Mobile website vs Mobile App: Which should you use?

The rapidly growing popularity of smartphones and tablets has compelled enterprise to promote their businesses by targeting mobile platforms. Each organization has several options to target the mobile device users. Some companies launch mobile business apps to attract their existing customers and prospects. At the same time, many organizations optimize the look and feel of their websites for mobile web browsers. However, both mobile website and mobile apps have their own pros and cons. So each enterprise must compare and evaluate these two options to target more relevant users.

Evaluating Pros and Cons of Mobile Apps and Mobile Websites

User Access

A business mobile app needs to be downloaded by the users. Once the user downloads and install the application on his mobile device, he can avail its features simply with a single click. On the other hand, a mobile website can be accessed by users immediately on their mobile web browsers. Further, the mobile version of your business website can also be accessed by using mobile version of various online search engines like Google, Yahoo and Bing.

Functionality
The mobile applications are more effective in keeping users engaged by offering efficient and high quality functionality. Your business can always impress users by allowing them to perform complex tasks like getting information about products, placing order and tracking payment without any hassle. But the mobile website does not allow users to carry out any such transactions directly. But you can use the mobile website as a medium to get more inquiries and website visits.

Speed
A number of reports have highlighted how a mobile app runs at a much faster pace than the mobile websites. So the mobile applications will help you in keeping users engaged by delivering rich user experience. The mobile websites also require users to be connected to the internet to access the mobile websites. But many mobile applications can be accessed by users without having any internet connection.

Technological Requirements
Most organizations, nowadays, launch different versions of the same enterprise app by targeting different mobile platforms. So each version of the app must be developed using technologies and programming language according to the requirements of the mobile operating system. So businesses have to hire mobile app developers to implement their ideas. On the other hand, the mobile version of your website can be developed without putting any extra time and effort. Your website designer can use some simple tricks to create and optimize the mobile website.

Development Cost
As your existing website can be easily optimized for the mobile web browsers, you are not required to incur any heavy expenses. But cost of the mobile application development project will vary according to the features and functionalities of the app. Further, you have to promote the app on various platforms to enhance its popularity. So the overall cost of developing, launching and marketing a mobile application may be huge. It is always a good idea to keep in mind your budget, while evaluating these two options.

ROI
An organization has option to launch the free as well as paid version of the app. When a user loves the features and functionality offered by the free version of the application, he will not hesitate to download the paid version. Further, an organization can implement a comprehensive promotional strategy to make its paid apps popular. The free apps can also be used as a medium to generate revenue by including in-app purchases and in-app advertisement. So it is always easier to monetize a mobile application in comparison to a mobile website.

Each organization also needs to make and implement a comprehensive strategy to launch a popular business mobile application. But it can optimize the mobile version of the website without putting any extra time and effort. So an enterprise must evaluate cost and ROI benefits before taking a decision in favor of any one. You can hire mobile application programmer from top mobile app development companies who can guide you in detail about the benefits of both approaches.

We provide mobile app development services. If you would like to discuss with an expert mobile app developer from our team, please get in touch with us at Mindfire Solutions.

Does Your Business need a Mobile App?

A number of recent reports have highlighted how mobile apps will reshape the future of businesses in the upcoming years. The steady increase in the sale of smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices also indicate the necessity of mobile applications for enterprises. However, a business has to consider many factors before developing a mobile application. Also, it has option to consider several alternatives including mobile websites. Therefore, it has become essential for each enterprise to decide if it is time to invest in mobile app development.

5 Reasons Why Each Business Requires a Mobile App

1) Reach and Engage Most Relevant Customers

You may be finding it a daunting challenge to promote your products or services by targeting the most relevant audience. The mobile apps make it easier for you to reach the most relevant customer in real time. At the same time, the application will also enable you to keep the customers engaged by accessing their location and detailed profile information. Along with promoting your business, you can further encourage the app users to purchase your products by offering coupons, interactive deals and similar incentives. With most users downloading business applications, it becomes easier for you to attract and engage the most relevant customers and prospects.

2) Serve Mobile Ads
Many reports have highlighted how mobile ads are more effective that other conventional and digital advertising techniques. Often businesses have to incur additional expenses to server mobile ads through publishers and marketing companies. The enterprise mobile app will make it easier for you to serve mobile ads by targeting the most relevant users, while avoiding additional expenses. Along with giving coupons and discounts, you can also easily send location-based push notifications. The innovative advertising methods will further keep your customers interested and engaged.

