Develop an App or Mobilize a Website?
Via Forbes.com:
Analytics firm Flurry has published data on mobile usage by US consumers during Q1 2014. While users are spending more time on their devices (an average of 2 hours and 42 minutes per day, up four minutes on the same period last year), how they use that time has changed as well. Only 22 minutes per day are spent in the browser, with the balance of time focused on applications.Looking at breakdown of that time, users are living in their smartphone’s applications. That gaming requires apps is a given, but almost every other area provides the user with a choice – go for an app to access the data or go to the web.
While this is an interesting graphic articulating the usage statistics of mobile device users, the commentary that accompanies it misses the mark. While overall, it is demonstrable that device users spend much more time in apps, what the commentator ignores is the user's purpose. It is clear that users are primarily relying on apps for entertainment and social purposes. What this graphic does not show is that users are turning to apps to replace learning and shopping behaviors. In fact, news apps account for only three percent of usage in this graphic. The fact that mobile browser usage rivals Facebook app usage indicates that users are highly engaged with their mobile browsers.
When considering whether to develop an app or to mobilize a company's website, there are more relevant factors to consider. Would the app merely be serving the same information as the website? If so, the company is not only adding the cost of app development but also multiplying maintenance and marketing costs. All the investment that a company has put into their web presence, including search engine marketing, will carry over to a mobilized site, while developing an app is starting again at ground zero. The app marketplace is competitive, and if a company is not oriented toward social or entertainment purposes, it is competing for a very slim segment of app usage. And it can't be ignored that a single app won't do; there is an ever increasing number of device platforms and marketplaces to support. Most businesses are better served by optimizing their existing website for mobile devices with a responsive design before making the leap to develop an app.
Update: Daring Fireball offers another perspective on the Mobile Web.