One of the first decisions that you’ll have to make is choosing your product’s platform. Nowadays you have two options, a native application or a web application. There are pros and cons for each platform. Your target audience, product features, and your ideal user are all factors when determining what you need to build.
Native Applications
Native applications are apps that are installed to the phone. You usually have to install these through the phone’s App Store. iPhones and iPads use the Apple App Store. Google uses the Google Play Store. To make a native app, a developer must code in the phone’s coding language. Generally code developed for an iPhone cannot be used for an Android. Native apps also have limitations on the features you may want to access. For instance iPhone programmers cannot change a phone’s lock screen.
Web Applications
Web apps are apps that live on the web. Users don’t need to install web applications. They can just visit the application’s website and use it immediately. Web apps use web technologies such as HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and backend services. Backend services manage the applications data such as user profiles. Web apps can run on phones and desktops with minimal effort. Usually web apps are built mobile first. The app scales as the screen gets bigger.
Native App Pros
Use A Phone’s Core Features
If your product has a feature that needs access to the core hardware or
core software, go native. This means if you need to use microphone,
accelerometer, or camera, you’ll need to go native. There are also
software limitations. These allow you to access a user’s contacts,
photos, and phone attributes.
Better User Experience
Native applications have direct access to the the phone’s graphics
engine. Your app can use dynamic animations and unique layouts without
sacrificing performance. Generally native apps look and feel better than
web apps.
Phone Real Estate
When a user downloads your product. That product lives on their phone
until they delete it. You can send direct messages to your users via
push notifications to raise engagement. Your users are more likely to
use your app when it’s on their home screen.
Users prefer using a phone over a computer
Users spend countless hours on their phone. Chances are if your
application gives them a solid mobile experience they’ll be more apt to
use it.
Native Ads
If you build a native product you’ll have access to the native
ad networks. These ad networks and add languages allow developed to
build ads into your app. The ad networks are then tailored to your
audience. This increases the likelihood of users tapping an app. When
this happens, you get paid.
Native App Cons
Increased Complexity
Native apps can be difficult to build. Each platform uses a
different programming language. You will need a team for each platform.
Each have different requirements to launch and maintain your app in its
specific store. Apple and Google change their platform at least once a
year. To stay competitive you’ll need to update your application.
Updates can take days
There is a review process every time you deploy an application to
Apple’s App Store or the Google Play Store. The reviewers are a team of
quality assurance specialists. They ensure that the application meets
the quality standards for their store. This process can take up to 1
weeks. This happens every time you need to make a change to the app.
Web App Pros
Build Once Launch Everyone
As long as your web app is responsive, you can run it on any
device. All your user needs is a web browser and your web app is on
thousands of devices.
Easier to build, test, and maintain
With a solid development team, you can release new features every day.
Unlike native mobile apps, there is no waiting time to deploy. There are
also no content guidelines. You can add features fast.
Hire less developers
Your team needs to know one technology stack. You won’t need a team for
each platform, instead you can focus on one team to build your product.
You can do more with a small team especially when focused on delivering
one product.
Web App Cons
Limited access to core phone features
Web apps can’t access a phone’s core hardware or software. If
you wanted to access a user’s contacts or the phone’s camera you
couldn’t. You also can’t access the phone’s graphic engine. This means
that if you add heavy animations your apps performance will suffer.
Supporting multiple browsers
Launching your app everyone is great. Then you realize that you need to
support many major browsers. That means your team has to write specific
code for each browser. This could increase development time and cause
your users to experience bugs.
No application discovery platform
Native apps live on the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store. Web
apps have no app discovery service. That means it’s up to you to get
your web app out to your audience. You can use services like BetaList or
Product Hunt to help with your marketing efforts
What should you use?
Use the right tool for the job. Building startups can be complex. Weighing the pros and cons will allow you to chose a platform that will grow your business. If you still need help we can go over your app idea we can help you with that.
