The usefulness of a mobile application
Nowadays, having a mobile application for your business is among the bases for expanding your business circle.
Communication via the Internet is evolving at colossal speed as technology advances. A few years ago, the smartphone market was still floundering. Now, almost the entire French population is equipped, and almost 80% of internet connections are now made through a Smartphone.
What result for your business communication? A website alone is no longer enough! From now on, your website must be ideally suited to mobile use, otherwise you risk losing most of your audience. Therefore, you are left with two alternatives: a mobile version and/or a mobile application.
Now, we will explain to you the usefulness of having a mobile application developed for your business.
Before going in-depth, it is important to remember web vocabulary, so that no one gets lost! It is therefore important to differentiate four notions: the website, the mobile version, the responsive version or the mobile application:
The website
Speaking of your business website, it is quite simply a classic site, designed for navigation on a large screen, from a computer. The website is generally essential today, because it allows you to communicate on the internet and share useful information with your customers and prospects with a mobile application for your business
The mobile version
The mobile version of a website is nothing more than a copy of your website, designed to fit the screen of a smartphone or tablet. This is often a simpler version, which allows you to consult the content quickly on a touch screen, from an internet browser. If your website does not have a copy in a mobile version or is not responsive, there is a good chance that it will be unreadable on a smartphone and therefore cause you to lose a large audience. Note that while a mobile version of a site is easier to develop than a responsive site, it is also more difficult. In reality, as a copy of your site, the mobile version is decomposable. In case there is an update, you will have to update the two versions of the site separately. Likewise, the links to the same content on your site or your mobile version will be different, which could lead to incompatibilities. A mobile version does not take into account the size of the screen on which it is viewed, which does not make it completely suitable for Smartphones and tablets.
The responsive site
With the development of the mobile web, we have seen the emergence of responsive websites more and more often. These are simply websites designed to automatically adapt to the size of the screen on which they are viewed. Very efficient, because they can adapt to any screen size, they remain quite limited for complex website projects. Creating a responsive website, however, remains one of the most popular ways to adapt a site for mobile browsing. This technique is in fact likely to eventually replace the mobile version. It is important to create a responsive website directly, rather than thinking about mobile compatibility after launching a site.
The mobile application
Unlike the mobile version, which is viewed from a web browser, the mobile application is like software that you can install on your smartphone. If your customers install your mobile application, they will be able to access its content immediately thanks to a logo on the menu of their phone.
It is important to remember here that these notions can be completely additional. Even if internet browsing through a smartphone is more and more widespread, it is still inevitable to have a classic website. All you have to do is make a choice to create a responsive site or a mobile version for browsing on a smartphone. Having a mobile version of this same website will not prevent you from launching a mobile application.
The objective of our article is to show you the importance of a mobile application, and to help you understand its challenges!
The advantages of a mobile application
Note that a mobile application is often more difficult to develop than a simple mobile version of a website. However, this difficulty is justified by numerous advantages of a Mobile Application:
1. Creates a relationship with your audience
Downloading a web application is already a first alliance. Thus, you are convinced that everyone who has downloaded your Application is sensitive to your message and your products and services. Being directly present on your audience’s smartphone is already a big plus!
2. Simplifies access to your content
To access your application, a customer will simply have to click on a logo. On the other hand, accessing a website or mobile site requires doing a Google search or even knowing a URL. By making your content easier to access, you are sure that your customers will consult it more often.
3. Send notifications
Unlike a website, a Mobile Application allows you to send “push” notifications directly to your audience. Do you have important news to communicate? Do you want to launch a promotional campaign? Do you want to talk about a corporate event? Your application will allow you to send a notification to everyone who has installed it.
4. You can use all the opportunities that a smartphone offers
Having a mobile application is also an opportunity to use new tools, such as geolocation. The possibilities are endless to make an Application a unique marketing tool, and the only limit is your imagination!
5. You can communicate about the launch of an Application
Launching a mobile application can be the opportunity for a real communication campaign, which will allow you to make both your application and your company known. On the other hand, the launch of a mobile version of a website will no longer surprise anyone.
6. Give off a more serious image
Now, most businesses offer a mobile version of their site. On the other hand, few companies have a mobile application developed. It is therefore both an opportunity to distinguish yourself from the competition, and to show a serious and professional image to your audience.
Do you want to develop your mobile application? c2m supports you throughout the process!
Read more: Creation of Mobile Applications
