Mobile Web App Vs. Native Application
This is becoming more and more of a critical decision when looking to develop for the mobile marketplace. For those of you who don’t know, a native app can be downloaded from a smart phone store such as iTunes, while a mobile web app has to be accessed through the mobile web browser and then bookmarked for quick access.
The question of should you develop your mobile application as a mobile friendly website or a standard native application is really very complicated to hash through in a single blog post, so those of you who are really interested to know please call me.
There are however several factors that I normally see in this decision making process:
Reasons to go for a Mobile Web App:
- Internal application for employee and customer login.
- Does not require an app icon sitting on a smart phone.
- Does not want the app available for general download on iTunes or other stores.
- Large, enterprise wide app that requires many data feeds.
- Large quantity of videos, PDF’s or other data.
- Easier to develop and optimize for all platforms.
Reasons to go for a Native Application:
- Selling the application for a fee.
- Need to “brand” your icon by having it on the smart phone screen.
- Smaller files sizes, native app will work faster if running from the smart phone.
- Need to notify user base of updates.
- Native use of the internal GPS or accelerometer.
There are many more pro’s and con’s to cover, these are just a few when considering which direction to go. Give us a call at 888.856.2664 to discuss which option might work best for you.
John Rainey
John Rainey brings almost 20 years of sales, marketing and business development experience in the custom multimedia-, Internet- and mobile programming industry. He has worked with Fortune 500 corporate executives and small- to mid-sized business owners alike. His experience spans projects with such companies as Northrop Grumman, Booz Allen, SAIC, Beazer Homes, Homebuilders Association of Maryland, Volvo Rents, Rodale Publishing and Draeger Medical Devices.
Here’s a pretty good infographic from Mashable on native apps vs. mobile websites: http://mashable.com/2011/05/31/business-mobile-app-infographic/