Top Pros and Cons of Mobile Apps vs. Web Apps in 2022

 

Mobile and web apps are part of the booming digital era, but with their differences, it makes sense to explain why they are better with their differences. Mobile apps are better because of portability, but new apps' adaption rate could be higher. Web and progressive web apps have the advantage of having their server-side, but their interface could be smoother.

And With the growth of smartphones and tablets, there has been a massive increase in the number of mobile apps and web apps available. Also, as mobile and web applications become more critical for businesses, enterprises need to understand the core differences to determine which works best. And without a doubt, there are pros and cons to developing a mobile application.

To make an informed decision, you must know the top 10 pros and cons of mobile apps Vs. Web apps, as mentioned later in this article. This blog will also learn how portable web apps are built, what progressive web apps are, and why they are in high demand.

So, let's get started!

What is a web app, and how are they built?

A web app is an application that works in sync with a web browser. All you need is a browser to get things started. These days, web browsers notify you: "Add this page to your home screen or add it to the home screen." And the moment you go for it and the icon is added to your home screen, you immediately land on the information you've visited.

Moreover, web apps increase the availability of the application, and the resources at the client site are not even an issue for such apps.

While building a mobile web app, developers usually have two ways:

• Client-side script languages - Executing small bits of code that power the web app's dynamic features.
• Server-side code - Using Python, Objective-C, or Java and HTML (for marking up the interface's content).

Unlike the SDKs (software development kits) for developing desired mobile apps, there are no standard SDKs to build a web app of your choice. The only thing web developers can use - is templates to ramp up their production process. However, web apps are simple and easy to build since they offer only essential features compared to mobile apps.

Furthermore, a single web app developer or the product team of a software engineer can build a web app and efficiently run it. Such an app gets input from a user and then processes that info right before sending it back as the results to be displayed on a search engine using any web browser on a desktop or mobile device.

How are mobile apps and native mobile apps built?

Mobile apps are installed on your system development using SDKs and are usually more expensive and take much more time and effort than web apps. Such apps are designed for specific platforms, and launching and deploying them requires developers to start from scratch. They are much faster and more flexible, providing mobile phone users with more advanced features and functionality.

For the development of mobile apps, companies rely on a team of mobile app developers, but you can do it yourself. Earlier, developers used SDKs designated for iOS and Android Phones to build apps for these two platforms. Today, you only need hands-on programming languages like JavaScript to construct a mobile app.

Native Apps

Developers are very creative; they use appropriate language for each platform since they know what is required and what to deliver to the people while building native mobile apps.

Let's make it easy for you to understand a native app.

Consider an example - everyone knows Apple devices run on the iOS operating system and are programmed to use either Swift or Objective-C and not the other way around. Whereas apps for mobile devices running Android OS are coded using Java/Kotlin, and any developer can build them using either the Eclipse IDE or Android Studio. And once a user downloads them from an app store, it gets stored on their device, and they can access them by tapping their icons. Primarily, mobile apps are developed to work offline. Thanks to their ability to access mobile phone hardware and other features, native apps are more excellent on many fronts than web apps can ever be. For instance, if you want to operate certain smartphone parts, like its camera, Sensors, calendar, or GPS, you are using a native app.

Now that you know the difference between web and mobile apps, let's understand their pros and cons.

Top Pros and Cons of Mobile Apps Vs. Web Apps

Installation

Native apps are found and installed through an app store, whereas progressive web apps, websites, or web apps run right within the mobile device's web browser, allowing your users to save them on the home screen of their mobile phones and do what they do with a native app. The only obstacle your users can encounter is adding a web app to their home screens. It is a simple process on Android devices, but on iOS mobile devices, it's a trickier process.

Cross-Platform Availability

Since developers usually design an app specifically for iOS and Android users, it ensures that the experience within a native app is tailor-made for each platform. Progressive web apps are developed to operate in a user's browser. Sure, you have more control over your app's exact look when creating a pure mobile app. Still, a progressive web app comes without the headache of making different versions for each platform - iOS and Android at the cost of providing a somewhat less familiar user interface (UI) for mobile users. However, you can still design it with a framework that allows you to mimic the typical design of iOS and Android apps.

Push Notifications

Push notifications are critical reasons site owners and businesses build a mobile apps. They can attract significantly more engagement than conventional methods. Email notification support on progressive web apps is limited to Chrome, Firefox, or Opera. It is still unavailable on iOS, so you can use push notifications to engage your audience with progressive web apps on Android. But if you want to do the same with your iOS visitors. Then, you will have to build a fully native mobile app.

