source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com
Online businesses have carved a niche for themselves as more than three billion people world over now have access to the internet. Of all the worldwide internet users, a third accesses the internet on their mobile devices as more and more people are now preferring smartphones or tablets over PCs to browse the internet. Video streaming on mobile devices via YouTube or Netflix (TV on demand service) has also become easier with high-speed 4G networks and large screen sizes. Making online purchases using a mobile device has become a skyrocketing trend as people are increasingly enjoying the luxury of buying their favorite items online from anywhere.
Businesses now see a great opportunity to bank upon burgeoning mobile internet users worldwide. For any online business seeking growth and increased profitability, a mobile web application offers significant support to reach that goal. A progressive web app, unlike a mobile native app that requires a download, can be easily accessed on any smartphone’s browser and has various benefits over native apps.
Let's see why custom mobile app development companies are now shifting to mobile web apps:
Mobile Native Apps |
Mobile Web Apps |
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Development of mobile native apps is a time taking and costlier process |
Mobile web apps are cheaper and faster to develop |
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Mobile native apps need a download, which increases data usage and occupies space in phone’s memory |
Mobile web apps can be easily accessed through a URL and require no download |
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Native apps are expensive as needed to be developed for multiple mobile platforms, like Android iOS etc |
Mobile web apps do not cost much as they can be easily developed to access via a phone’s browser, like Google, on any mobile OS |
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Native apps often cause annoyance to users who need to download heavy updated versions time and again |
Users don’t realize that a mobile web has been updated as developers can easily repair it without causing much disruption |
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Updating a mobile native app for multiple mobile platforms incurs high cost for owners |
Mobile web app maintenance does not involve too much cost and can be easily updated through a CMS |
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Mobile native apps are dependent on mobile platforms, thus getting an app available on Google Play, App Store etc often results into a long wait |
There is no such constraint with mobile web apps |
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Native apps don’t offer monetization ease as online stores, like Google Play, handle all payment work |
With mobile web apps you can easily handle all the payments by setting up a payment gateway |
Now, let’s talk about how mobile web apps can help your business
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Improved visibility and user experience: A mobile web app for your business can increase your visibility as people now spend more time on their smartphones to browse the internet. A prospective customer can land up on your web app’s site page through Google search engine results and make a purchase for a product he/she is looking for. A mobile-optimized website has optimal download speed and provides users a pleasing experience since it’s specifically made for hand-held devices.
source: okayapowergroup.blogspot.com
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Improved SEO: By developing a mobile web app, you can boost your SEO efforts and ensure that your company has a high rank in search engine results on mobile-friendly search engines like Google and Yahoo.
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Rise in sales through advertising: Mobile advertising allows businesses to take their products to target audiences and lure them into purchasing products on your mobile website. An important point to note here is that your ads must take users to mobile-optimized landing pages, not your desktop site.
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Increased engagement with users: Mobile-specific features like click to call increase engagement with mobile web app users. Location aware technology also makes it possible for visitors to connect to your website, especially when you are a local business and users are either in or nearby your geographic location. You could also add a chat feature on to your mobile web app to answer queries of users and improve customer service.
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Secured payment gateways: Mobile web apps are designed to perform all the tasks in a secured manner in addition to provide pleasing experience to users. Users don’t feel reluctant to make a purchase using a mobile web app due to highly secured payment gateways. More and more users now believe that their bank details are not vulnerable to misuse by third parties, therefore by using right marketing strategies you can increase your sales through your mobile web app.
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QR code use: You can use QR codes in advertisements, brochures, posters to direct traffic to your mobile website. After scanning a QR code with a smartphone, it can be converted into a website URL, an email address or SMS message.
Numbers of users accessing the internet on mobile devices are increasing everyday. It’s high time for businesses to realize the importance of mobile web apps in improving their bottom line. I hope this blog has offered you deep insight into inevitability of mobile web apps.