It’s one of the first questions a business owner asks once customers start wanting more: do we need an app? For most businesses, the honest answer is to start with the website. For some, the app comes later. It depends on how your customers use you, not on what your competitors have.
When a website is enough
A website works on every phone and computer without anyone installing anything. Someone searches, taps a link and they’re in. If people mostly find you, read about you and get in touch, a fast website does the whole job.
It can also do more than most owners expect. A website can take bookings, payments and forms. It can hold a customer’s account and send email reminders. For most businesses, that covers what customers came for.
Think about how often someone really needs you. A customer who hires a roofer once in ten years won’t install an app for it. A patient who sees a dentist twice a year probably won’t either. They want to find you, trust you and book, and a website does that in a few taps.
When an app earns its cost
An app makes sense when at least one of these is true:
- Customers come back often, like ordering weekly or checking in daily.
- They sign in to see their own things: orders, appointments, points or progress.
- You need what only a phone does well: notifications, the camera or their location.
A coffee shop with regulars is a good example. People who come in most mornings will keep an app for ordering ahead and collecting points. A gym is another, where members book classes and check in. An app can also be for your staff instead of your customers, like a field crew that needs today’s jobs, site photos and sign-offs in one place.
What these have in common is habit. The app stays on someone’s home screen because they use it all the time. If none of that fits, an app adds cost and one more thing to keep up to date, without bringing in more customers.
What an app costs beyond the build
The build is only the start, and this is the part that surprises people.
An app lives in two stores. Apple and Google both review it before it goes out, and they can ask for changes. New versions of iPhone and Android software arrive every year, so an app needs regular updates to keep working well. Customers also have to download it, so you need to give them a reason and tell them about it: a link on your website, a sign at the counter, a line on your receipts.
A website has none of those steps. You change it, and everyone sees the new version right away.
None of that makes an app a bad idea. It just means the app has to earn its keep.
Mistakes to avoid
- Building an app because a competitor has one. Ask how many of their customers actually use it. An app nobody opens does nothing for you.
- Building the app before the website works. New customers still find you through search. If your website is slow or unclear, they’ll never reach the app.
- Copying your website into an app. If it does the same things as your site, people have no reason to install it. Apple can also turn down apps that are little more than a website.
- Expecting downloads on their own. Apps don’t get found the way websites do. Most people who install yours will be customers you already have.
Three questions to ask yourself
- How often does a typical customer need you? Once a year points to a website. A few times a month starts to point to an app.
- Would they sign in to see something of their own? If yes, an app gets more useful.
- Is there something you can’t do without the phone itself? Alerts the moment something changes, scanning with the camera and knowing where someone is all count.
If you answered no to all three, you have your answer, and it saves you money. If you said yes to one or more, an app is worth a real conversation.
Questions owners ask
Can’t you just turn my website into an app?
You can wrap a website so it looks like an app, but it rarely feels like one, and the stores may refuse it. If you want an app, it should do something your website can’t.
Do I need iPhone and Android?
Usually yes, because your customers use both. We build one app that runs on both, so you aren’t paying for two separate projects.
Does an app cost more than a website?
Yes, because there’s more to build and more to keep up. How much depends on what it needs to do. We give you one price in the plan, in writing, before any work starts.
Will an app help me show up on Google?
Not really. Google mostly sends people to websites. You’ll want a good website either way, which is another reason it comes first.
The usual path
Most businesses grow into it. The website comes first. When customers keep coming back and asking for an easier way, that’s the sign.
There’s also a cheap way to test the idea. A website can be saved to a phone’s home screen, where it opens much like an app. It won’t replace a real app, but if your customers use it, that tells you something.
We build mobile apps for that moment, and we’ll tell you plainly if a website still covers it. If you’re not sure who should own what once it’s built, start with this.