Here’s why you should forget about an app and build a responsive website instead

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Guess what the median number of app downloads is each month. How many do you think? Five? Three? Nope, it’s zero. Zilch, zip, nada. So why do so many clients still want to build an app rather than invest in a mobile responsive website?

 

Apps have been incredibly popular for ages. But that doesn’t mean they are perfect for your business. In fact, in most cases you are much, much better off investing in a responsive website and not an app.

 

The circumstances where you need an app

Now before we get carried away there are a couple of cases where you probably should consider building an app. But these are the only cases where it is an appropriate strategy. They are:

 

  • You are a global brand. If you are a global consumer brand, your customers will probably expect you to have an app. They are probably already searching the App Store or Google Play looking for your app. You don’t want to disappoint them.
  • Your product is an app. Obviously you need an app if your main offering is app-based. Of course, this isn’t the case for the vast majority of businesses.

 

Now we have those out of the way, let’s look at why you need a responsive website.

 

Customers search on Google, not on an app store

When you last needed to find a local business, where did you look first. It wasn’t Google Play, was it? Nope. You probably opened up Google on your phone’s browser and searched there. That’s how everyone finds a local business and that’s because it’s the best way. Therefore it is imperative you have a mobile friendly website ready to greet potential customers rather than an app that no one will find.

 

You risk your brand image

Not having a mobile responsive website doesn’t just risk your performance in search results, it risks your brand image, too. That’s because people don’t just use Google to find your website, they could find it through social media, an online ad or any one of loads of other methods. And more than ever people are using browsing the web through their phone. If they come to your site and find it isn’t mobile friendly, they aren’t going to hang around long. It’s unprofessional, hard to use and a turn off to customers.

 

People don’t download apps

As stated at the start of this post, people don’t download apps. FACT. So even if you are building an app for your website, people probably won’t download it. Let’s look at this properly. If you build one, how are people going to find it. Short of you telling them, the only way they are going to find it is by visiting your site. And since they are on your website in the first place, why not invest in a responsive website instead? Doesn’t that make much more sense?

 

Thinking about getting a responsive website now? Our team is here to help. Get in touch today.