mobile apps vs. mobile sites

13
To build an App or To build a mobile site? That’s the question 4th of March, 2013

Upload: mobincube

Post on 15-Jan-2015

17.013 views

Category:

Technology


1 download

DESCRIPTION

People think that they have to decide wether a native app or a mobile site. Both are useful, depending on what you need. Every company should have a mobile site. But native apps are becoming a really powerful marketing tool. If you are a SMB, you should have your own apps! Here you have some reasons for having one or more apps by your own!

TRANSCRIPT

Page 1: Mobile Apps Vs. Mobile Sites

To build an App or To build a mobile site?

That’s the question

4th of March, 2013

Page 2: Mobile Apps Vs. Mobile Sites

Table of contents

1. What benefits do native apps bring?

2. Native App Vs. Mobile Site. Each of them has its mission!

Page 3: Mobile Apps Vs. Mobile Sites

1 What benefits do native apps bring?

1. Apps offer the best user experience

2. Apps let you show your business in GooglePlay, iTunes, Amazon, etc.

3. Apps run offline

4. Apps offer advanced functionality (camera, GPS, databases, etc.)

5. Apps optimize remote data access

6. Apps keep an icon in the device’s applications list6. Apps keep an icon in the device’s applications list

7. Apps allow to send push notifications to users that installed them

8. Apps are browser independent

9. Apps are trendy!

Page 4: Mobile Apps Vs. Mobile Sites

1.1 Apps offer the best user experience

Mobile sites are not installed on the device and they have to be downloaded every time

people want to access them. Therefore mobile sites normally offer a slow user

experience. When navigating through them, every time you click on a link to jump to

another page, all its content (layout, pictures, texts, etc.) has to be downloaded from

the server and this process might get too slow.

Native apps are installed on the device. All pages’ layout and styles are preinstalled, soNative apps are installed on the device. All pages’ layout and styles are preinstalled, so

page transitions are really fast. Pictures and other resources are normally preinstalled

too, so the loading time is also fast. Even if the App shows remote resources, they are

accessed directly, so downloading times are optimized. This makes native apps offer a

great user experience.

Device events (touch, release, drag, scrolls, etc.) are better handled in native apps. For

example, dragging a Google Maps view on a mobile site can be really annoying, since

the browser might think that the user wants to scroll the whole site and it gets crazy.

Page 5: Mobile Apps Vs. Mobile Sites

1.2 Show your business in iTunes, GooglePlay, SamsungApps, Amazon, etc.

Smartphone users are used to access AppStores in order to look for content. They just have

to press the AppStore icon on their device’s menu.

But Mobile sites can’t be published on AppStores. If a company wants people to visit their

mobile site, they have to put a lot of effort to promote their site’s URL. Apps can be

published and pushed to AppStores so they make downloads even if you don’t do any

promotion.promotion.

Page 6: Mobile Apps Vs. Mobile Sites

1.3 Apps run offline

Mobile sites do not work if the device goes out of service, since they are hosted on remote

servers. This makes the navigation badly slow when the device’s signal gets low.

Because of the high telephony roaming costs, people normally don’t make Internet

connections from their Smartphone when they travel abroad. So mobile sites are

normally visited only by local audiences.

On the other hand, native apps run offline because they are installed on the. So a badOn the other hand, native apps run offline because they are installed on the. So a bad

device’s connectivity doesn’t make the app go slow. If they show some remote content,

only that content is not shown when the device’s connectivity goes down, but the rest

of the app will keep working. Being offline let users keep playing native apps when

they travel abroad, since they don’t need data connectivity to work.

Page 7: Mobile Apps Vs. Mobile Sites

1.4 Apps offer advanced functionality (camera, GPS, databases, etc.)

Mobile sites can’t communicate with the Operating System’s functions so they can’t offer

advanced features: camera, GPS, compass, databases, etc. Well, html5 mobile sites can

theoretically access some of these functions, but this is still a Utopia.

Since native apps communicate with the Operating System, they can offer all the advanced

features that the OS has. So native apps can offer camera access, augmented reality

functions, GPS location, SQL database management, compass, etc.functions, GPS location, SQL database management, compass, etc.

