Do you need an app, or just a website that works on phones?

“We should have an app” comes up in a lot of first conversations. It makes sense. Your customers live on their phones, and an icon on their home screen feels like the most direct line to them there is.

We build native iPhone apps, so it might be surprising to hear this from us: for most small businesses, an app is not the right first step. A website that works well on a phone usually is. Here is how to tell the difference.

What a mobile-friendly website already gives you

Every site we build is designed for phones first. On a phone, a good one already does most of what people picture when they say “app”:

• Nobody has to install anything. A customer taps a link from Google, a text, or your Facebook page and they are in. Every install step loses people, and most will not download an app for a business they use a few times a year.
• It shows up in search. Google can’t read the inside of an app. Your website is what gets you found when someone nearby searches for what you do.
• One build covers everyone. iPhone, Android, tablet, laptop. An app has to be built and maintained for each platform separately.
• It costs far less. A site starts at a few hundred dollars. An app is a much bigger project, plus the ongoing work of keeping it running on every new version of iOS.

If what you want is for customers to see your hours, browse your menu or services, book a time, or send you a message, a website does that well. Menus, quote requests, and booking all work great on a phone.

When an app actually earns its keep

An app is worth it when you need something a website can’t do well. The clearest signs:

• It has to work without a signal. Field crews logging jobs at a rural site, inspections in a basement, deliveries out past cell coverage. An app can save the work on the device and sync it when the connection comes back.
• You need push notifications that people will actually see. “Your order is ready,” “your appointment is in an hour,” “a new job was assigned to you.”
• It needs the phone’s hardware. Scanning barcodes, taking photos attached to a job record, using location in the background, or signing in with Face ID.
• People open it every day. Staff tools, a loyalty program for regulars, or a client portal used weekly. When the same people come back constantly, the home-screen icon is worth the install.

If none of those sound like you, that is good news. You can skip the bigger expense.

The middle path most businesses miss

You don’t have to choose once and live with it forever. A common path we recommend is to start with a fast website, and add a web app if you need logins and records later. Then build an iPhone app only once there is a clear daily use for it.

When you do get to the app, it doesn’t start from scratch. It can share the same accounts and data as the web app you already have, so customers and staff see the same information everywhere.

A quick gut check

Ask yourself two questions. Will people use this more than once a week? And does it need to work offline, send alerts, or use the camera? If both answers are no, you want a mobile-friendly website. If both are yes, an app is probably worth a conversation.

Not sure which one you need? Tell us what you’re trying to do and we will give you an honest answer, even if that answer is the cheaper one.