Offline Usage

One of the most incredible things about a mobile app is that it allows users to access the app information when they're not connected to the internet in recent years. Some offline features also have been coming to the progressive web apps and web apps, allowing the app to work offline using cached data. But it could be more efficient than in a standard mobile app.

Updates

Regarding the user's point of view about updates, there's nothing the user needs to do to update native or mobile apps. Sometimes, a native app needs to be manually updated. Still, it is an automated process that goes relatively undetected with the progressive web app that will load any new code each time it's open. So there needs to be something to update.

Discovery 

For native apps, there are two chances for them to show up in search results within the App Store and in search engines. The app store could help drive traffic to your new app, especially if you have great chance ‌people are searching for your app in stores today. But progressive web apps, on the other hand, could do well in web searches. Still, you don't get the App Store's discovery help. Like any site, you rely on people finding your app using Google search engines or visiting your website address manually.

Device Features

Device features are one of the best things about building a mobile app for placement on a user's mobile device because of its ability to sync with the other apps on the mobile phone and its features. For example, native mobile apps can use the camera GPS, accelerometer, etc. In their most basic form, progressive web apps or web apps can hold the same restrictions as standard websites, which means you need to have all the access to device features you would work with mobile apps.

Cost to development

A cost-effective native app is truly native. It's ‌built with Java or Kotlin for Android, Objective-C, and Swift for iOS progressive web apps. A native app will cost you more than a progressive web app. It could take longer to build, depending on which route you take. If you run a content site on WordPress, creating a native app with a service like Quokka Labs will give you the same results as a custom native app built at less than 10% of the cost. And your app will be ready to hit the market in weeks rather than months. Plus, maintenance and support are also included in mobile app development services, making it easier and quicker to make a return on your investment.

Time within apps

Today, mobile users spend much more time on their mobile apps than on the web and websites because of the internet and eye-catching mobile app designs, features, and big things in a small package. A research study states that mobile phone users spend more than 88% of their mobile-phone time using mobile apps. This study also found that: from 2016 to 2018, time spent on/in mobile apps grew by more than 50%. And the popularity of mobile apps has experienced a boom and is continuously on its rise.

Additional Advertising Revenue

Because a mobile app allows you to use app monetization techniques besides ASO (App Store Optimization Techniques), users pay way higher in mobile apps ‌than in web apps and on the web, lowering your advertising revenue. Research shows that "in-app ads" are more effective than desktop browsers and mobile web apps.

So, should you always build a mobile, web, or site?

Not necessarily!

It depends because if a significant chunk of your users accesses your content once daily, an app will make sense. But if what you offer is used once and never again, invest in something other than an app. Instead, create a strategy and focus on an effective mobile-optimized web presence, i.e., put those sincere efforts into your company's website.

What is a Progressive Web App?

Web apps are designed and developed to be fully functional and accessible to any internet-connected device a user uses and run a web browser. Whether a desktop or mobile browser, web apps/websites today operate equally well. When it comes to the compatibility of a website or a web app, it's ensured that they will run efficiently on any device of your choice, provided the correct code base and web technologies are in use. However, even after using valid code and web technologies, sometimes there needs to be a glitch in loading a webpage or the operability of a few features and overall fluidity of a web app.

Thus, building web apps has similarities with making one for mobile phone users, i.e., making a website mobile-friendly or responsive. Such a web app is known as a progressive web app.

A progressive web app (PWA) is designed and developed to work on any standard web browser like Firefox, Microsoft Edge, Brave, Safari, or Chrome. When opened in a web browser, a PWA's look and feel is like a "normal" or "Native" mobile app a user downloads, installs, and runs on their mobile phone or tablet. And the best part with web apps against mobile apps is that they do not need to be downloaded and installed to access browsers. However, web apps will often fall short in user experiences compared to native mobile apps.

Which one to go for - a web app or a mobile app?

Well, it's not like choosing by having a blue or red pill. It's pretty simple, and by now, you should have developed a fundamental understanding of the differences between a native mobile app or a standard mobile app and a web app and its pros and cons.

Ultimately, the only thing you would want to consider is the costs involved for your app development project regarding your goals. Consider which of the two technologies discussed - web or mobile apps best suits your target audience. Because just like a native mobile app, both a web app and a mobile-friendly website (PWA) also have to face roadblocks to engage users. And developing user-engaging apps can be overwhelming‌.

So, if any solid idea has crossed your mind to have an application that can make a big hit in the world, but you are still deciding whether to choose a mobile app or a web app, leave that all to an experienced mobile app development company.