You choose between a mobile app and a website by where and how it will be used. If it has to be used out on the street, phone in hand, and needs a camera, GPS or to work without signal, an app makes sense. If it'll be used mostly from a computer, or from the phone but now and then, a website (opened in the browser, no install) is more than enough and costs quite a bit less to build and maintain. The question isn't “app or web?”, it's “how will people actually use this?”.
I say it honestly because I've met the same scene many times: someone asks for “an app” because it sounds modern, and when you dig in it turns out their users would open it twice a month from a computer. That's not an app: it's a website. And confusing them costs thousands and extra months.
What's the difference, plainly?
A website opens in the browser by typing an address. No install, works the same on phone and computer, and updates itself for everyone at once. An app is downloaded from Google's or Apple's store, installed on the phone, and can make better use of the phone's hardware (camera, GPS, notifications, working offline). In return, it has to be maintained on two platforms and go through the stores.
There's a middle ground, the “website that behaves like an app” (it can be added to the home screen and work somewhat offline). For many businesses it's the best balance: almost the convenience of an app without the cost of maintaining two.
When does it lean app and when web?
At a glance:
| If your case is… | Lean… |
|---|---|
| Used on the street, phone in hand | App (or web-that-looks-like-app) |
| Needs camera, GPS or phone notifications | App |
| Has to work without signal | App |
| Used from the office computer | Web |
| Used now and then, no installing | Web |
| Tight budget and in a hurry to start | Web |
How do you decide, step by step?
- Write down who'll use it and where. A driver in the van isn't the same as a clerk at their desk. Where it's used decides almost everything.
- Note what it really has to do. List the three or four main things. If none needs a camera, GPS or offline, a website does them.
- Look at how often it's opened. Something used daily on the street calls for an app; something twice a month doesn't. Frequency and place together decide.
- Drop what you ask for “just in case”. “In case one day” features add cost and are almost never used. Build for what's used the first month.
- Start with the cheapest that solves it. Almost always a website. If it genuinely falls short on something specific, you jump to an app with data, not on a hunch.
- Count maintenance, not just building it. An app is maintained on two platforms and has to be updated. That cost continues after delivery; put it in the sum from the start.
What does each cost?
No magic figures, but the shape: a website is usually cheaper to build and quite a bit cheaper to maintain, because it's one thing that works on all devices and updates itself. An app costs more because it's (often) two builds, two maintenances and the trip through the stores. The difference isn't a detail: in many projects, starting with web instead of app is the difference between launching this quarter or next.
When IS an app worth it?
When the work happens away from the computer and the phone is the tool: drivers photographing delivery notes and signing off deliveries, technicians working where there's no signal, anything relying on the phone's camera or GPS, or a product whose business is being on the customer's screen every day. There, the app isn't a whim: it's what does the job. Forcing a website in those cases is as much a mistake as forcing an app in the others.
What mistakes do people usually make?
- Asking for “an app” out of fashion. It sounds modern, but if it's used from the computer, it's a website in disguise as spending.
- Adding features “just in case”. They add cost, delay and are almost never used. Build for the first month of real use.
- Forgetting maintenance. The app doesn't end on delivery day; it keeps costing. Count it from the start.
- Deciding by hunch and not by use. Writing down who uses it and where settles the doubt better than any opinion.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need an app or is a website enough?
It depends where and how it's used. If it's used on the street and needs a camera, GPS or to work without signal, lean app. If it's used from a computer or now and then on the phone, a website is enough and costs quite a bit less. The right question isn't “app or web?” but “how will people really use it?”.
Why does a website cost less than an app?
Because a website is one thing that works on phone and computer and updates itself for everyone. An app usually means two builds (Android and Apple), two maintenances and the trip through the stores. That extra cost continues after delivery, not just when building it.
What's a website that behaves like an app?
A website that can be added to the phone's home screen and work somewhat offline, without going through the app store. For many businesses it's the best balance: almost the convenience of an app without the cost of maintaining two platforms.
When is an app really worth it?
When the work happens away from the computer and the phone is the tool: drivers, technicians where there's no signal, anything relying on the camera or GPS, or a product that needs to be on the customer's screen daily. There the app does the job; forcing a website would be the mistake.
The question isn't “app or web”, it's “how will it be used”
You choose by real use, not fashion: if it's used on the street and needs camera, GPS or offline, app; if it's used from a computer or now and then, web, which costs quite a bit less to build and maintain. Many “apps” people ask for are, looking at the use, websites.
Start with the cheapest that solves it —almost always a website— and jump to an app only if it falls short on something specific, with data and not on a hunch. And count maintenance from the start: an app keeps costing after you deliver it.
Been quoted for an app and unsure you really need it?
Before spending on an app, we can look at how it'll be used and tell you whether a website will do for quite a bit less. Tell me what you want it to do and we'll look at it with numbers, not hunches.
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