mobile app or a native app?!’

At Lemon Interactive, this is one of the most common questions we get asked by our clients.

Mobile web sites generally have a basic cost base, and I believe EVERY business should have one.  It should be accessible and viewable on every mobile device as this is quickly becoming the primary browsing method for a lot of consumers.  This means it needs to stand out on these devices too!  The web buys you universal access to every phone or tablet so it makes perfect sense that you should build for the web.

This said, the other side of the coin dictates that we live in an app culture.  Recent focus groups and research, has found that people say they use the web primarily for quick lookups, while they use apps for longer tasks, games, or recurring activities, people instinctively turn to an app store.  Native apps tend to retain the users interest for longer and there are good reasons for that. Firstly for our time hungry culture, its convenient: marketing, app genres and even available hardare push users toward using app stores, where payment is also a quick and easy process. And by and large, native apps tend to deliver better experiences, too.  Although Mobile web is quickly closing the gap with advancements in development.

It’s not a matter of either-or, however. Do both. Build a mobile web app for everyone initially but consider native apps to reward your best customers. Choose the platform that fits the personality and demographics of your best clients, and build an app that works for them.

Fact is, we all use both.