7 Reasons You Should Turn Your Website Into an App
With constantly evolving technology, the dynamics of doing business have changed considerably. Studies have shown that 80% of shoppers use a smartphone to look up store, product, and service information online. The number of smartphone users is set to increase to 3.8 billion worldwide in 2021.
This means that more and more users prefer using a mobile device for online shopping. While having a digital presence is imperative, building your business around a responsive website is no longer going to cut it. Mobile Apps are much more user-friendly, have integrated features, and offer far more value in terms of customer loyalty and brand management.
Indeed, when it comes to deciding between having a website or having an app, creating a native app is usually the obvious choice. Apps account for 89% of the total media time a user spends on their smartphones. This is mainly because responsive websites accessed through mobile devices do not provide the same level of functionality as a mobile app.
The mobile app development industry is already making its mark in the digital sector. The time is ripe to convert your website into an app. If you are still not convinced, below are seven major reasons why you should consider that upgrade now.
Source: Pickaweb
Why Should you Consider Mobile App Development?
Greater Mobility and Ease of Use
A mobile app provides far greater mobility to a user than a responsive website. Studies have shown that only 11% of mobile users spend time on mobile web browsing. From getting news to tracking fitness, everything has gone mobile, and it is easy to understand why. Mobile Apps have eliminated the need for users to remember your web address. Now they no longer need to search or type in a URL into a browser.
Moreover, accessing information through apps is 1.5 times faster than through websites. This is because user data is stored locally on the app itself, as compared to website data that are stored on servers. Another major reason is that apps offer much faster response speeds as compared to websites.
Enhanced Customer Engagement
When you opt for mobile app development, you are giving a better option to your customers to engage with your brand. Let me explain how. A mobile app offers a more interactive experience to your customers. With just a few clicks, users can access required information swiftly.
Gone are the days of failed email-marketing techniques. Now your users can receive instant updates on promotions, product launches, and offers. Use push notifications and in-app notifications to broadcast important information unobtrusively. With attractive coupons and deals, you can even increase brand loyalty within your user base.
A customer will rarely visit a website regularly. On the other hand, a mobile app is a constant presence on the screen. This makes for far greater brand awareness than offered by any other traditional marketing tools.
Integrated Functionalities
When you convert a website into an app, you can immediately start integrating extra features on the device. Your app can let customers use GPS to automatically track location and match it with your service areas. Integration with maps can help your customer locate your physical store.
Mobile cameras can help users scan and search for a particular product. They can even upload images of defective products to resolve customer-service issues. Support of face and fingerprint detection can help with quick credential authorization and one-click purchase.
Social media integrations within the app allow for easy sharing of viral content. This also pushes your digital marketing activities to a whole new level. It can extend your app’s reach and boost conversions while developing your brand story in exciting ways.
Better Conversion Rates
A mobile app guarantees 157% greater conversion rate than a mobile-responsive website. With greater personalization and enhanced user targeting, the conversion process is much quicker. Also, with an app, there is a lot more opportunity for customer engagement and brand building. The diverse functionalities make it easier to target bargain-hunters, need-based customers, and returning users.
Better Customization
When users can connect with a brand personality, it creates a deeper bond and customer loyalty. Mobile apps can offer enhanced personalization specific to the user’s preference. It helps you track in-app user activity and offer filtered recommendations based on that.
An app also requires personal sign-in by users. Needless to say, this has a great impact on generating leads. With integrated sign-in features, you can even generate user data across the web. This will help you create targeted ads customized to specific preferences or locations. Using an A/B testing tool you can experiment with different strategies to optimize the customer experience.
Offline Accessibility
Just like a website, an app is also dependent on the internet to offer full-scale functionality to its users. However, while a website cannot be accessed offline, some features of an app can still be available for offline use. Offline functionalities drain very little battery from the device, while still allowing users to get basic information.
For example, an ecommerce app can give offline access to user-data, coupons available, past purchases, in-app calls, etc. A popular map application even provides access to offline routes, when you get disconnected during driving. Such features can make an app hugely popular with its users and create brand loyalty.
Increased Productivity with Monetization Options
A mobile app can be used in a number of different ways. It serves not only as a base for customer purchase but also as a customer service tool. You can even use the same app to channel your brand marketing.
Considering that an app can handle so many functions effectively, it increases productivity many times over a normal website. At the same time, it brings down your marketing and sales cost by combining different end-goals in a unified platform.
Moreover, you don’t need a paid app to interact with your users and build a community. There are a number of ways to monetize free apps while promoting your brand story. You can leverage your user base to earn money, through ad revenues or premium upgrades.
Still Wondering Whether to Go For Mobile App Development?
So will you consider a mobile app for your business? Make no mistakes, this is the age of ‘everything has its app’. From productivity to health, travel, lifestyle, and food, almost everything is at the tip of our fingers. The world has gone mobile and under such circumstances, businesses can no longer afford to stay away. It is only sensible to take the next logical step and convert your website into an app.
Before you go on to the next stage and hire an app development company, think of your requirements. Make a list of the USPs of your app. Get help from experts and app developers to understand how an app works.
Follow these tips to avoid common pitfalls while hiring a mobile app development company:
- Ask them to share their portfolio and their works with past clients. This will help you understand the types of apps they create. Look for experienced teams and developers who can handle your needs. Amateur developers can make a mess of your app and your budget.
- Know about the technology stack and the wireframes they use. Different platforms have different requirements. They should be using agile development methodology to build their apps. Make sure you get code ownership. That way you can customize your app and update it as and when required. For the long term, it is better to have an in-house team of developers.
- Be aware of the projected/estimated timeline. Unnecessary delays and lags can be crucial to your business success. You also need to get an estimate for your budget. Building an app can cost anywhere upward of $10,000. Do market research and compare potential developers before making a final decision.
- Get Involved in the designing process. It is better to have clarity on how you want your app to be. How you imagine it is what you will manifest. Work with the developers to develop a keen understanding of the design process.
- The developer you choose should be offering you testing and maintenance services before and after releasing the app. You can opt for A/B testing to optimize the experience.
Understand that extra features and functionalities will affect your budget. At the same time, it is important to hire someone with adequate design sensibilities to make your UX rich and smooth.
