Why mobile website AND app are important

The figures are actually quite clear: Smartphone users spend 90 percent of their usage time in apps and only 10 percent of the time surfing mobile/ responsive websites. However, depending on the goal you as a provider pursue, appearances can be deceptive. A closer look at the figures reveals that there are few, but very big winners in this analysis.

According to a US study by Comscore, users spend 78 percent of their usage time in the top 3 apps, such as Facebook, Google or games. However, if you put these figures in relation to mobile reach, the balance of power changes. The user numbers of the mobile web presences of the 1000 largest providers in the USA are more than twice as high as those of the apps - and are growing twice as fast. A similar picture emerges when the top 50 providers are evaluated alone: Only twelve times did the app have a higher number of users than the mobile-enabled websites.

What is your goal?

It is difficult to say which form of mobile presence is the better one for a company - rather, both variants can offer valuable added value for users AND companies.

Websites are ideal for the first contact with prospective or new customers and cannot be replaced by apps. The situation is different if you want to bind a customer for a longer period of time and thus establish a lasting relationship. Here the app has clear advantages over a mobile website. However, if you then decide to have your own app, you should also actively work on its application - because the goal should of course be to appear and remain on the home screen of the customer.

Outlook

This is a problem that many app vendors are familiar with: The app is downloaded but not placed on the home screen. Or it does not receive permission to send the user messages (notifications). The app is in danger of being forgotten, even though it is installed. A new development from Facebook could help here in the future. According to the social network's plan, the app called "Notify" will serve as a platform for companies and allow them to send messages to their users.

Source: TheAwl / linkedin