In today’s rapidly evolving digital world, having some form of online presence has become a must-have for businesses to thrive. Websites and apps may have started out as a means to supplement the overall promotional campaign for a business, but today, they have turned into absolute necessities, especially in the sectors where the competition to stay ahead in the world of internet has become extremely competitive.
According to statistics from Smart Insights, around 70% of users surf the Internet using mobile devices. This means that content that is optimized for mobile devices, such as websites or apps, is no longer an additional option, but a must. If your online presence cannot handle mobile traffic, you may not risk reaching potential customers.
While there is no doubt that websites have increasingly become a prerequisite to businesses of all scales, there is yet another platform that is gaining rapid recognition: apps. Recent data from multiple sources clearly suggests that traffic via mobile devices is increasingly dominating international markets. Users of smartphones, tablets, and other gadgets around the world spend on average twice as much time online as users of desktop PCs. This impressively underlines the importance of a presence for mobile devices.
In this article, we are going to discuss the key advantages of having a website and an app for your business and if there is a better choice among the two in every case. Let us get right into it!
Website: A 24/7 Promotion of Your Business on The Internet
There are plenty of reasons why a business needs a website. Nevertheless, more than half of small businesses are still not represented by a company homepage on the Internet.
More than half of entrepreneurs without a website believe that they do not need their own online presence. The remaining respondents justify their abstinence from the Internet by saying that they lack the specialist knowledge to create and maintain a company website. At the same time, it is too expensive for them to entrust a professional with the task of website development and maintenance.
Nevertheless, in terms of ROI, a website is certainly an incredibly profitable thing to consider. Here are a few reasons that strongly recommend a website for every business, no matter its size.
- For many customers, a website is the first point of contact with a company these days. If you want to make a good first impression, you should have a well-kept and contemporary online presence.
- Today, anyone who wants to buy something or is looking for a service provider often searches the Internet. Companies whose homepages are displayed on Google, therefore, have a better chance of attracting customers. And if you do not have a professional website, you may lose customers to the competition.
- Advertising campaigns make a company’s information and messages available to the public only for a short time. A website is different: once created, it can be accessed at any time.
- On a website, companies can provide all the information that is important to their customers. This is especially relevant in the case of products or services that require a detailed explanation.
- Anyone who integrates an online shop into their website creates a completely new sales channel for their products. This allows local dealers to expand their catchment area, for example, they can also reach customers outside the region – or even worldwide – via the Internet.
In short, all it takes is an initial investment for web development, and a nominal running expense for maintenance and your website can turn into your biggest promoter which has the potential to generate a high volume of leads.
App: Your Unique Presence on Mobile Devices
Apps are small programs that fulfill a specific function for the user across platforms on mobile devices. The reasons why a company would rely on solid mobile application development can be very numerous. A robust app is a very good marketing tool and carries numerous advantages, some of which are mentioned below.
- Smartphones are spreading faster than any other device today. Most importantly, almost everyone who a smartphone uses it every day! With your own app, you can place yourself exactly where your customers are several times a day. Directly on your smartphone.
- Providing an app due to the high demand leads us directly to the next advantage: customer satisfaction. Displaying processes and functions in a compressed way saves the user time, simple processes and thus a sense of achievement. Short waiting times and uncomplicated processes play an extremely important role on the web because the tolerance of users concerning waiting times is very low.
- With your logo as an app icon, you ensure that your company is remembered. Your target customers will see your logo several times a day. And not through intrusive advertising, but because you either use your app directly or while scrolling through on your smartphone. In this way, you can link pleasant and simple interactions with your brand and stay in memory for a long time.
- With push notifications, you can reach your customers at any time without delay. Do you have a special offer that is only valid for a certain day? You can send a notification to all your customer’s first thing in the morning. This way, you not only reach those who walk past your store, but also the customers who would otherwise only stop by every now and then and might not have seen your offer at all.
- With the ever-growing innovations in the domain of app development, apps are now capable of incorporating a series of unique features that make them more interactive, or consequently, more engaging for end-users. A well-built app can keep your customers busy with your business every day and can contribute significantly to higher conversions.
Apps Vs Websites: Which is a Better Option?
After going through the individual sets of advantages of websites and apps, it is natural to ask: which among the two is a better option for you?
Simply put, there is no objectively better option among the two. Each business has its own set of objectives and definitions of success that it is hard for any of the two online platforms to place one over the other. Contact RKA Infotech for the best-in-class website and app development services and let them help you decide your ideal platform for the most optimum results!