Understanding The Difference Between Apps and Mobile Websites

published July 22, 2011 | Written | Comments Comments { 2 }

Among all of the recent changes in maintaining an online presence, one of the potentially confusing aspects is knowing the difference between an app and a mobile website. Of all the questions I receive from potential Venture Platform users, this is the one that is saddled with the most confusion. So, let’s take a moment to make sure you not only understand the difference but whether or not you can benefit from either solution.

The Big Differences

The most fundamental aspect to understand is apps function separately from your existing website and a mobile website is a variation of your existing website. Here are some additional characteristics of each platform.

Apps

An app is a software application that must be written in the native language of a particular platform; the two predominant platforms are Apple (iPhone) and Google (Android).

Benefits

  • Using native code usually results in higher performance.
  • App is distributed through native app stores and potentially enhances distribution.
  • It can work offline.
  • Single click launch from icon.
  • Utilize native functionality (camera, gyroscope, and push notifications).

Drawbacks

  • More expensive to develop.
  • Must be developed separately for each platform.
  • App stores charge fees for publishing or certifying.
  • Require approval of platform before you can distribute.
  • Require manual download.

Mobile Websites

Since this is an optimized version of your existing website, it can be reached through a phone’s web browser directly and is therefore accessible by all smartphones equipped with browsing capability.

Benefits

  • A single mobile site can work on any mobile platform (but you can development multiple versions if desired).
  • Comparatively less expense to develop than an app. (important note)
  • Can be found and accessed via search engines, websites, and blogs.
  • No outside authority needed to distribute.
  • Content managed from your existing content management system.

Drawbacks

  • They aren’t written in native code, so improperly designed sites can produce performance issues.
  • You cannot access all of the smartphone’s native functionality (camera, gyroscope, and push notifications).
  • Can’t piggy back on success of third party app distributor.

App or Mobile Website (or both)?

Mobile sites don’t need to be downloaded, are available to all, easier to build, and do not need approval. Apps take advantage of the native handset applications like the camera, gyroscope, and push notifications plus they can benefit from increased exposure through third party app stores.

And just like any other tools, there’s no universal right or wrong choice here. The most important step is doing your research and figuring out whether or not you need any of the unique features or functionality provided by an app. You also need to know what your mobile users are doing when they visit your site so if you haven’t been tracking smartphone metrics already, start.

Additional Consideration

The United Airlines mobile website is an excellent example of a streamlined and optimized design.

One aspect about smartphone usage that is very different than standard online browsing is site optimization. As a result of their platform specific coding, Apps are designed to produce big results here and if you go in that direction, you’re all but guaranteed positive results.

But if you’re considering the mobile website path and your standard website uses a bunch of Flash elements, is bogged down by heavy database queries, or relies on a substantial number of image based graphic design elements, then you may need to consider creating a hyper optimized mobile website.

This is a heavily distilled version of your existing site that focuses on the core features that allow visitors to buy tickets and access event information. Removing unnecessary graphic elements and focusing on every microsecond have make or break importance. Make it easy to find, don’t take more than three steps to complete any one process, and don’t distract the user flow.

Conclusions

The best thing you can do is discover that your existing site is already optimized to work on the major smartphone platforms (iPhone and Android). If you’re a Venture Platform user, you can already check that one off. If you aren’t, then you need to take a good long look at your existing website and explore some app development options (such as Instant Encore’s app service) to see if either or both options might be right for your organization.

But in the end, I hope this review has clarified the difference between an app and a mobile website. If you have any additional questions, feel free to send them in.

About Drew McManus

"I hear that every time you show up to work with an orchestra, people get fired." Those were the first words out of an executive's mouth after her board chair introduced us. That executive is now a dear colleague and friend but the day that consulting contract began with her orchestra, she was convinced I was a hatchet-man brought in by the board to clean house. I understand where the trepidation comes from as a great deal of my consulting and technology provider work for arts organizations involves due diligence, separating fact from fiction, interpreting spin, as well as performance review and oversight. So yes, sometimes that work results in one or two individuals "aggressively embracing career change" but far more often than not, it reinforces and clarifies exactly what works and why. In short, it doesn't matter if you know where all the bodies are buried if you can't keep your own clients out of the ground, and I'm fortunate enough to say that for more than 15 years, I've done exactly that for groups of all budget size from Qatar to Kathmandu. For fun, I write a daily blog about the orchestra business, provide a platform for arts insiders to speak their mind, keep track of what people in this business get paid, help write a satirical cartoon about orchestra life, and love a good coffee drink.
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And if your standard website is designed properly from the beginning, you may not even need a separate mobile site. For example, when designing the Venture Platform, we made sure it has full functionality in all touch screen smartphone browsers and acceptable performance at standard network speeds.