Prospective clients frequently request a mobile application when a website would meet the requirement, and occasionally the reverse. The distinction is significant, because the three differ considerably in cost and in the effort required to maintain them.
Website
A website presents the business and allows visitors to make contact, book or purchase. Visitors do not sign in. It is the first requirement of most small businesses, and for many it is the only one.
A website is appropriate when the objective is to be found, to explain what the business offers, and to convert visitors into enquiries.
Web application
A web application is software that operates in the browser. Users sign in and carry out work within it: a customer portal, a booking system, a dashboard, or an internal tool that replaces a spreadsheet.
A web application is appropriate when users need to sign in to view or amend their own information, or when the team requires a tool designed around its own procedures.
Mobile application
A mobile application is installed from the App Store or Google Play. It can send notifications, operate without a connection, and make fuller use of the camera and location services than a browser permits.
A mobile application is appropriate when customers will use it several times a week, or when the requirement depends on a capability specific to the device. Customers who would use it once a month are unlikely to install it.
A method for deciding
Consider what the user needs to accomplish, and how frequently.
- The user needs to find the business and make contact: a website.
- The user needs to sign in and manage information: a web application.
- The user needs access every few days, from a phone: a mobile application.
Where the choice is uncertain, the simpler option is the prudent starting point. A well-constructed web application also functions on a phone, and a mobile application can follow once demand for it has been established.