Mobile app or web app — which is right for your business

Mobile app or web app — the answer mostly depends on who will use it and where. A mobile app pays off when people carry it in their pocket, such as customers or technicians in the field, or when it needs to alert them in good time. A web app is the better choice for portals, ordering and office work, because it runs in the browser and there is nothing to install.

Perhaps you have already asked yourself whether your company needs an app. A more useful question is who will work with the solution, where and how often. This guide gives you a comparison, real examples and questions that will help you decide before the first meeting.

What is the difference between a mobile app and a web app?

A mobile app is installed on the phone from the App Store or Google Play. It has its own icon on the screen, sends notifications and can use the phone’s camera and location.

A web app opens in a browser — on a computer, a tablet or a phone. There is nothing to install; an address and a login are all it takes. When the app changes, everyone has the new version straight away.

For a customer, the main difference is whether they have to install something. For a business, it is where its people work and how quickly a new version reaches them.

When does a mobile app make sense for a business?

A mobile app makes sense where people are not sitting at a computer and need the tool with them all the time.

• Customers who carry it in their pocket. If they often come back to order, book or check the status of a job, an app makes that easier.
• Technicians and field staff. They take a job, photograph a fault, record the materials used and confirm arrival on the spot.
• Timely notifications. A new job, a reported fault or an order ready for collection appears straight on the phone’s screen.

A mobile app can also be designed so that a technician can keep working where the signal is weak, with the data sent later. Bear in mind, though, that an app has to be installed. A customer who only comes to you now and then may not want to bother, and then the web may be enough.

Do not build an app just because a competitor has one. If your customers will not open it often, it will sit forgotten on their phones, and the money would be better spent on a part that saves you more.

When is a web app enough?

A web app works in any browser, with nothing to install. You send a link, the person logs in and can get to work. Nobody has to be persuaded to install anything, which helps most with trade customers who only order from you now and then.

• Customer portals. Customers check their orders, invoices or complaints without having to call you.
• Ordering systems. Trade customers order from their own price list instead of by e-mail and phone.
• Internal tools and office work. Assigning jobs, checking stock, approving invoices and weekly reports are all easier on a big screen.

A web app can be used on a phone too, if it is designed to adapt to a smaller screen. For occasional use on the move, that is often enough.

When do you need both a web app and a mobile app?

Both pay off when people in the field and in the office work on the same thing. A technician records a job on the phone and the office sees it on the web straight away, so nobody has to ring the technician to find out how the job is going. A customer orders in the app and your staff handle the order at a computer. The condition is that the web app and the mobile app work with the same data.

Our projects Zeleto and Pyyno, for example, run on the web and as apps for iPhone and Android.

Zeleto is a purchasing system for restaurants. It compares supplier prices, splits each order between suppliers and shows how much was saved. It also covers recipes and the cost of each portion.

Pyyno handles fault reports, jobs and invoices for residential buildings. A fault is reported from the phone, a technician takes it and the contractor confirms arrival — with a name and time at every step. You can see both apps among our projects.

You do not have to start with both at once. It often pays to begin with the part that saves the most and add the other later. We describe how that works in how an app gets built.

Mobile app or web app — questions to help you decide

Answer these questions for yourself. You do not need technical answers, just a good knowledge of your business.

• Who will use the solution — customers, your people in the field or the office?
• Where will they use it — at a desk, in a van, on a building site, in the warehouse?
• How often — every day or now and then?
• Do people need timely alerts, for example about a new job or a fault?
• Will they take photos, scan items or need their location?
• Do your people have company phones, or would they install the app on their own?
• Do they work with large tables, overviews and reports?
• Does it matter to you that nothing has to be installed?

If your answers point to the field and to notifications, a mobile app is the better fit. If they point to the desk and to overviews, a web app is enough. If both apply, consider a web app and a mobile app that work with the same data.

Frequently asked questions

Which is cheaper, a mobile app or a web app?

There is no general answer. The price depends on what the solution must do, for whom and what it has to connect to. We go into more detail in how much app development costs.

Do I need an app for both iPhone and Android?

If the app is for customers, almost always yes, because you cannot choose which phone they use. If it is only for your staff and they all have the same kind of company phone, an app for that one kind may be enough.

Does a mobile app have to be on the App Store and Google Play?

If your customers are going to install it, in practice yes. The stores review the app before it is published, and neither the supplier nor you controls how long that takes. An app only for your employees does not have to be publicly searchable in the store.

Can we start with a web app and add a mobile app later?

Yes. The mobile app can then work with the same data as the web app, and it is simplest when this is planned from the start.

How we can help

We build web and mobile apps, with apps for iPhone and Android ready for the App Store and Google Play. In a meeting we go through who will use the solution and where, and in the design we show you how it will work. Book a meeting and tell us where your company loses time.