Mobile Site vs. Mobile App: What comes first?
My film production company specializes in short films and music videos. The majority of consumers access music and watch videos through their mobile phone and tablets now. I think a mobile app is better suited for the industry I'm in. However, most mobile apps start off with a mobile website. Does the website need to come first?
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Mar 29, 2019
Explore tech stack called PWA (Progressive Web Apps). As you mentioned in your question, the majority of your content is multimedia and online. You can leverage the flexibility of web and user experience of native apps in apps build on PWA. No need for market place submissions just have your client put an icon in their mobile and let them interact it with the app just like any other application.
Mar 29, 2019
As I've dug my teeth deeper into software development, I've realized that the answer to most questions is: it depends.
You really have to understand your end users and the format in which they consume content, and in this case short films and music videos. You should be able to get data on say, youtube consumption on mobile browsers versus mobile apps. While several years ago, I'm almost certain it was mobile browser dominant, that may have flipped. The user experience is just so much better native, why would anyone elect to view it on their browser if they're on their phones?
There is a 3rd option now of creating a progressive web app, which allows developers to create a fast, reliable browser app with some native app capabilities. The problem with that is that iOS has been much slower to adopt this standard than Android (for more info: https://topflightapps.com/ideas/native-or-progressive-still-the-big-question-in-2019/).
To conclude: There is no one-size-fits-all answer to this question. Look at the market leaders and try to find out what they're doing. And think about whether native functionalities like push notifications on iOS are a dealbreaker for you. Then make your decision. Best of luck comrade!
Mar 27, 2019
Of course, the mobile site when we only have a desktop available.
Later on, we have a smartphone which notes a booming era of the mobile app.
Aug 23, 2018
I believe that the first (most likely) thing to do is to make a mobile website. Causes:
1) Now there are technologies, such as SPA (Single Page Application), which allow you to make a site that does not yield to the application speed, and in principle, for the average user, it will not be much different from it.
2) The site that will replace your mobile application, besides it will also be for large screen sizes, that is it will be equally good, look at computers, and on tablets and smartphones, you kill more than two birds with one shot.
3) Also, the site can be promoted in SEO, which is a great advantage. You can do it yourself and for free, it will certainly be difficult and as a rule, nobody does it themselves, but the fact remains that with a mobile application without advertising you will not advance.
4) Time. Make a website that adapts to different screen sizes is much easier and faster than a mobile application with the same task. If the mobile application can take 3-4 months, then the site - 1 month.
5) Price - the main argument, the development of a mobile application can cost you $ 20,000 - $ 50,000, while the site will cost you $ 10,000 - $ 15,000 maximum, and probably even less.
As for me, the choice is clear.
Also, I advise you to visit this site: https://niklex.net/services.html
Here you will be prompted which is better and visually show all the pros and cons.
Feb 2, 2018
Mobile websites and apps can look very similar at first-glance, and determining which is most suited to your needs will depend upon a number of factors, including target audiences, available budget, intended purpose and required features.
Like any website, mobile websites/responsive sites can display text content, data, images and video. They can also access mobile-specific features such as click-to-call (to dial a phone number) or location-based mapping.
Apps are actual applications that are downloaded and installed on your mobile device, rather than being rendered within a browser. Users visit device-specific portals such as Apple’s App Store, Android Market, or Blackberry App World in order to find and download apps for a given operating system. The app may pull content and data from the Internet, in similar fashion to a website, or it may download the content so that it can be accessed without an Internet connection.
Dec 23, 2017
I prefer mobile websites, I have to say. As for me, I have just got a very nice one from the company on https://weblium.com They created a great mobile website for my business which works just perfectly. I would recommend you to go this way too, good luck with it ;)
May 11, 2016
First should be your website. Make it responsive. This will not only be great for desktops, tablets, and phones, but it will also be good for your SEO.
A Mobile App should be an extension of your business that offers a reason, and something unique for new and existing clients to want to utilize it.
May 6, 2016
your end users open your site from phones and tabs pads on a browser safari or chrome If your site is responsive means it can fit any screen resolution I am not sure for videos streaming if you use a streaming server or a third party like youtube or vimeo.
A native app would mean Android and IOS apps using the same database where your content lies but not in a browser they will have to download the app.
Do you have a user registration module? I mean are you end users just guest users or registered users??
for example your facebook page If you access it on web it pulls the data through a browser and if you access it from an android phone or an I-phone its the same data.
May 4, 2016
Both are having its own role to play. Today most of the websites are coming with mobile friendly functions. As well as your question is concerned you need to go for both but first you come up with website. Mobile App is also important and helps to create direct link to customers.
You can also think about WAP as for as your needs are concerned.
If you are interested we are specialized in Website Development, Mobile Apps Development both iPhone and Android and WAP Content.
Some features of WAP are as under:-
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Regards
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Mobile: +91-9888648331
May 4, 2016
Just like what Jeff said, go for a responsive website first.
You don't need to make different mobile app for a different kind of devices with a different kind of OS. A responsive web design helps your website be accessible in any kind of devices including smartphones, tablets, desktops and even laptops. It is not new nowadays, but it is popular. It's just one sit and you can create a powerful site that is suitable in all devices. But in terms of features, there are some advantages that mobile app had that the mobile site doesn't have and vice versa. Not all responsive websites is better to be viewed at a smaller size that will automatically adjust to the size of the screen. And a mobile app can be a lot heavier in terms of size and depends on the OS. Mobile site can save a lot of memory space on your phone as it can be viewed in any browsers you have (if it is supported) while the mobile app needs to be downloaded and installed on your device. You can build your responsive website, then you can also have your mobile app. All in all, they have their advantages and disadvantages. But if you can do both without any problems, then there is no need to choose.