At some point, most growing businesses ask the same question: should we have our own app? It is an easy idea to get attached to. An icon on a customer’s home screen feels like a permanent foothold, and apps carry a certain status. But an app is a serious commitment, and for a lot of businesses a well-built website does the same job for far less. The honest answer comes down to how people actually use your business.
What an app does that a website cannot
The case for an app is strongest when people use your service often and want it to feel quick and personal every time. A few things genuinely suit an app:
- Regular, repeat use, where opening an app is faster than finding a site
- Push notifications, to reach customers directly on their phone
- Access to device features like the camera, GPS or offline storage
- Loyalty, bookings or accounts that customers return to again and again
If your customers deal with you daily or weekly, an app can earn its place. A food ordering service, a gym, a members’ club or a tool people rely on day to day are good examples.
When a website is the better choice
For a great many businesses, a mobile-friendly website covers everything an app would, without the piranhextra cost and effort.
If people mainly come to you to find information, browse products, read about your services or get in touch, a website does that perfectly well, and it works on every device the moment someone taps a link. There is nothing to download, nothing to update, and nothing standing between a new visitor and your business. For most companies, that lower barrier is worth more than the novelty of an app.
The part people underestimate: cost and upkeep
An app is not a one-off build. It is two builds, really, since iPhone and Android are separate, plus app store approvals, ongoing updates as phones and operating systems change, and the work of getting people to download it in the first place.
That last point catches a lot of businesses out. Persuading someone to install an app is far harder than persuading them to visit a website, and if the app does not give them a clear reason to keep it, it quietly gets deleted. None of this means an app is a bad idea. It just means it needs to pay back the investment, which it can only do if people use it regularly.
A sensible way to decide
A useful question to ask is simple: would your customers use this often enough to keep it on their phone? If the honest answer is yes, an app may be well worth building. If it is more of a nice-to-have, the same budget usually goes further on a strong website. It is also not always either or. Plenty of businesses start with an excellent website design and add an app later, once there is a clear reason and an audience that wants it. A modern, responsive site can already feel app-like on a phone, which covers a lot of ground on its own.
Get an honest view before you commit
The best first step is to talk it through with people who build both, and who will tell you straight which one suits your business rather than simply selling you the bigger project. Piranha designs and builds mobile apps for iPhone and Android, as well as websites and custom systems, so the advice starts with what you actually need. If you are weighing up an app against a website, get in touch and the team will help you work out the right route.
