Mobile or Web: What Platform Should You Launch Your App On?

A mobile app or a web app? If you want to grow, attract new users, and retain old ones, you will have to do both. All major video service providers have mobile and web applications. Look no further than YouTube, Zoom, Instagram, TikTok, Skype. 

However, the development costs money, and the money isn’t always enough for all options. What to do, where to start? It’s difficult to answer these questions without any further information. It all comes down to what you want to do and what your plan of development is. In this article, we will explain some things about how to choose a platform and provide you with relevant statistics.

Let’s first take a look at the advantages of both options. Perhaps, it will already be enough for you to make a choice.

Advantages of a web app

• Availability. A user doesn’t have to download an app from AppStore or Google Play. It’s enough to follow a link or simply google a website
• Quick updates. The changes to a website go directly to a user
• A big computer screen allows you to insert more information
• You can choose a payment system. If you have a mobile app, you will have to pay Google Play or AppStore a 30% commission fee. On a website, you are free to choose any payment system you like, and the commission is ten times lower – 3-4%.
• You can create a mobile website version. It will work on iOS and Android and cost much less than two native applications. We will compare mobile sites and apps later.

Advantages of a mobile app

• Convenience. A cellphone is almost always with a user, and they can use an app any time they want.
• Offline mode. Although a vast majority of apps need the internet to work correctly, some developers allow an offline mode for the app. It’s impossible with a website.
• Push notifications. You can launch a promotion, send an advertisement, or just remind inactive users about the app. SocialMediaToday’s research shows that push notifications are more effective than sending out emails or SMS.

An opportunity to create a mobile website version is a serious advantage when your budget is limited. By doing that, it’s possible to save money on iOS and Android apps. If, however, you think of doing that, you need to consider what you can get and what you can lose.

We get all the website advantages that we had before, plus a user can now use it anywhere where they have a phone and a cell service. It’s also worth noticing that the same development team will create a mobile version of a website. Mobile apps have some advantages, though:

• Speed. They will launch and work faster. According to research conducted by Kissmetrics, 40% of users leave a website if it takes more than 3 seconds to load. It’s crucial because, according to the very same research, a loading delay in one second can lower conversion by 7%. What it means is that if your website makes $100k a day, you risk losing $2,5 mil a year.
• Expanded functionality. You are free to use GPS, Bluetooth, camera, and all the platform functions in the app. It can also interact with other apps, integrate with social networks, etc.
• Mobile apps are used more. Due to research by eMarketer, cellphone users spend 90% of their time on apps and only 10% of their time on websites.

With what do I start?

Although we’ve taken a look at the advantages of mobile apps and web apps, it’s still unclear as to what to go with first if the budget is limited.

There’s no all-round solution, and it depends on your product type. Let’s create an algorithm using popular multimedia apps to help us with that.

Target audience

Are you creating an app for business people or just regular users? Your decision might differ based on your answer. As an example, let’s take YouTube and Zoom.

• YouTube is a service for regular people. According to official statistics, it’s being used by more than 2 billion people monthly, and 70% of them do that with a mobile app. It’s understandable. Whoever doesn’t watch YouTube nowadays? People go there on their way to work and home, on public transport, in queues, in traffic jams. The mobile app is a go-to thing for YouTube because access from anywhere is essential.
• Zoom is a video conference service. It’s designed more for meetings and business calls; however, no one prohibits you from calling your mom on Zoom. But it’s the planned direction towards conferences that made Zoom to be used more on desktop computers. Judging by the official statistics, you can see that only about 10% of all registered users went into the meeting using their cellphone.

The conclusion is simple. If you expect your service to be used on a daily basis, and you want it to be accessible anywhere (Instagram, TikTok, WhatsApp), choose a mobile app. If you follow other goals, such as online conferences (Zoom, Google Meet), a web version is your pick. Your partner or employee won’t always be using the service. They will do it during a meeting.

Monetization opportunities 

Do you want to sell subscriptions or goods and services? When you sell digital content inside a mobile app, Google Play or AppStore will take a 30% commission fee. Unlike websites, where the payment will be not that significant, just 3-4%. It’s important because when you start out, you count every cent.

Also, according to Atrium research, people are ready to spend more on a website rather than on mobile apps. That means that if you sell expensive subscriptions, goods, or services, it’s more likely that a user will buy it on a website.

On the other hand, Jmango’s research shows that the conversion rate (a possibility that a user will buy something again later)  is higher on mobile apps.

Android vs. iOS

What to do if you need to create an app, and there is only enough budget for one of those? Let’s turn to the statistics.

According to DeviceAtlas’s research, there are more Android phones out there. But there are regions where that difference is not that substantial, and there are other regions where iOS devices prevail. The knowledge we can take from here is that our decision for a platform will be affected by the market at which the application is aimed. 

For example, in Argentina, Egypt, Brazil, India, and Indonesia iOS devices aren’t popular at all. In the States, Great Britain, Sweden, and Thailand iPhone competes hard with Android phones and sometimes even ends up on top.

BusinessOfApps also reports that those who own Apple devices pay two times more in apps than those with Android. Although there are fewer iOS devices, they are more expensive and are being used by more solvent people. 

DeviceAtlas statistics also show that iOS devices are popular in regions with a higher quality of life.

By the way, the same thing stays with the mobile games industry – those with iOS pay more. Gamers from countries with a high quality of life (States, China, Japan), and 48% of the market is from America and China.

If you worry about your target audience's age, don’t. Comscore reports that there is no difference in terms of age, so there is no point in diving deeper into this.

Taking everything into account, it’s safe to say that an iOS app is more attractive, and this operating system is better for a single app. iOS application will bring you more money. But it’s worth mentioning that although Apple earns more in general, things might change drastically in some countries. So, if you are looking at Europe, go with iOS. However, if the app is meant for use in a concrete country or city, gather more information, so you don’t have to kick yourself afterward.

Statcounter Global Stats is helpful when you need to understand mobile operating system market share. We added the worldwide review, but you can also find the link to statictics by region on that page.

Conclusion

A successful service should provide both mobile and web apps. Different platforms have different advantages and disadvantages and can attract different users. The choice is yours.

First published here