Blog > Mobile Vs. Web Application: Different or Complements?
There’s this age long comparison of mobile vs. web applications, and it has dragged for too long. It’s finally time to put the argument and comparison to rest. That’s why we will approach it from the perspective of whether the two are different or complimentary.
Let’s establish a fact before we move ahead; a number of factors should guide your choice;
- Target audience
- Intended Purpose
- Required Features and Capabilities
- Available Budget
The choice is always between a web app and a native app, even though there are also hybrid apps. We will assume you are trying to make up your mind on choosing from the two and cast a light on the pros of the two types of applications.
Why Choose a Mobile Application?
Do you ever wonder what an average user does on the phone? Regardless of what they do, 90% of the time spent on fiddling with their mobile devices is spent on apps.
That’s not all; by 2022, there would be 258 billion downloaded applications.
No one will blame you if you prefer to place mobile applications over web applications. That’s not to even consider the $581.9 Billion mobile apps are expected to generate as revenue in 2020.
Don’t be fazed by what you just read; there’s more to mobile applications than just the statistics.
Instances When a Mobile Application is Appropriate
Mobile apps are best if your idea falls into interactivity, gaming, push notifications, complex calculations, visualizations, and offline access. Look at Fiverr, while there’s a web application, there’s also a mobile app that is relied on by 99% of Fiverr buyers and sellers for instant messaging.
In this scenario, choosing a mobile application ticks ¾ of the checklist we’ve established; target audience, intended purpose and required features. It’s not a question of which is better, but a factor of usefulness.
It will amount to a goose chase if you are building a mobile application for what can achieve using a web application.
Why Choose a Web Application?
Just like mobile applications, web applications are not without their own glowing numbers and statistics.
In 2019, there was an average of 223 billion website visits per month. Of this number, 12.8 billion visits are to top social media networks.
Despite the availability of mobile applications, some of the most used resources are best used via web applications. Think of email programs, file scanning, video and photo editing, spreadsheets, and many others.
Instances When Web Application is Preferable
We’ll approach this from the angle of purpose, let’s say you intend to deploy either of the two for marketing purposes, then web apps should be considered. The immediacy web application offers compared to mobile applications is another strength.
That’s not to talk about the level of compatibility of web applications with a wide range of browsers and operating systems. When there’s a need for change, web applications are easily upgradeable.
From the position of SEO, web applications stand a better chance of being located by the target audience. The lifecycle of web applications is also longer compared to mobile apps that are likely to be deleted within 30 days of usage.
Final Thoughts
So far, it appears as if mobile and web applications are different. True, there are underlying differences, but one isn’t better than the other.
Our position at Silicon Valley Cloud IT is to overlook the mobile vs. web application comparison. We focus on the determination of which is best for your intended purpose rather than look at the statistics. Look at the top 10 websites in the world today, both by revenue and traffic, they all have both web applications and mobile applications.
When our clients ask us for advice, we always educate them on the importance of the two. This is why we approach app and web development from the position of complements at Silicon Valley Cloud IT.
Author: SVCIT Editorial
Copyright Silicon Valley Cloud IT, LLC.