3) Add Value to Your Customer Service
Often the quality of customer service and support helps a business to retain customers. The business mobile app will make it easier for you to deliver prompt customer service, while adding value to your existing customer care services. Many customers, nowadays, gather information about a product or service directly using their smartphones and tablets. Similarly, many people even buy goods using their mobile devices to save both time and effort. So you can always build a base of happy customers by providing smart and quick customer service through the application.

4) Allow Customers to Shop on the Go
Each customer wants to buy the best product at his own pace and convenience. Along with gather information about a specific product or service, many people, nowadays, prefer shopping through mobile apps. So you can always use your enterprise application as a mobile store that enables users to browse through the products and shop on the go. Many reports have highlighted the growing popularity of mobile shopping options among customers residing in different regions. So you can beat competition through the application by providing smart and flexible shopping options to customers.

5) Avoid Losing Customers
Despite the growing popularity of digital and mobile shopping, many people still prefer shopping at local stores. As the customers will not gather address and contact numbers by visiting your business website, it is important to allow them to access the information in an instant. The application enables you to let customers access your contact information without initiating a web search. Further, the app can use the GPS tracking feature of their mobile devices, and enable customers to find your business without any hassle. The combination of mobile advertisement and option to target all types of customers will help you in building a base of regular customers.

Each business can further choose from a number of mobile application development options. In addition to developing the enterprise app by deploying its in-house team of developers, it can also consider hiring a freelance mobile app developer or outsourcing the project. Many enterprises prefer outsourcing the project to a reliable company to develop, launch and promote their mobile applications without investing any extra time and effort.

You can hire certified mobile app developers from top mobile app development companies in India who can help you build mobile apps within allocated budgets and time schedules.

We provide mobile app development services. If you would like to know more about the expertise of our expert mobile app developers, please get in touch with us at Mindfire Solutions.

What impacts Mobile App download numbers?

According to a statement released by research firm Gartner recently, “Mobile app stores will see annual downloads reach 102 billion in 2013, up from 64 billion in 2012. Total revenue in 2013 will reach USD 26 billion, up from USD 18 billion in 2012.” The statement also predicted a steady growth in the upcoming years, while adding that free mobile apps constituted for 91% of the total application downloads this year. These constantly increasing number of downloads further encourage many enterprises to invest in mobile application development.

But with more and more companies venturing into mobile app business, the field has become highly competitive. Each enterprise, nowadays, has to implement a comprehensive mobile application development and promotion strategy to make its apps popular within a very short span of time. At the same time, the strategy also needs to identify the key technologies and market forces that affect the number of mobile app downloads.

Important Factors Affecting Mobile App Download

Performance and Speed of the App
Many reports have highlighted how the mobile app loading time can have a huge impact on the user experience as well as number of downloads. Often users avoid applications that take more time to load, or require them to take a higher number of actions. So the performance, efficiency and speed of the mobile application must be optimized, while making it more focuses to keep the users impressed and engaged.

Options to Get User Feedback
People love to use mobile apps that are more interactive. Most users also appreciate the feedback mechanism provided by applications. At the same time, many mobile users also look for constant consumer-centric improvements in the app. The right feedback mechanism will help you in gathering the user feedback and comments, and implement these suggestions to deliver improved user experience. Further, you must convey information about the updated version of the mobile application to users, and encourage them to download it to avail a set of fresh and innovative features.

Make the App Easy-to-Customize
Each user wants to customize the mobile application according to his personal preference. So you can easily make the application popular by incorporating features that enables users to personalize it by adjusting settings. It is also a good idea to allow users to change the color, font size, font type and privacy settings to add more value to the app, while delivering more personalized user experience.

Use Dedicated App Marketing Channels
Most mobile application stores allow application developers and resellers to promote their apps by availing customized advertisement options. However, you have to choose the marketing channel according to your mobile application. For instance, the iOS apps can be promoted through Apple’s iAD, whereas the Android apps will be promoted through Google’s AdMob. As these dedicated mobile application marketing channels are effective in reaching out to a large base of mobile users, you can use these advertisement options to get more mobile app downloads immediately after its launch.

Make the Application More Searchable
Many users gather information about mobile apps using online search engines. So the landing page of the application must be optimized to appear at the top of major search engine results pages. Similarly, the title, descriptions and feature list of the application also need to be optimized by using the most relevant keyword and phrases. You can always make your app more searchable to increase the number of downloads without relying on the app stores.

