Web or mobile application: what to choose?

Mobile or web application: what's the difference?

First, let's clear up the confusion between a website and a web application. Although there are two terms, they mean the same thing: a program that runs in a browser. You can divide them like this: the website is informational, and the application is an interactive product. That is, a landing page, where there is most often one clickable button “buy” or “subscribe”, is still a website, and any marketplace is an application.

In this article, we say “web application” is any program that the user opens in a browser and uses only online. To operate the web application, you do not need to download and install additional software.

You can create a web application in a web application development company : be it social networks or a ticket booking system. And it happens that a web application complements a mobile one and vice versa.

Mobile applications are programs that the user downloads to his smartphone. They can work offline and online, but the main difference from web applications is that mobile ones must be installed on the phone, and not just open the browser.

We left the most interesting for last: PWA (Progressive Web App). This is a web application that the user downloads to a smartphone, but it works through a browser. PWA differs from a regular mobile application in that it cannot be downloaded from the Appstore and Play market and in that the functionality of PWA is limited. Such applications cannot yet interact normally with smartphone hardware: camera, Bluetooth. There are also security issues, such as Touch ID. Although PWA looks like a mobile application, it is more often classified as a web application in web app development company . so in this article, we will also classify it as a web application - but with an asterisk.

Now that we have understood the concepts, let's move on to the factors that you need to consider when choosing between web and mobile development.

What do you need: a web or mobile application?

Several factors will help you decide which application to invest in.

Whether it’s a web or mobile app, you’ll have to deal with SEO in any case. Even though optimization of both is tied to the selection and use of keywords, it is believed that smartphone applications are a little more difficult to promote.

With a web application, you can attract a wider audience because the content of their pages is indexed by search engines and offered to users in response to queries. Of course, thanks to the Firebase App Indexing tool, a mobile app can also become 'searchable' - although this will require a website to be associated with it.

If you want to get a larger audience reach without large investments, choose a web application.

Use cases

Find out on the shore:

• How often will the user access your product?

• Where and when might it be needed?

Frequency of use - what does it mean? Choosing between a web and mobile application using Microsoft To-Do as an example.

Microsoft To Do allows the user to create tasks and synchronize them between their devices. Don’t want to leave Pyaterochka without a carton of milk or are you afraid to continue feeding the cat? The mobile application is always at hand, which means you can set a reminder from anywhere: from home, a shopping centre or from work.

Catch another example: a calorie tracker. Let’s be realistic, it’s hard to imagine that someone would write down all their breakfasts, lunches and snacks in a notepad, and then enter all this writing into a web application at home.

Why does the application need to be offline? Let's analyze it using the example of Google Maps.

Imagine that you are in New York. The city is huge, it’s easy to get lost - offline maps will help you stay on track. If there is no Internet, you will not receive local transport schedules, but you will still have access to the navigation function. With a web application development company, everything works a little differently: no Internet - no maps. 😀

Continuing the theme of being in a foreign country: not getting lost and getting to your destination is only half the battle. You need to somehow communicate with people who don’t speak Russian. Mobile dictionaries with the ability to download the language database offline will be very useful here (the main thing is to remember to allow the application to download the English package to your smartphone while you have Internet access).

The conclusion is simple: thoroughly think through the scenarios for using the product. There are expectations that the user will access it a) from different locations; b) at least 3 times a day; c) without internet access. The smartphone app is your everything.

Selecting device functions

While web application developers include various APIs in their code, mobile developers take full advantage of the built-in functions of smartphones. Let's look at specific examples.

Pushes or push notifications. There are applications for which this feature is simply vital. The same social networks, for example.

Let's remember the good old VKontakte. Few people use the function of receiving push notifications in the browser or notification centre, but it exists. Users are accustomed to receiving notifications inside the page - they hear a familiar sound, realise that a message has arrived, and go to the tab with dialogues. Well, or I picked up my smartphone and read it there. Here are, the advantages of web applications that have a mobile version.

If you're planning to implement notifications in your app, think twice.

Yes, they can be implemented in both mobile and web applications. However, if your goal is to keep the user up to date with the latest events, then choose an application for your smartphone. For example, the user needs to see notifications in brokerage applications: this way he will not miss the right moment in the market when he needs to sell or buy shares, and at the same time he will not be chained to the computer with the exchange window open in the browser.

Web and Mobile Application Development: What's the Difference?

Web and mobile app development are very different both in the UI/UX design phase and the coding phase. The main thing to remember is that the application and the website are different things. We’ll look at how the application differs from the website some other time.

Web applications are more difficult in terms of creating a good user interface: you have to take into account a huge number of screen resolutions + adapt to the features of each browser. For mobile applications, there are entire guidelines ( App Store and Play Market ) that limit the designer’s flight of imagination, which allows him not to overdo it with the interface.

As for the dev part of mobile and web applications, there is, of course, a difference. But! You shouldn’t rely on the technical part when choosing between a web and mobile application. You can always find professionals in creating web applications in web app development company and those who develop for iOS and Android.

Note: if you decide to develop a mobile application, think about creating a cross-platform solution. The cross-platform approach works great for startups on a budget. You kill two birds with one stone and simultaneously enter the iOS and Android markets without investing a ton of money in developing 2 versions for each platform. Release it faster, get feedback faster and test your idea for strength. React Native, a framework created by Facebook will help make this scenario a reality.

We at Purrweb develop both mobile and web applications. Sometimes a project requires both types - for example, we were developing a fitness application. We created a web for trainers and a mobile for clients. The choice of application type depends on the key circumstances of their use. Agree, it’s not very convenient to use a PC when doing fitness, but a mobile application is very helpful in such cases. A web application for a trainer is more convenient because it makes it easier to manage several workouts at the same time.

Here's a table to help you find the right technical expression for your idea.

Inside, web and mobile applications can be divided into several subtypes according to their functionality, let's look at this classification in more detail:

Types of Applications

We can distinguish several main types of applications based on their functionality:

• Marketplaces

These are applications that make it possible to make purchases online: from cat bedding to the intellectual property of the seller. By the way, we were making a marketplace for music soundtracks and it was a web application. A web application for marketplaces is, first of all, convenient, since you can see the product on the big screen in all details. As for the music marketplace, musicians need to use a web application, because the entire process of creating professional soundtracks takes place on a PC: it is convenient to both upload your creations and download them for further use.

• Social media

Communication platforms are more popular than ever during the pandemic. If you want to develop a social network, then it is important to understand under what conditions the user will use it. We can say one thing: social networks are one of the few platforms that users use in both mobile and web versions. But if this is, for example, a social network for travellers, then it is logical to make it without reference to a place and allow the user to be easy-going, that is, make a mobile version of the application.

• Fintech applications

Fintech applications are related to financial services. They are widespread because today most financial transactions are carried out digitally. The use of such applications is convenient both in the mobile version and on the web. It often happens that you urgently need to transfer money when you are far from your computer - a mobile fintech application comes to the rescue. But paying utility bills from your phone is often not so convenient, so we use a web application.