Most startups need some type of digital presence to succeed today. However, a digital presence can come in a variety of forms. For example, you may be wondering whether your startup would benefit from a website, or whether you should partner with Android or iPhone app development specialists to create a mobile app instead.
A single blog entry can't necessarily answer this question for you. It can, however, list some factors you should consider when making your decision, such as the following:
Budget
You do have to account for certain practical details when choosing between a mobile website and a mobile app. That being said, while staying within your budget is important, you don't want to sacrifice a strong user experience just to save money. You need to strike a balance between spending what you can afford and predicting the future return on your investment. It's sometimes smarter to spend more money now in order to see greater returns later.
Features
The nature of your business and services should also influence your decision. Some types of services are essentially impossible to offer via a mobile website alone. For example, Uber, which relies on GPS technology, can only function in the form of an app.
Audience Behavior
To as much a degree as possible, you should study the behaviors of your audience to determine whether you'd be more successful in the long run with a mobile website or a mobile app.
For instance, a mobile app is directly on a user's device. Thus, there's a good chance that someone who downloads your app will spend more time using it (and engaging with your brand) than they would if you only had a website.
On the other hand, when deciding which apps are worth download, users have literally millions of options from which to choose. You need to be confident your target audience will be relatively likely to download yours if you decide an app is the right type of digital presence for your business.
You should also research the overall consumer behaviors of the types of individuals in your target audience. For example, maybe your target audience consists of people who generally own iPhones. If so, you could safely decide to release an iPhone app, knowing members of your target audience will be able to make use of it in most cases.
On the other hand, maybe your target audience is broad. Some potential customers own iPhones, some own Android devices. Some actively download apps, some don't. In this case, you may prefer a mobile website to avoid limiting your ability to reach all members of your audience.
Regardless, whether you decide to release an app or website, it's crucial that you coordinate with skilled developers. Doing so is key to optimizing your startup's digital presence.
Guest Author
Rae Steinbach is a graduate of Tufts University with a combined International Relations and Chinese degree. After spending time living and working abroad in China, she returned to NYC to pursue her career and continue curating quality content. Rae is passionate about travel, food, and writing (of course).