Create App Profiles
You can always optimize the exposure of a specific mobile application by creating profiles on directories, review sites and similar online platforms. It is also a good idea to submit the app to popular app reviewers, and request them to post app reviews. The app reviews will further help you in determining the flaws that affect user experience negatively. You can even use the data to increase app downloads by launching its updated version.

Track the App Constantly
The app promotion strategy must be modified and updated regularly to optimize the campaign. You must keep track of the app consistently using a set of tools and services. The constant tracking will make it easier for you to gather key information about the app including the audience, their age group and usage pattern. You can even consider using mobile app analytics to gather detailed information about the performance of your mobile app, along with identifying its flaws and weaknesses.

The number of mobile app downloads is also impacted by the current and upcoming trends in technology and user demand. At the same time, an enterprise also needs to update its app at regular intervals to increase the number of downloads.

You can hire mobile app programmers from top app development firms who can help you build mobile apps within allocated budgets and time schedules.

We provide mobile app development services. If you would like to discuss with an expert mobile app developer from our team, please get in touch with us at Mindfire Solutions.

How Publishers Hope to Close the Mobile Revenue Gap

A number of recent reports have highlighted that websites, nowadays, get over 50% of their visitors through mobile platforms. With more and more users accessing internet on their handheld devices, it has become essential for enterprise to explore innovative ways to serve ads on mobile. However, many reports have also highlighted that mobile ad rates are still negligible in comparison to conventional rates of advertisement. Therefore, each publisher will find it a daunting challenge to close the mobile revenue gap. At the same time, each enterprise must make and implement a comprehensive mobile advertisement strategy by considering some important factors.

5 Effective Ways to Close the Mobile Revenue Gap

1) Target Multiple Mobile Platforms
Despite the rapidly growing popularity of Android, iOS still generates the maximum ad revenue. So the publisher needs to target the right mobile operating system. In addition to the popularity and market share of the mobile operating system, it is also important to consider its potential to generate ad revenue. An enterprise can further consider serving ads on multiple handheld devices and platforms to generate more revenue. However, no publisher can ignore some of the existing mobile platforms, because Symbian is still effective in generating adequate ad revenue despite being ditched by Nokia in favor of Windows Phones.

2) Personalize Display Ad Units
Similar to mobile platforms, revenue gap also exists between smartphones and tablets. So each publisher can close the mobile ad revenue by creating multiple display ad units according to user-consumption patterns. At the same time, publishers need to extend native platforms for individual handheld devices to easily serve smaller banner ads. Similarly, the animations and videos can be customized for individual mobile platforms to attract and engage the users.

3) Build Innovative Mobile Ad products
The quality and effectiveness of the mobile ad product will have a direct impact on the revenue. So the publishers can avail several benefits by building innovative mobile ad products. In addition to using the products as a medium to impress enterprises, the ad products can further focus on the needs of individual advertiser. The innovative mobile ad products will further encourage advertisers to allocate more funds to serve mobile ads.

4) Target a Higher Level of Customer Intimacy
Each enterprise wants to serve mobile ads by targeting the most relevant users. In addition to customizing the mobile ad products, it is also important for publishers to convince businesses about the effectiveness of mobile advertisement. Therefore, the publishers must explore innovative intelligent marketing techniques that enable them to serve customize mobile ads by targeting the most relevant users. However, no publisher can develop a high level of customer intimacy without putting some amount of time and effort. A publisher also needs to implement a strategy to gather information about the customers and advertisers from several reliable sources.

Despite the rapidly growing popularity of handheld devices, many organizations still allocate a large part of their advertisement budget for conventional print programs. Further, many organizations allocate funds for mobile advertisement from their overall digital marketing budgets. So the publishers must convince more and more organizations to allocate more funds for serving mobile ads. It is also important to run campaigns to make entrepreneurs realize the distinct advantages of mobile advertisement. With companies investing more funds in mobile advertisement campaigns, it will be easier for publishers to close the mobile ad revenue.

Each new mobile device comes with a set of additional and extended features. Also, handheld device manufacturers frequently integrate new technologies to deliver rich user experience. So the publishers must monitor the frequent changes in technology and user demand to close the mobile revenue gap in the long run.

You can hire developers from top mobile app development companies in India who can help you build mobile apps within allocated budgets and time schedules.

We provide mobile app development services. If you would like to discuss with an expert mobile app developer from our team, please get in touch with us at Mindfire Solutions.