The digital world has changed how companies connect with consumers. In today’s landscape, you can’t rely exclusively on in-person interactions with your audience or offline advertising to drive sales. You need a way to connect with consumers through the devices they use every day.
One way to do this is with a website, where customers can browse through your products and learn about your company. However, as consumer behaviors and buyer journeys evolve, a website might not be enough to set your business apart from the competition.
We’re living in a world where 80% of the world’s population have smartphones, and many are using them as the number one tool to interact with brands. If you want to thrive in today’s world, you need to ensure you’re delivering a mobile-friendly experience to your target audience. So, does that mean you should necessarily turn your website into an app?
Mobile-Friendly Website vs App: What’s the Difference?
Now that around 50.48% of all website traffic comes from mobile devices, designing your website to be mobile-responsive has become commonplace. Many of the most popular website builders and CMS solutions come with pre-built mobile-friendly templates and themes.
However, there’s a big difference between creating a mobile-friendly website for your evolving audience and having your own dedicated app.
A mobile-friendly website is simply a version of your website that’s designed to be accessible through a smartphone. Responsive web design tools can adapt the pages of your site for a smaller display and touchscreen interface. However, the experience isn’t entirely mobile native.
Apps, on the other hand, are downloaded and installed on a user’s device. They don’t require a browser to access and provide users with instant access to all of your content and even more functionality.
Although a mobile-friendly website can improve your chances of engaging customers in today’s world, customers only spend a fraction of their time on mobile actually interacting with a browser. In fact, studies show that customers now spend nearly 3.5 hours per day using mobile apps, compared to under an hour per day using mobile web browsers.
Signs You Should Turn Your Website into an App
There are instances where having a mobile-friendly website makes sense. For instance, if you publish regular long-form content on your site, or news reports, users might prefer to access your site’s pages on a larger screen, which is easier to do using a web browser.
However, for the most part, an app is the optimal solution for delivering an exceptional mobile experience. The biggest reason most companies have avoided creating apps up until now is that they believe that the process of how to make a website into an app is too difficult or expensive.
In the past, you would have had to hire a developer to painstakingly create the right platform, and import all of the content from your website. Now, you can use simple tools to build apps as easily as you would design a website or blog.
If you’re not sure which path to take, here are some of the key signs you should turn your site into an app.
1. The majority of your traffic comes from mobile
If you’re not sure whether you should make your website an app, one of the first things worth doing is looking at your traffic. You can use tools like Google Analytics to examine how many of your visitors come from mobile devices each month, week, or year.
If you notice that a growing proportion of your customers are visiting your site using a mobile device, this indicates that a mobile experience could be beneficial for your brand. With an app, you can provide your audience with a tailored, streamlined experience they can access without having to search for your business on a smartphone browser or click a link.
Plus, since your app places an icon on your customer’s smartphone home screen, they’ll have a constant reminder of your brand in front of them whenever they use their phone. This increases your chances of repeat visits and higher engagement.
2. Your website is designed for entertainment or sales
What do people generally use your website for? If you’re constantly publishing long articles and guides, users might prefer the extra space they have on a desktop browser. However, if you offer a lot of interactive, entertaining, and mobile-friendly experiences, an app might make more sense.
For instance, if you post shorter pieces of content, offer access to calculators and games through your website, or you sell products through your site, an app is the best option. Apps are particularly valuable for e-commerce companies, as around 76% of US adults buy products using their smartphones, rather than a desktop computer.
With an app, you can give users a simple, straightforward, and engaging shopping experience that’s tailored to their needs.
3. You need to differentiate your brand
Nowadays, virtually every company needs to fight for customer attention in an extremely competitive market. There are more than a billion websites worldwide. This means making your mobile-friendly website stand out isn’t going to be easy.
Although more companies are beginning to invest in mobile apps today, fewer apps are still available than websites. This gives you an opportunity to differentiate your brand from the competition. Plus, an app ensures you can connect consistently with your most loyal customers, capturing insights into their preferences and customer journeys over time.
This means you can access more data that will help you to effectively differentiate your company from other businesses in the future.
4. You need to engage while reducing ad spend
When looking for ways to increase traffic, customer engagement, and conversions, most companies invest heavily in digital advertising. Implementing social media marketing campaigns, search engine optimization strategies, and email can be a great way to expand your audience.
However, all of these tactics can be expensive, and they only deliver results if your customers are actively checking their inboxes regularly, using search engines, and interacting with links on social media. If you have your own mobile app, you have an easier, more cost-effective way to drive traffic, engagement, and conversions.
Simply having an icon on your customer’s phone screen is often enough to increase the chances they’ll interact with your business. However, you can also use techniques like push notifications to constantly keep your customers informed about new products, blog posts, and sales promotions too.
5. You’re interested in increasing revenue
Finally, if you’re looking for new ways to increase your revenue, or to unlock new revenue streams, an app could be an ideal solution. With your own app, you can expand on the experiences and products you offer your customers. For instance, you could allow users to sign up for a paid subscription to a service in your app, like a game, or a specific tool.
You’ll also be able to unlock extra revenue opportunities by adding advertisements into the app experience, which can earn you commissions from partner businesses.
With the right website app platform, you can easily add powerful native features to your app that increase your revenue potential, without even having to write code.
Should You Make Your Website an App?
As the number of mobile users continues to grow worldwide, and digital experiences become increasingly mobile, now might be the perfect time to rethink your approach to reaching your audience. If your goal is to connect with more mobile users, deliver a unique customer experience, and increase your chances of conversions, a mobile app could be the perfect choice.
Of course, you also have the option to use both a mobile-friendly website and app simultaneously, to ensure you can connect effectively with your customers on every channel.