Page 8: Mobile Apps Vs. Mobile Sites

1.5 Apps optimize remote data access

Finding the right content from a mobile site might get the user frustrated. Have you tried

looking for the NBA scoreboards of the last weekend in the nytimes.com mobile site?

You have to load several pages in order to get there, which needs a good Internet

connection, since every page has to be downloaded from the NY times server.

Native apps don’t need to download the full content of all screens from an external server.

It has all the content preloaded and only downloads all those resources that have to beIt has all the content preloaded and only downloads all those resources that have to be

updated in real time from an external server. So the data traffic is much lower.

Page 9: Mobile Apps Vs. Mobile Sites

1.6 Apps keep an icon in the device’s applications list

A mobile site is accessed from the device’s browser through a URL. Once visited, users exit

the browser and might not remember the URL in the future. The device doesn’t create

a direct access on its menu unless a user decides to save the URL in the favorites menu.

Native apps create an icon on the device’s menu every time they are downloaded. If the

user doesn’t uninstall the app, the icon will stay on the menu, so users might access the

app in the future when they see that icon on the device’s menu.app in the future when they see that icon on the device’s menu.

Page 10: Mobile Apps Vs. Mobile Sites

1.7 Apps allow to send push notifications to users that installed them

The company can’t communicate with users that visited the mobile site. Visitors to a

mobile site are anonymous. So the owner of a mobile site doesn’t have the possibility

to send messages to those visitors once they left the site, unless they ask visitors to fill

in a form and give permission to receive messages.

Native apps let companies send notifications to its users even if they already exited the

app. App visitors are not 100% anonymous. The device ID is tracked and let theapp. App visitors are not 100% anonymous. The device ID is tracked and let the

company who owns the app send notifications to all users that have installed the app.

This is a powerful marketing tool, since it makes relationships with potential customers

longer.

Page 11: Mobile Apps Vs. Mobile Sites

1.8 Apps are browser independent

Mobile sites need an Internet browser in order to be accessed. But a mobile device can

have several Internet browsers installed. When accessing a mobile site, the user decides

what browser to use. A mobile site can behave differently when visited from different

browsers in the same device. They will even behave differently in two different devices

with the same Operating System.

Native apps communicate with the Operating System directly. Therefore, one app willNative apps communicate with the Operating System directly. Therefore, one app will

behave always the same every time you access them from the same device. Native

apps will behave the same in two different devices with the same OS even if their OS

version is different.

Page 12: Mobile Apps Vs. Mobile Sites

1.9 Apps are trendy!

App usage is more popular than mobile web, according to business insider:

• Apps have finally taken a slight lead in overall penetration: The percentage of all U.S.

mobile users accessing a mobile browser increased from 29% in February 2010 to 50%

in May. The percentage of U.S. mobile users accessing downloaded apps rose from 28%

to 51% over the same period.

• People spend far more time in apps: Americans spend more time per day on apps that

they do on the web — both desktop and mobile combined.

• Time spent in apps is surging: According to Nielsen, the minutes spent per month on• Time spent in apps is surging: According to Nielsen, the minutes spent per month on

apps more than doubled from March 2011 to March 2012. Many of our most time-

consuming mobile activities — games, social networks, and music — are accessed

through apps. Time spent on the mobile web was basically flat.

Page 13: Mobile Apps Vs. Mobile Sites

2 Native App Vs. Mobile Site. Each of them has its mission!

We all know that every SMBs must have a traditional web site. But more and more people

are browsing the Internet from this type of devices. Therefore a mobile site shouldn’t

be a new product, just a way to allow people access the regular website from a mobile

device.

Native apps didn’t come to replace mobile sites, they are here to complement them. Apps

help SMBs in many different ways:

• Drive new visitors to their mobile site (those who come from AppStores)• Drive new visitors to their mobile site (those who come from AppStores)

• Earn loyalty from their visitors (they will download a complement and keep it in the

smartphone.

• Create additional tools (product presentations, events agendas, etc.)

• Create internal apps for their work force.

• Take advantage of all benefits mentioned in previous sections of this presentation.

• Etc.

If your are a SMB, DO NOT DECIDE among an app or a mobile site… PICK BOTH!