Do you build apps? I’ve been asked this question many times now and my answer to it could save you a headache and money if you’re thinking of building one or having someone build one for you…
First thing’s first, don’t just jump on the app band wagon because you’ve heard the term thrown around especially by every single cell or operating system manufacturer.
Depending on what you have in mind there are two primary reasons you would want it to be in an app. The first one is hardware, if you need access to things like a camera, microphone or offline storage then chances are you need an app (even this is changing). If what you have in mind is something you’d like to make available while people are offline and don’t really require an internet connection then you might want to consider an app as well but this is questionable as well, as you’ll soon discover.
So now that you know there are basically two reasons why you should build an app, you might be wondering what can I do if I don’t build an app?
The answer to that question comes in the form of a website, not just any type of webpage but one with diversity. By diversity I mean a website that caters to both mobile and desktop computers, this method also opens up your target audience dramatically. Not only do you have a chance to obtain desktop users but you also have a much better chance at satisfying a wider audience in the mobile sector as well.
When building an app, you need to consider a few other things. Who am I building this app for is it Windows, Apple iPhone/iPad, Android, Blackberry or any other type of device running other software like Linux, or any other OS that is either currently running and being used or is coming out around the corner shortly. This is where things start to get a bit confusing as each one of these speak their own language and have their own rules and regulations, not to mention take a slice of the pie! Sure there are other platforms you could design your app on which claim to cater to several types of devices but as far as I know even they are limited and don’t cater to all of them, not to mention come with their own bugs from platform to platform. Then comes the next issue which involves ever changing operating systems like Android and IOS.
When it comes to apps, it doesn’t matter what operating system alley you look down, they are all the same in one manner of speaking. This is that they all come with vulnerabilities and patches that could affect your app in the future. If a patch doesn’t affect it then how about that next big upgrade in their operating system, will your app still work when it rolls out? This is something you’ll need to strongly consider as it could involve shelling out more cash for that app you built to continue to work. If you own a cell phone I’m sure you’ve noticed the constant alerts of updates required on app after app you have, or even how wonky some of them behave, you might have even removed some of them just after installing them because of that fact.
This is where the beauty of the web comes in! Today’s HTML and associated languages open up a huge avenue for you. Almost anything you could possibly think of for an app can more than likely be built inside of a website. Regrettably Flash and other similar add-ons like Silverlight are no longer being supported by the most recent browsers so this very useful tool should no longer be considered. Luckily with things like HTML5, JavaScript etc. you have a lot of new tools at your disposal. Also as web standards are becoming more and more acceptable by all the browsers you also have a better chance of only writing code once and have it work across all operating systems even ones that might be in development because they too will more than likely end up having a browser that works with the standards to surf the net. If by chance the default browser doesn’t support this there is a very good chance that just like every other operating system, you’ll be able to install a variety of browsers to use on the device and one of them is almost certain to work with your site…
The list of benefits for a website doesn’t stop with multiplatforms, they also tend to be cheaper to build as well since you don’t have to write separate code for other platforms or update them as often. With the use of databases and server side scripting like those found in ASP or PHP, all the data of the user is stored in one central location, this means they can continue from where they left off when jumping from one device to another, just like you would with a google document today. They also have the exact same look and feel to that website unlike some apps which behave differently on say IOS compared to Android (OneNote comes to mind). Another great thing about a website over an app is that you don’t have to give up a cut of the pie to an app store, if all sales are off of your site that is, because you still have an app opportunity which we’ll mention next.
Finally if you’re really set on having an app in the app store, then you should know that more than enough websites if programmed correctly can be converted to an app by utilizing one of the many programs found on the internet (typically a fee is involved). This doesn’t truly make them apps though, but most users wouldn’t know the difference regardless. Typically what happens is the browser window is removed, your app still works as a website you just end up with more real-estate on the screen because the url, back, forward buttons found in browsers are removed but they now appear in the app store and for all intense purposes are considered an app even if they truly aren’t.