If you are building a mobile app, Android & iOS have become the de facto standard at this point. While your goal may be to launch apps for both platforms, that is not the optimal solution for every business. Some latest trends to be aware of while discussing Android & iOS are -
1. PWA also known as Progressive Web App is an application that is rendered through web technologies like HTML, CSS & JS. These are intended to work on any platform using standard browsers.
A stellar example of this is SLIICK Relax Fit opening this website on your mobile browser will display a pop-up asking you to add the app to your homescreen. Upon confirming, the website is added to your mobile device as a web app.
Benefits:
Cheaper to develop, deploy & maintain than Native Apps
Can be setup to work offline
Suitable for hardware integrations like location, camera & storage
2. AMP - Accelerated Mobile Pages as a framework was created by Google for optimized mobile web browsing & to help web pages load faster. This works best for businesses whose websites are not media-rich. In other words, static content is your best bet.
An example of this is pinterest. As shown in the screenshot below, the Google search listing shows pages with a lightning symbol. The lightning symbol indicates the page is AMP-enabled.
Benefits:
Reduced Load time
Low Bounce Rate
Enhanced SEO
3. Traditional Mobile Apps - This is a regular approach to Android & iOS development. This can be done via Native programming languages like Java, Swift, Objective-C OR via hybrid approach using React Native, Ionic, Flutter & Xamarin to name a few.
Popular examples of traditional mobile apps are Facebook, Instagram and Skype - available on the Android Play Store & iOS App Store.
Benefits:
Greater performance
Optimum resource usage
Enhanced security
Let us cover some business scenarios and talk about the best fit for each -
Use Case#1: Content-Driven website
If you are running a content-driven website, for example, a blog site, a product catalog website or a model/portfolio website, this space is for you.
When your website is fueled by plain content, there should be no second thoughts to implementing AMP. This will automatically help you in terms of page load times and reduced bounce rate. Implementing strategic lead engagement techniques will allow you to harness the website traffic better.
However, if your website is media-rich, it makes sense to go for a PWA implementation. This gives you the advantage of running a mobile app and a website from a single code source. Plus, you can send push notifications to your Customers via the app.
Use Case#2: B2C eCommerce website
B2C stands for Business to Consumer. So, read ahead if you are a business selling products/services on your website and intend to scale up.
AMP is a good option if the products and services you are selling are all simple and do not have any customization options. In this case, you are only dealing with static pages.
However, there are businesses that provide customized products and in this case PWA & Traditional Apps are logical options compared to AMP. Nike KD13 is a good example of what product customization means. For a small business it probably makes sense to go ahead with PWA given the cost and easy maintenance factors. Considering medium sized businesses, it makes much more sense to go ahead with a traditional app approach if you need to give your customers a greater performance and enhanced feature set.
Use Case#3: B2B eCommerce website
B2B stands for Business to Business. This is for those companies out there selling to other companies in bulk - like Alibaba or TradeWheel.
The AMP vs PWA comparison is pretty similar to the Use Case#2: B2C eCommerce website. However, an added advantage of the PWA is that it allows the website to function offline as well. This will be a big boost for those B2B companies that have salespeople working on the ground with limited network connectivity- showcase your products and strike deals!
For a B2B company that is dealing with custom products more than pre-built ones, it will be a greater benefit to choose the traditional app approach (Android & iOS). This will enable the business to promote their app and potentially widen their network via effective marketing strategies.
Use Case #4: Special use case - Dating Apps
This is an absolute special case since Dating Apps require a combination of app performance, data security, animations and enhanced feature set. It is a one-sided competition here as Traditional Apps win this without a doubt. Traditional apps provide the support required for animations (swipe right, swipe left & much more) like none other. Also, since they are able to directly access the core of the operating system - Android / iOS, they are able to provide better performance and security measures for app data.
This blog is aimed at getting you to think about the next steps for your business and scale. However, if you are looking to set up a model portfolio website, we at #CommerceAnts recommend that you check out 5 ways to build an effective model website.
Want to implement Google AMP or PWA or a traditional app for your business right now? Email us at sales@commerceants.com for a FREE quote.
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