A persistent question that gets asked at the requirement gathering stage of most projects is how to best serve customers on mobile devices? That’s if that question is asked at all, a client may have their heart set on a app because they’re all the rage these days but what is the right solution for your project in terms of providing customers with a user experience that meets and possibly goes beyond their expectations and gives the best ROI.
The main things to consider are:
- Frequency of use
- Context of use
- Functionality
- Customer expectations and the competition
- Time and budget
Frequency of use
How often will a customer use your product or service? If it’s very infrequent then a user may not want to go to the bother of downloading an app and have it cluttering up their ‘desktop’. Also if the customer is required to login to access functionality or content there’s a good chance they won’t remember their login details and any persistent login will have expired if usage is infrequent. If users are expected to use your product or service frequently then an app maybe the way to go due to quickness of access and persistent login.
Context of use
Where and when will your customers be using your product or service? Will they be at home or on the go? Will they always need or have access to the internet? Will they be in a stressful situation? The context in which customers will use your product or service will determine some of the functionality you’ll need to provide.
Functionality
An app can provide certain functionality that a website can’t (or can’t do as well) such as providing offline content, utilising location services or sending push notifications. So, if these are important requirements for your product or service then an app is probably the way to go. Whether you need to provide certain functionality will be closely associated with the context in which customers will use it. Offline access to content maybe needed because you’re providing an important service that can’t rely on internet access or your customers are likely to be abroad when they need to use your service and they may want to avoid data roaming charges.
Customer expectations and the competition
What are your customers expectations in terms of user experience? Are the competition providing native apps with beautiful transitions and features that delight the user or have they only got a website that looks good on a desktop? Of course you want to be ahead of the competition and you definitely don’t want to be behind them. If customers are used to a certain digital experience within a market sector or as a specific user group then you’ll need to meet their expectations or risk disappointing your customers.
Time and budget
What budget do you have and what deadlines do you need to meet? Building a responsive website is generally cheaper and quicker than building native mobile apps but native apps usually provide the best user experience and then there’s always the hybrid consideration for somewhere in between.
In summary
Weighing up the functionality you want to provide together with how and when customers will use your product or service and the expectations they have in conjunction with the time and budget available will determine whether you choose a app or responsive website. Obviously you can always have both if time and budget allow.
