Mobile Apps versus Internet Browser Apps

https://moz.com/blog/mobile-web-mobile-apps-invest-marketing-whiteboard-friday

Which apps are most popular on the worldwide web?  Stand-alone mobile apps or internet browser apps?  According to Moz.com’s blog, “there’s a lot less time spent in the mobile web, meaning on mobile websites on a mobile device, than there is in the world of apps.  Much less time spent.  However, there’s more traffic overall.  The mobile web is growing faster than the mobile app world; even though the mobile web is about two times bigger in terms of raw traffic, it is growing faster than the mobile app world. 

It’s not that we spend all our time on just a few websites.  In fact, because so much of the time that we spend on the web in desktop is on Facebook’s website and on YouTube’s website, and that is mostly app traffic in the mobile web. In the mobile app world, apps dominate.  As in, they dominate to where they crush the times that we spend on mobile devices.  In 2014, Mary Meeker’s State the Internet Report showed that mobile traffic eclipsed desktop traffic.  Desktop traffic has been growing from 1990 – 2010, and then it has basically maintained where its been at since then.  Do we spend less time or more time on desktops today than five years ago?  The answer, is actually a bit more than we used to.  But—the mobile world has gone crazy and we spend much more time on mobile devices.”  This is really true if you just look around almost anyplace you go.  People are walking around campus with their nose to their phone, at the store, walking down the street, riding the bus, in their cars (unfortunately). 

Something that this blog pointed out that I thought was interesting is that when we are on our mobile devices, we may be browsing Facebook, or another social media site.  Therefore, we aren’t engaging in the use of other apps per say, but focusing on one.  You are less likely to click on a mobile web link and load up other pages while using one already on your phone.   

https://uxmag.com/articles/native-or-web-based-selecting-the-right-approach-for-your-mobile-app

Taking a different turn here, if someone is creating a mobile application, they will need to decide if it is going to be a stand-alone app, a “native” or “web-based” app.  What are the differences?  What are the pros and cons?  “A native app is one that is built for a specific platfor, such as iPhone or Android.  A web-based app, is one that is hosted on the web and accessed from a browser on the mobile device.“

Listed below are some pros and cons:

Native Apps Pros: 

• ·         Faster and more responsive
• ·         Can run asynchronously, meaning information can be stored locally on the phone temporarily and synced with the central web-based server later.
• ·         Gives  you access to that platform’s hardware features such as photos, GPS info, phone calls, etc.
• ·         App Store-a great way to promote and advertise for yourself

Native Apps Cons: 

• ·         A separate code base must be created and maintained for each individual platform. 

Web-Based Apps Pros:

• ·         Centralizing your offering.  All mobile devices can access the app and use it immediately. 
• ·         Real –time updates  can happen automatically
• ·         Freedom:  Not tied to rules set forth by app stores.  Free to offer content and advertising as you want
• ·         From a technical viewpoint, things move forward very quickly on the mobile web.

Web-Based Apps Cons:

• ·         Lack of access to the hardware features of mobile devices such as camera, GPS, NFC, etc.
• ·         You are responsible for everything concerning that app and cannot rely on the platform or app store for support

There are many things to consider if developing your own app.  Most of which is well over my head in terms of understanding how it all fits together.  Both approaches have their share of benefits and drawbacks.  The decision will need to be based on its desired functionality and reach as well as resources used.